Gladwell cites a 1993 study done by psychologist Anders Ericsson on violinists who engaged in deliberate practice.

Throughout the years, the 10,000 Hour Rule has been subject to much debate and controversy. Many have come forward to debunk this rule.

Even Gladwell himself has acknowledged that the rule doesn’t apply to all skills.

He has clarified that regardless of the number, his core message was that mastering a skill requires a huge investment of time, effort and concentration.

Seems like common sense, right?

Not exactly.

The real gem lies not in the number of hours, but the type of practice mentioned.

Specifically: deliberate practice.

It’s a common cliche that practice makes perfect.

But if you just practice a certain skill passively, without specific challenges or incentive to improve your game, you will eventually hit a performance plateau.

A point where you just coast and make no significant jump in skill level.

So if you want to really excel at something, it’s not enough to just put in the hours. Your practice has to be deliberate.

Deliberate practice is hard practice.

It is mentally demanding. When you engage in deliberate practice, you are stretched beyond your comfort zone.

So what counts as deliberate practice?

Deliberate practice involves:

1. Clearly defined goals and objectives 

2. Feedback loops and continuous adjustments 

3. Frequent repetitions 

4. Adopting the strategies and mental models of past successful individuals 

5. Intense focus and concentration

6. ‘Stretching’ out of the comfort zone

7. Ascending levels of task difficulty and complexity

Deliberate practice is not fun.

And it’s near impossible to fully engage in it without the help of a coach.

This is the reason why all elite performers – in all fields – have coaches to help them achieve peak performance.

When we get good at something, we tend to enjoy doing it.

However, if we want to go from good to great, then enjoyment has to take a back seat to excellence.

The path to excellence is challenging.

Not many people are willing to challenge themselves to be the best in the world at what they do.

Because human beings are wired to take the path of least resistance, most practitioners are content to stay at a level of acceptable competence and not push themselves further.

To excel at the highest levels, the practitioner has to hire a coach to help keep them accountable and push them to engage in deliberate practice. 

The practitioner doesn’t have to stay ‘motivated’ or ‘disciplined’ because the coach won’t give them a chance to slack off.

Also, as the practitioner focuses on the task at hand, the coach observes them intently and gives them immediate feedback so that they can make adjustments.

As a result, investing in a coach is an absolute must if you have ambitions of succeeding at the highest level of what you do.

Remember, practice does not make perfect.

But deliberate practice might.