Who is it that holds You back???

We are all given gifts and abilities in some way shape or form. But all our gifts and abilities must be homed and fine-tuned for us to reach our full potential and be successful.

November 18 2008 Malcolm Gladwell published a book called “Outliers” in his book he examines how Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates achieved his extreme wealth, and how two people with exceptional intelligence, Christopher Langan and Robert Oppenheimer end up with such vastly different fortunes. Throughout the publication, Gladwell repeatedly mentions the "10,000-Hour Rule", claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.

With out having read this book “Outliers” we all no that we must work hard if we are to succeed in anything in life. Even as children at school we are taught that hard work amounts to success. As much as I think the “10000 hours rule” is a fantastic guide line for anyone to follow, I am not saying that just cos you put in 10000 hours into something you are going to be successful. For now lets think about what it takes for you to do that 10000 hours.

The most obvious place to start is time. You need to set aside or devote time to that gift or ability you want to succeed in. Along with the setting aside or devotion of time, is perseverance, determination and humility. Odds are that at some point you will face hard times in the road to your success, which will test your determination and your ability to persevere through to the other side. Humility is also a key to your success because there will be times where you have to submit and know that you made a mistake, but if you are humble you will listen to the advise your given and move on and learn from your mistakes. You will progress to the next level.

For me my gift has always been the ability to cook. Even as a child of 6 I used to cook flapjacks and cup cakes at primary school. As I grew up my cooking ability began to excel. I remember my Sister used to bake at home, so me being the younger brother wanted to be able to do what she could do and do it better. Even though it might not of been the best motivation, I was expressing determination. It was safe to say I had a raw talent when it came to cooking. But a raw talent will only get you so far. You need to stretch and test your abilities in order to fine-tune them to the point of success. 

When I left high school and started work in kitchens I soon found out that it wasn’t all plain sailing and my raw talent wasn’t going to get me far. I realized very quickly that I would have to start paying attention to the other people round me and loose the “I know it all attitude,” most 16-year-old's have. Once I was able to kick the attitude, I was able to start learning at a accelerated pace. 
When I started work, as a chef I was working about 60 hours a week and every job there after was never less than 75 hours a week. But for me my learning didn’t stop when I walked out of work. I was cooking at home trying out different ideas I had, cooking for friends, reading recipe books, watching cooking shows and even dreaming about cooking. Since the age of 16 till now there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about cooking or something to do with cooking. Working those hours is not easy. I remember days when I would wish I would fall down the stairs at the train station in the morning just so I wouldn’t have to go to work, times when I’ve finished work cleared out my locker and said to myself “I’m not going back,” and still go back the next day. Anyone who says success comes easy is a liar. Not one great man in the history of the world hasn’t had a day when they’ve wanted to quit and throw in the towel. So take comfort in knowing you’re not the only one.

There where two sayings I was told a few years ago that came to mind as I was thinking about what to write on this subject. “you have to shovel the bad things to get to the good things” and “the more you put into it now, the more you’ll get out of it later in life.” Both very true statements, you have to dig a long way to uncover any precious resource and even when you do find it you still have a long line of processes to refine it to its optimum level. For instance crude oil, you have to dig deep into the earth to find it, and then ship it to the refinery to be processed into a marketable product. All in all at the end of the day you have to work hard at something to be successful.

Take a look at Paul in the Bible he wrote half the books in the New Testament. But interestingly enough it was 10 years after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus that Paul began his ministry. I’m sure he spent well over 10000 hours preparing himself, spending time with God, fellowshipping with other Saints and studying the Bible in those 10 years. Paul himself says in Ephesians 5:15 (Amplified) “making the very most of time [buying up each opportunity].” Time in effect is not on our side, But God is and we should make the most “buy up every opportunity we get” to exercise, grow and develop the gifts we have been given.

So in effect if you are willing to persevere and work on something whole heartedly enough I’m sure you can make a success of it. At the end of the day the only thing that ever holds you back is you, no circumstances, no people and no evil thing(because we have overcome all evil through Jesus Christ) it just boils down to our willingness, courage and determination to stick something out and run our race.