That’s where Josh Kaufman’s brilliant book, , comes in. And his message is incredibly liberating: You can go from knowing nothing to being surprisingly good at almost any new skill in just 20 hours of focused practice.
Kaufman argues that what looks like talent is often just the result of the first few hours of smart, deliberate practice. The real barrier to learning isn’t a lack of aptitude; it’s the emotional wall of feeling stupid. The first few hours of any new skill are frustrating. You are clumsy. You make mistakes. Most people quit right here.
But if you can push through that initial valley of discomfort for just 20 hours, you will be shocked at your progress. Kaufman doesn't just tell you to practice for 20 hours; he gives you a specific methodology to make those hours count. Here is his framework: the first 20 hours book
Give it 20 hours. You might surprise yourself. Have you tried the 20-hour method? Let me know what skill you’re tackling in the comments below!
This is the actual secret. Kaufman literally kept a timer on his desk. He forced himself to hit 20 hours on a variety of skills (yoga, programming, touch-typing, the ukulele) before he allowed himself to judge his progress. That’s where Josh Kaufman’s brilliant book, , comes in
Here is the breakdown of why this changes everything. One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that we lack "talent." We see a polyglot speak six languages or a friend pick up a ukulele and assume they were born with a gift.
We want to play a few songs on guitar without sounding like a dying cat. We want to hold a basic conversation in Spanish. We want to cook a decent stir-fry or hit a tennis ball over the net. The real barrier to learning isn’t a lack
Coined by Malcolm Gladwell and based on the research of Anders Ericsson, that number refers to reaching the level of a world-class expert—think Olympic gymnast or concert violinist. But here’s the problem: most of us don’t want to be world-class. We just want to be competent .