In 2012, rapper Macklemore name-dropped author Malcolm Gladwell in his hit song “Ten Thousand Hours.” The entire song is a tribute to Gladwell’s finding in Outliers that even talented people usually require 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become true masters of their skill, art, or sport.
On a TV show in 2013, the host presents Gladwell with a clip of Macklemore performing the song. “Ten thousand hours, I’m so damn close I can taste it, on some Malcolm Gladwell, David Bowie meets Kanye shit,” he raps. Gladwell just laughs. “This might be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me,” he says.
But the presenter wants to know: Does Gladwell believe everyone knows the full story behind the number? How does he feel about his idea floating out there as a two-word quip? “I mean, I’ll take it,” Gladwell says. “I’m not complaining!”
Even though he’s had to clarify how to interpret the rule correctly many times over the years, he admits: “When you write a book, you no longer own it. Your readers own it. And they’re allowed to do with it whatever they want to do with it. That’s one of the lovely things about writing books: You’re kind of giving gifts to your readers.”
In Germany, we call out people for being lazy when they “drop the pen” as soon as the clock hits 5. But when you’re actually done, dropping the pen is a generous act. Finish your work, then release it. Don’t hold it to a certain set of expectations. About performance. About reputation. About anything at all, really. Your job is not to judge the work. Your job is to make more of it.
10,000 times is more important than 10,000 hours—especially when it comes to dropping the pen.
