I think I started writing a story in verse. I would like to work on it as much as I can and then show my poetry professor. She does scare me still.

Truth: it could be I am scared to be told I suck. She could just draw a line through your entire work and say “More of this, which could be like two lines, and less of THAT.”

Oh well. What can you do? Try, try, try again – be The Little Engine That Could. 

I started reading this book that kind of fell on my lap at school. They have a lot of free books in the English department. They are everywhere. This book literally was on sitting on top of the stack on the table in front of me as I sat down to eat my sandwich.

It’s called Grit. I honestly do not know what I entirely think of it yet. However, I like this equation that the author writes about as it echoes the 10,000 rule.

The 10,000 rule is an actual study, and has been studied greatly. If you do not know what it is, is written about in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers. I actually do not own this book. I own The Tipping Point and Blink, but somehow I do not own this book so I do not have exact quotes. I will rectify that.

So – Gladwell writes about chess players and then goes into this analogy or study of The Beatles, and how they were “The British Invasion” in 1964. Skilled, talented, and can bust out any tune.

But in fact, they were a house band that played eight-hour sets, seven days a week for months at a time at this club in Hamburg, Germany.

They were not this myth of an overnight sensation, of course. When they came to America – they were really skilled. They knew how to entertain an audience; stretch out songs, rework them, and just play for hours individually and as a band.

Malcolm does not focus on talent so much, but as hard work and perseverance. The Beatles started with talent, of course – but it took a lot of hours to make them as good as they were. The quality of hours is still a measure that is up in the air.

So, you take 10,000-hours or approximately 10-years, give or take a little less and a little more of work, and you become somewhat accomplished, perhaps Accomplished.

Grit’s equation is talent x effort = skill.

Then, skill x effort = achievement.

The author uses the example of this 92-year-old potter. You are a potter, you make pots.

You then produce a lot of pots in a day, a week, and month. “A good potter can make forty to fifty pots in a day.” That’s sounds crazy to me. Listen – she used this example, not me.

So, you have some talent, you made a lot of pots, and you become better. Talent x effort = skill.

Then, you take the pots and what you have learned ( your skill), and continued on your path and you have achieved perhaps the best potter ever; or the apprentice to the best potter ever. Skill x effort (the effort building blocks) = achievement.

I look at this at me personally. “Hmmm . . . what can I doodle around, or perhaps put in a good earnest effort to bring me where I want to go? Think of the 10,000-hours and 10-years.

How can you build, acquire a skill, talent, honest work into your life and make it your life?

Or perhaps – something that gives you enjoyment. It doesn’t have to be this lofty idea. Sometimes too lofty is not grounded, right? Then it starts to give you that resistance feeling.

Something to think about as well – when you look at your children “Hmmm . . .” you can easily translate into quality of practice, skill, and an earnest effort for approximately 10-years and 10,000-hours and ask –

What does that look like?

Where will they be?

Can they take x and do it professionally?

Do not forget or downplay joy.

Joy produces joy exponentially – it’s like confetti. It feels like very little effort is put into joy.

It elevates the earnest effort to another level, perhaps the next level.

So when you smile, your child smiles -and that’s pretty cool.

I have found that I love playing in dirt.

So – as you may look up into the sky tonight and see and feel and celebrate our Nation’s birthday – words from Phillis Wheatley come to mind:

Planets on planets run their destined round, 
And circling wonders fill the vast profound.
The Ethereal now, and now the empyreal skies
With growing splendors strike his wondering eyes;

post script: remember as always, I don’t know anything. I am just playing with words and trying to figure out all of this just like you.

May your heart be filled with joy all day.

Work Cited:
Angela Duckworth. Grit. The Power of Passion and Perseverance. 2016.
Malcolm Gladwell. Outliers. 2011.