You’re probably not. An expert, I mean. Many of us think that we’re experts at so many things, but in reality, we’re just small fish in a big pond. There’s a theory out there that says it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at something. A few weekends of tinkering or even a few years of casual practice won’t work. Reading a book on a topic won’t even cut it. 10,000 hours of dedication to a single subject is a hefty investment.

Let’s calculate how much time it would take to become a real expert on something that isn’t related to your job (according to this ubiquitous and completely random 10,000 figure).

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