Dedication is the only difference in an amateur and an expert. You often hear the word prodigy, but any one can be a prodigy by putting the time and effort and focus into becoming the very best at something. And the greatest thing is that it’s never too late!

How many times have you heard someone say, if I would have stuck with it when I was young, or if I was smart I would have done this or that when I was young.. etc. People seem to thing that they have missed an opportunity to achieve something just because they didn’t do one thing or another when they were young, or maybe because they think they lacked natural talent.

Well I am here to tell you that, this line of thinking is just plain wrong, and there are many scientists that are studying the brain that agree. Anyone can develop world-class or at least expertise in things that they are not physically impaired to do. We place too much emphasis on God-given talent, natural gifts and genetic predisposition’s. It turns out that being a naturally gifted at music or math or fill in the blank more likely has a gift for concentration, dedication and a desire to keep improving.

To sum up my point, anyone willing to do what’s required to keep getting better WILL get better and eventually reach expert status. Could it be that the so called naturally talented artist was simply the one who practiced a hell of a lot more. There is a book titled “The Road To Excellence:” by Dr. K. Anders Ericsson a professor of psychology at Florida State University, who has spent the better part of his 20 + year career studying geniuses, prodigies and superior performers.

He concludes that for the superior performers the goal isn’t just repeating the same thing again and again, but achieving higher levels of control over every aspect of their performance. This is why they do not find practice boring, each and every practice session they are working on doing something better than they did before.

So this means to me that it is not necessarily how long they practice, but rather how they practice. Most of us want to practice things that were good at and put off the things that we are not so good at. This process keeps us mediocre to average forever. If we are willing to put in the hours and to use those hours working on the things that are not so fun, we can move up to being good, great and potentially expert.

Typically people will fall into one of three categories, Expert, Amateur or Drop Out. The people who fall into the drop out category decide that during the beginning phase that I am bad at this and it is not worth continuing, and subsequently give up. The amateur category is for the ones who go the extra effort to start to become proficient at something and then get satisfied where they are and then decide that it is not worth the extra effort to move up to the great or expert category.

And then you have the few who go all out and continue to improve until they become experts in their endeavors. And enough with the too late excuse, a little known fact: Geena Davis barely missed qualifying for the US Olympic Archery team at the age of 40, a sport that she started learning just 3 years before the Olympic tryouts.

What are you waiting for? Take Care my friends!

1. 

   Joy says:

   March 16, 2008 at 1:58 pm

   Great article. I think I fall somewhere in between the Expert and Amateur. I’m a perfectionist and I try to do things to the best of my ability and continue doing so while improving each time. However, my tendency to get bored or to try new things prevent me from being fully an “Expert”.

   Hey, am I missing something? The link to “The New Brain” goes to another book, or is that the same thing?
2. 

   Charles Hamel says:

   March 16, 2008 at 6:20 pm

   Hi Joy

   Thanks so much for your comments, I made a mistake on the title, got it mixed up with another blog post, and left the other title in there.

   I have corrected it! The book name is “The Road to Excellence”

   Thanks for keeping me honest.

   I am also like you, I love to learn so much, that I will get proficient in something, and then move on to the next thing, which also keeps me from being a expert.

   I am not that concerned about being an expert in anything, other than being an expert husband and Dad.

   Take Care
3. 

   SiteHoppers says:

   March 17, 2008 at 2:04 pm

   Great article, I was actually trying to write something like this on my other blog but yes, working hard diligently and smart is probably the best way. And yes, you could get drunk too at night.

   Cheers~

   max
4. 

   Charles Hamel says:

   March 18, 2008 at 1:51 am

   Ha Ha MAX

   Ahh the life of a Blogger!