The Ten-Thousand Rule

Malcolm Gladwell tells us The Ten-Thousand Rule is a key component to how successful we are.

In his book Outliers Gladwell points to a 1990s study of violinists done by psychologist K. Anders Ericsson.

Ericsson and his colleagues divided the violinists at Berlin’s elite Academy of Music into three groups: great players, good players and those unlikely to play professionally and intended to be school teachers. The different groupings of musicians were asked. “How many hours have you practiced since you first started playing?”

Most of the fiddlers began when they were about five. By the age of twenty the great players had put in ten thousand practice hours; the good students about eight thousand and the future music teachers had fiddled around for four thousand hours.

In his book Gladwell relates how the Beatles, Bill Gates, Bill Joy and other extraordinarily successful people have not only put in the ten thousand hours perfecting their craft, but they have done so in a astonishingly short time.

Gladwell makes it clear that there is a threshold one must meet to complete in almost any field. He uses basketball players and IQ scores as examples.

Nearly all basketball players are over six feet tall. But the taller players are not necessarily the better players. However, to compete it will be difficult if you are not at least six feet tall.

There is a correlation between the six-foot threshold and an IQ of one hundred twenty. A one hundred twenty IQ is about the threshold for graduate school or other advanced learning. Just as being tall doesn’t bring success to basketball players having an IQ of two hundred or higher does not automatically insure success. However, there is a definite cut-off point for success in any business.

This holds true in the field of photography as well. David Lyman, the founder of The Maine Workshop, began each class with a discussion on creativity. Lyman says it is essential to “marry the intellect and the heart with the hands.”

He talks about how important persistence is to success and states that it takes about ten years to refine the craft of photography.

How do you get to be invited to play at Carnegie Hall? — by practice, practice, practice.

Bobby Fisher became a chess grandmaster in less than ten years, but it was close. It took him nine years.

Great artists are indeed talented, but talent can be wasted. The masters of their crafts combined their talent with the thousands of hours of work at the canvas, the instrument, the camera or the free-throw line. The Masters put in the ten thousand hours or more essential to master their chosen playing field.

This is good news for any aspiring professional photographer, rock star or whatever. Want to be one of the greatest in your field? - then put in the time. Ten thousand hours is a lot of time, but over the ten years it takes to perfect a task it breaks-down to fewer than three hours a day even if you’re Bobby Fisher.


Five Characteristic of Success

1. Persistence It takes about 10 years or 10,000 hours to refine a craft. Woody Allen says just showing up is 90%. The successful show up prepared. Watch out for the Draculas out there. They drain your time and you. Get rid of them.

2. Be Nice

3. Your Resources
Four people you need to get to know.
1. Teacher
2. Coach
3. Facilitators
4. Mentors
4. Be Skilled in Your Craft
5. Talent — Aptitude for the Profession

Earl Nightingale says that we can become an expert in our field in as little as five years. Malcolm Gladwell tells us the Great Players put in ten years. The trip of ten thousand hours can begin now.

My Uncle's Photos of me working

This photo is by my Uncle, Knolan Benfield. He was helping me on a photo shoot for recruiting at a Catholic High School in Roswell, GA. He is the one who got me to buy my point and shoot camera. So while I am shooting and he is waiting to help me pack up and move he shot some photos with his Lumix DMC-TZ4.

How to Make the Most of a Mentor

"I have three treasures which I hold and keep. The first is mercy, for from mercy comes courage. The second is frugality, from which comes generosity to others. The third is humility, for from it comes leadership." -- Master Po

"Strange treasures. How shall I hold them and keep them? Memory?" -- Caine

"No, Grasshopper, not in memory, but in your deeds." -- Master Po

What makes a great mentor is an inquisitive student. I often think of the old TV series Kung Fu, where the main character has flashbacks to his childhood, asking many questions of his master. We do not see the master pressing the boy so much as we see the young boy seeking out the master's wisdom. If you truly want to learn and are open to criticism, you can learn a great deal from a mentor.

I watched one of my mentors, Don Rutledge, mentor many people. I was privileged to work with Don and down the hall from his office. Don Rutledge was a staff photographer for Black Star and later worked covering missionaries around the world for Christian magazines. He traveled throughout the United States and in more than 150 countries.

I watched, noticing that no matter who came by, Don made the time to sit down with the person and talk. They would bring their portfolios and mostly just want a job doing what he was doing. Most were just using Don; some were so bold as to go to Black Star trying to take his job. Many went on to prosperous careers but never called to thank Don -- either for his wise counsel or his generosity in providing industry contacts.

Like everyone else, I sat down with Don and had him review my work. But where I gained the most valuable insight was when Don invited me to come along on some of his shoots. We took trips together where I would just watch him work and occasionally hand him a lens. This is where I was able to learn from a master of the craft.

I watched as Don would get out of the car and introduce himself to the subject. He would talk for a while with the person in a casual conversation, which was really an interview. He was listening and learning all he could. What would make a good photograph? What would be good quotes for the story? And by the way -- his cameras were either in the car or in his bag during this time.

After each story, during our car ride back I would ask lots of questions and learn even more about what Don was thinking as he was working. When the contact sheets came back from the lab, we would go over the photos again. I only knew of a few photographers who sat down and looked through Don's contact sheets and learned from him how he worked. Most were only interested in guidance about their own work; they didn't know what they were missing.

When looking for a mentor, find someone who is at the top of the industry and has a personality and work that you admire. Show them your work on a regular basis and ask for advice. Ask if you can watch them work, and ask to help them. Most importantly, become friends with them for a lifetime; don't just use people for your career development. And finally -- give back, by mentoring someone yourself.

"But Master, how do I not contend with a man that would contend with me?" -- Caine

"In a heart that is one with nature, though the body contends, there is no violence, and in the heart that is not one with nature, though the body be at rest, there is always violence. Be, therefore, like the prow of a boat. It cleaves water, yet it leaves in its wake water unbroken." -- Master Po

How did I learn about Don? My uncle Knolan Benfield worked with him from 1969 to 1979. Knolan told me so much about Don that when I met him I thought I already knew him. Don had impacted Knolan's work and improved his photography.

My master's thesis was on Don Rutledge; you can read it here. It will take a minute to load.

What I learned from Don changed my life. Today I teach at colleges and workshops and, like Don, I am willing to help anyone, because Don showed me it was important. Ultimately, I learned why Don had given so much. It was because in giving we receive so much ourselves.