Become an Expert

Creating Passionate Users is a weblog focused on helping software developers create better software user experiences. However, I found a recent post titled How to be an expert to be relevant to guitar players as well. In the post, Kathy Sierra makes the hypothesis that greatness is not so much a gift of talent as it is a matter of focus, dedication and a desire to improve:

Apparently God-given talent, natural “gifts”, and genetic predispositions just aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Or at least not in the way most of us always imagined. It turns out that rather than being naturally gifted at music or math or chess or whatever, a superior performer most likely has a gift for concentration, dedication, and a simple desire to keep getting better. In theory, again, anyone willing to do what’s required to keep getting better WILL get better.

I think this is very true. While it’s necessary to have some aptitude for whatever task you are attempting to perform, the great performers are often those people that spent countless hours refining their technique and constantly trying to improve. Kathy goes on to say that it isn’t necessarily that the great performers spend more time practicing; it’s that they spend more time practicing the things that they aren’t good at:

So it’s not just how long they practice, it’s how they practice. Basically, it comes down to something like this:

Most of us want to practice the things we’re already good at, and avoid the things we suck at. We stay average or intermediate amateurs forever.

Additionally, if you think you’re too old to become a master at playing the guitar, Kathy has a few words of advice for you, as well:

And if the neuroscientists are right, you can create new brain cells–by learning (and not being stuck in a dull cubicle)–at virtually any age. Think about it… if you’re 30 today, if you take up the guitar tomorrow, you’ll have been playing for TWENTY years by the time you’re 50. You’ll be kicking some serious guitar butt. And if you’re 50 today, there’s no reason you can’t be kicking guitar butt at 70. What are you waiting for?

Read the full “How to be an expert” article here.