How do you become the best in the world in your chosen field?

Malcolm Gladwell in his new book Outliers, makes the premise that to really master a field of endeavor it takes about 10,000 hours. This works out to 250, forty hour weeks, or about 5 years on a full time job.

Seth Godin, in a recent blog article, argued that for some new fields, the mastery time is much less. He says…

You win when you become the best in the world, however ‘best’ and ‘world’ are defined by your market. In many mature markets, it takes 10,000 hours of preparation to win because most people give up after 5,000 hours. That’s the only magic thing about 10k… it’s a hard number to reach, so most people bail.

But, ready for this? The Dip (time required) is much closer in niche areas, new areas, unexplored areas. You can get through the Dip in an online network or with a new kind of music because being seen as the best in that area is easier (at least for now). You can get through the Dip as a real estate broker in a new, growing town a lot quicker than someone in midtown Manhattan. The competition is thinner and probably less motivated.

So here are a couple of questions…

1. What are you good at?
2. How much experience do you have?
3. Are you the best in the world?

And here is a truly important question in today’s economy…

What is that experience worth?

Here is a startling fact…

The average person watches over four hours of TV a day or 20 hours a week. If you spent this time learning something new, you could master almost any field of endeavor in 10 years. A niche field could be mastered in 5 or 6… So…

• Imagine turning off the TV and becoming a world class web designer.
• Click the off button and write a best selling book
• Unplug the tube and become a gourmet chef

Here is another startling fact…

Extreme video game players play an average of 45 hours per week… so extrapolate the time out…

• Turn the X-Box off and become a highly paid game programmer
• Unplug the PS2 and become a best in class graphic designer
• Unplug the WII and become a real professional tennis player

Here is something to consider when you are sitting in traffic…

The average commuter spends almost 30 minutes getting to work and another 30 minutes driving home. Here is an easy hour a day that can be converted into a learning experience. Substitute Audio Books or Podcasts for the radio and you might experience…

• A job promotion with the new leadership skills you learned
• A new language you learned while driving
• The motivation to start a new business or make more sales calls

Here is a simple resolution for 2009. Why not take some of your unproductive time and turn it into a new skill. 10,000 hours will be here before you know it!

Happy New Year everyone. 2008 is now a memory and for many of us a memory we would rather just forget. 2008 was a tough year for investments, real estate, job prospects, and business in general. Here in America, we are entering 2009 with high unemployment, a stock market that is at 10 year lows, record home foreclosures, with many businesses and our entire auto industry struggling for survival.

Yet in times of trouble there are almost always bright spots. I have found in my life that if I take the time to take a step back and inspect the situation there are always things to learn. Many times there are simple changes that can be made to turn things around and improve the situation.

Tough times often present unprecedented opportunities for people willing to take a risk or are prepared for change.

In the section below, I’ve taken 12 synonyms of the word change and listed something positive for each one that may help you improve your situation in 2009.

Convert: Television Time To Learning Time.

Here is a simple tip that can have a major impact on your attitude. If you currently watch the evening news on television, why not replace this depressing and negative time with something positive and uplifting. Pick up a couple of motivational books and read for a half hour every evening instead of watching the never ending stream of bad and depressing news reports.

This simple conversion can make a major difference in the way you feel and view the world. You’ll find yourself sleeping better, doing better on your job, and you might just learn something along the way.

Diverge: Go From Debt To Savings

In 2008 the world imploded from too much debt. As businesses de-leveraged, their values plummeted and over-leveraged subprime loans ended up in massive foreclosures.

A simple goal that can make an incredible difference over time is to diverge your budget to the positive side. Many people spend more than they make by using credit cards and other forms of debt. Over time this debt can snowball into an almost insurmountable amount.

In the graphic above you can see that by restructuring your budget to save $100/month instead of overspending $100/month, the divergence is $2400 in a year. Multiply this out over time and this small amount per month can have major consequences later. When you add in compounded interest, moving to the saving side can have an even greater impact. A great book on the subject is Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.

Redo: Your Resume

Many experts say that it is a good idea to revise your resume on an annual basis. You may find as I have, that your resume is sorely out of date. In the current economic climate, it might be a good exercise to redo your resume to include updated skills and employer information. That way when an opportunity comes up you’ll be ready to go.

It’s also a good time to create or update a Linked-In profile so that employers and career professionals can find you when that perfect job comes up that only you can do.

Transform: Fat into Muscle

The new year is a great time to get into shape and improve eating habits. One of the best ways to quickly lose weight and feel better is to employ weight training in your exercise routine. Weight training will help you convert fat into muscle. The more muscle you have, the more fat you’ll burn.

Weight training can be done at a gym or you can pick up some simple resistance bands or barbells and workout at home. I have had great results with the strength training program listed in Body For Life. This is a great book to help you start an exercise program that will truly help you get results.

Modify: Your Drive Time

If you drive or commute to work, you’ll probably find that much of that time is wasted. Many people listen to music or talk shows on the radio or just pass the time daydreaming. Why not turn this unproductive time into a positive learning experience in 2009. It’s easy with audio books.

Many different business, motivational, and productivity titles are available on CD or by download for your iPod or MP3 player. Suddenly your commute is transformed into a classroom and you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll get through the latest titles. If you download from iTunes or Audible you may also save money over buying the printed edition in a bookstore.

Replace: Unhealthy Food with Healthy Alternatives.

The new year is a time that many people turn to diets of all types to try and loose weight. Unfortunately most of them are so radical that many lose interest instead of weight. Instead of dieting, why not try replacing unhealthy food choices with healthy and tasty, lower fat and calorie versions.

In many cases you can substantially cut calories by just making some wise choices. David Zinczenko has written two books that can help you make the best selections in both restaurants and while shopping in the supermarket. Called Eat This-Not That, these books give you side by side comparisons of popular food choices. If you want to lose weight in 2009, this is a great place to start.

Reorganize: Your Workday

For 2009 why not make your workday more productive. Managing e-mail, phone calls and personal visits can be time consuming. We have some free downloadable tools that you can print out to help you save time and organize all the communications that come your way.

While you’re at it, take a look at our 48 minute strategy for focused time management and find out more about David Allen’s masterful work, Getting Things Done.

Renovate: Instead Of Replace

With the economy in the doldrums currently, it might be a good thing to renovate or rejuvenate an older item instead of buying new. For example, you might be able to get another year out of your older car. Now that gas prices are down, that rush to buy a Prius might not make as much sense as fixing up your old SUV or truck.

Instead of putting a new item on the credit card or taking out a loan, use cash to rejuvenate an older item and put any extra into your savings account. A great book that will have you stretching every penny is the Tight Wad’s Gazette

Revolutionize: Your Goals

One of the best things you can do in the new year is to take a few minutes and write down your goals for the year. The actual act of writing them down will give you a much greater chance of success.

An easy way to do this is to download our Goal Setting Toolkit. This simple selection of printable cards will give you a place to write down your long term and short term goals. The cards are easily carried around and you can easily display them on your desk or work area for quick reference.

If you have trouble coming up with long term goals, our Top Five Goal Worksheet may help. This is a questionnaire designed to help you see what is really important in life and help you take steps to get there. It takes about 30 minutes to complete, but you may find that it brings some things to mind that are really important in the long term.

Remove: Obstacles To Success

Here is a quick exercise that you can do that may help you reach a major goal faster and easier. Take a sheet of paper and write your goal at the top and then write your top three obstacles to completion along the left side. Underneath each obstacle list three possible solutions to the problem.

When you actually write down the obstacles, they become less intimidating. If you can’t come up with solutions immediately, leave the paper out by your bedside. Many times the greatest ideas/solutions come in the middle of the night. You can also use this sheet with others as a brainstorming exercise. Other people bring a different perspective and may just come up with the perfect answer to the problem. I’ve created a downloadable template in MS Word, but a regular sheet of paper will work too.

Restyle: Your Wardrobe

With unemployment running high and more and more jobs disappearing it’s important to look good on your job. One of the best ways to tell your employer that you care about your job is to dress for success. This is also very important if you are job hunting or interviewing for a new position.

Professional career counselors say that a smart career goal for 2009 is to bump your wardrobe up a notch. If you currently wear jeans to work, consider upgrading to business casual. For guys, you can replace jeans with khakis or dress pants for a new look without spending much money. For gals, the jeans can be replaced with business oriented pants or skirts.

If you are currently in a business casual environment a bump up to collared shirts and possibly a tie will help you stand out from the competition. Remember that what you wear communicates visually about who you are.

Revolutionize: Your Life

In a new year when the news is negative most people hunker down and look for security. Yet truly this is a time to look for new opportunities and to change your life for the better. When you think about it, 2009 is a much better time to invest in many different things since valuations are at multi year lows. Look at the price of houses, stocks, commodities, and most consumer products. All have been beaten down over the last year.

It’s also a great time to learn new skills, since many of the companies that are laying off people now will be rehiring in the near future. But as Seth Godin says, the real key in 2009 is leadership. 2009 is uncharted waters and many of the old ways of doing things have been shattered. Why not make a pact with yourself and the rest of us to be one of the leaders that will change things for the better in the coming year. Create something different… maybe even remarkable… and revolutionize the way we do things in the future.

After all … the future is truly in your hands!

Have a great and successful 2009!

I always find it helpful to read Dale Carnegie’s timeless book, How To Win Friends And Influence People at least once a year. I think it is especially helpful this time of year as we celebrate the holidays with office parties and get togethers. Here are ten things that I’ve gleaned from this timeless tome.

1. When you meet someone, make eye contact and smile. A great way to do this is to make a mental note of their eye color.
2. Wherever you are, act like you are the host. Initiate the conversation. Be the first to say hello.
3. Use simple memorization techniques to remember people’s names or write them down on a small card. As Dale Carnegie says, “The sweetest sound to a person is their name.”
4. Make others feel important by giving them your full attention. Help them feel like they are the only person in the room and that you are enjoying your conversation with them. Refrain from yawning or looking at your watch.
5. Show curiosity and interest in others. Ask them open-ended questions and listen to their answers. You will become more likeable, and really start to understand the person’s wants, needs, and desires.
6. Be enthusiastic about your life. People gravitate to optimistic, positive and cheerful people.
7. Be able to speak on a variety of subjects. Keep abreast of current events and read timely books and magazines. Be able to tell people what you do in a few short sentences. Speak concisely.
8. Invite people to join you for other activities such as lunch or an informal meeting.
9. Be sincere and compliment others about what they are wearing, doing, or saying.
10. Give people more than they expect. Don’t promise things you can’t deliver.

With the year winding down, and the holidays upon us, I thought I would put some thoughts together for this blog for next year. Here are three ideas that I hope to bring to fruition.

1. Development of Larger “Postcard” size templates for Microsoft Word

The most popular posts here at Success Begins Today have always been our downloadable free “business card” size templates for Word. The most popular are

I’ve been experimenting with the larger Avery printable post cards and this bigger format will offer some great new features. Look for new and useful templates over the next few months.

2. New Business Oriented Book Reviews.

There is a whole new rash of business oriented audio books that have hit the shelves over the past few months. We’ll put together some reviews and give you some practical applications that you can take with you. One of the best is the new book, “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. His new insights may change the way you look at the path to success.

3. Personal Development Articles

For the last three months I’ve been working on my first book and my blogging time has been limited. The original draft is nearing completion and then comes the fun of revision and correction. This book deals with personal development from the point of view of a fictional mystery novel. In the tradition of Og Mandino and other fiction based writers, I hope to use the precepts of the book to offer practical and doable things that can help you reach your next level of success.

Thank you for stopping by in 2008. May your 2009 be prosperous and successful!

This year has been the year of pendulums. We have had oil prices skyrocket and then fall precipitously. The housing market is on the downside of a huge multi-year pendulum having shot into the stratosphere and now coming back to find a bottom level. The stock market has had huge 900 point pendulum swings in a day.

Many of these pendulum swings are fed by the media. If bad news comes it is magnified many times over by the constant barrage of competing media outlets. If good new comes–any good news–we jump on that band wagon for a quick way out.

The election cycle has had a magnifying effect on this too. If the party out of power can make things look bad, it’s better for them. If the party in power can make things look rosy, chances are they will stay in power. So what happens… political ads get blown way out of proportion… this is the best/worst it has ever been is a common theme.

The good news is, the US election cycle will be over tomorrow. We will choose our leaders and our propositions and then be able to get back to business. The media will quiet down for a while and these crazy pendulums may start to find a center.

In the ensuing months it may be a good time to reflect and take a realistic look at where we are and set some realistic long term goals. Its also a good time to reflect on values that are timeless and are present in the good times and the bad.

More Insight: Seth Godin has a great piece today on the paradox of economic pendulum thinking on business while Dwayne Melancon has a insightful post about putting things in context.

Seth Godin is one of my favorite authors. His unique world view on business, marketing, and personal development is engaging and brilliant. Currently he is offering his new book –Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us– for only 95 cents on iTunes.

This is pure marketing genius and this simple price point has taken this book to the number one spot in the Audio books section. The great thing is, there is a lot of value in this three hour audio book.

The ideas he presents are timely and things that each one of us can do.

Are you a leader?

Do you lead a tribe?

If not, there is surely a tribe just waiting to be formed and lead by … YOU!

I have had the pleasure of being a member of a Book Writing Tribe for the last few weeks. My good friend, Karen Hobson, has taken the leap and created a six week program for the person who wants to get serious about writing a book.

She calls it the Start 2 Finish Writers Workshop and it has really fired me up to get my book done. The interesting thing about this workshop is the location. We meet in a local Coffee Shop and our small tribe has become very interactive. As we go through the exercises, each person shares their writing with other members.

This small group experience is a powerful way to share ideas, critique each others work, and learn many new writing techniques. If you live in the Temecula area of Southern California, I highly recommend her seminar. For the rest of you, her free monthly newsletter will be a valuable asset.

If you want to start your own tribe, you should definitely download Seth’s free tribes casebook. This 240 page PDF is packed with ideas about starting, leading, and being successful with your own group. Highly Recommended!