10,000 Hours and the Brain

Someone asked me today if I had a reference for the statement that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to achieve world-class competence. In her book "Music and the Brain," Dr. Barbara Sternberg included estimates that 10,000 hours of practice is required to achieve world-class level of mastery, in music as well as any field of endeavor. So, you want to achieve world-class mastery in some field of endeavor? Start practicing. Time flies. 10,000 hours will, too. If you practiced four hours a day, six days a week, you'd have 10,000 hours under your belt in eight years. If you doubled your practice time on the weekends you'd have 10,000 hours under your belt in something like 5 years. What do you want to do in life and how committed are you to achieving world-class competence?