10,000 Chess Hours

I graduate from California State University, East Bay on June 12th, 2010. I've finally earned my BA in Economics. Which is great. I'm really excited. I've been working towards this goal for a long time and I'm glad I'm finally done!

I'm also glad I will get more time for things other than work and school. This summer I'm looking forward to weekend trips, more time with my daughter and my honey, more time for books, and more time playing chess!

I'm currently reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. He makes an interesting point in the book, saying that any expert has put in at least 10,000 hours in their field. That's amazing. I don't think I've put 10,000 hours into anything. The book also argues that even with natural ability, a person would still need 10,000 hours of practice to reach an expert level and anyone who does will become an expert.

The expamle Gladwell used was of concert violinists. All the really great concert violinists had put in at least 10,000 hours of practice. And the study showed that they couldn't find anyone that put in the hours but couldn't reach concert level. There was no one that couldn't develop the talent after 10,000 hours of practice.

So, I will start putting my time in. I will play lots of chess games. I will read chess books. I will start racking up those hours and one day I will be a really great chess player.