“For 37 years I’ve practiced fourteen hours a day, and now they call me a genius!”
Pablo de Sarasate, Famous Spanish Violinist and Composer
It’s easy to look at people at the top of their field and believe they were “born a genius.” It’s easy to believe they were gifted with unusual talent; that they were the lucky winner of some cosmic genetic lottery, which endowed them with the abilities that made them great at what they do.
Based on my research, I believe this is a misconception in most cases. I believe most people who are the best at what they do got there through years of disciplined focus and practice of their craft.
Even Mozart – often considered a born genius – dedicated thousands of hours to his craft before reaching greatness. “People make a great mistake who think that my art has come easily to me,” he once wrote to his father. “Nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as I.”
Genius, greatness, talent – whatever you call it – is not something available only to the fortunate few who were born that way. It’s available to you and to me through focus, discipline, and practice.
Read: The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk