10,000 HOURS

10,000 hours. The time it takes to become an “expert”. That’s a lot of time. But what if those 10,000 hours were only 5,000? What if you could compress the time it takes to be an “expert”?

Time is finite, and while 10,000 hours is certainly attainable in a lifetime, wouldn’t you rather spend that time with family or friends? So how do you maximize your time so that you minimize the length it takes to be an expert? You find a trainer.

A trainer is like a backseat driver, guiding you in the direction you need to go. They provide you with the vehicle, the gas, and they continue to point you in the right direction. Sure you could drive around aimlessly trying to find your destination, but a trainer has already been there and knows the shortcuts, the potholes, and the bad intersections. Sometimes they will annoy you, push your buttons, change the settings on your seat. However, they are going to be with you till the end, because your goal and theirs are united, and they want you to reach the places you want to go.

A trainer is like a bank, compounding interest over time. And not just 2%, we’re talking about 20-50% gains in this bank. For every hour you spend with them, you gain 10,000 hours of their experience. Now, every hour they spend with you, the more hours they have in their bank to give back. And when you end your session with them, they don’t close shop, they have another client, another engagement, another thing that pushes them past their initial 10,000 hours. Every time you go back to that trainer, to that bank, they have grown past where they were the last time you met, and so have you. Every time you see each other you are compounding that interest and gaining more from every encounter.

A trainer is like riding a bike. Every time you work with them it gets easier and easier. You may have started with training wheels, or maybe you wanted to learn how to BMX. A trainer is adjustable to suit your needs and to make sure that you are progressing as you go. They make sure to let go of the bike so you can ride on your own, and they keep encouraging you so that your goal is as easy as riding a bike.

If you want to spend 10,000 hours becoming an expert, you can. It may be hard, and without guidance, it may take longer. You may make mistakes along the way, or you may find a new technique and reduce that time. But if you want to compound your time, if you want to learn from the experience of others, if you want to have a skill that will stay with you your life, find a trainer, a mentor, a guide, find anyone who can help you focus on your goals, and achieve “expertise”.

S. J. Sengotta