DEVOTE YOURSELF

I'm not sure about you, but I've always had a secret desire to be classified as a 'genius.' Well scientists claim they have now discovered what it takes for someone to reach the top of their chosen discipline and receive this accolade; a mere 10,000 hours of practice.

 Studies suggest that top sportsmen and women, musicians and chess players have all put in this amount of graft.  Think of Beckham’s endless free kick drills.  Tiger Woods continuous hours on a golf course.

In Malcolm Gladwell's book, ‘Outliers: The Story of Success’ he describes practice as being the key to The Beatles' success.  In their early career the Fab Four would play eight hours a night, seven days a week while in Hamburg.  By the time they hit it big, they had performed live an estimated 1,200 times -more than most modern bands play in their careers.

Think of Michelangelo – years crafting and developing his masterpiece – the Sistine Chapel. His autobiography – ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ perfectly captures the pain and pleasure involved in releasing great art.

Let’s be honest, time in our lives today is in short supply. We are all busy. Many have busy jobs. Families. Responsibilities.  But I believe if we want to be the best at what we do. If we want to see amazing art that impacts and inspires others we need to devote ourselves to it.

We need to give it time.

I was chatting to Reuben Morgan (Hillsong - Mighty to Save, This is our God, Lord I give you my heart). In conversation, in passing, he mentioned that he devoted his best 3 hours most days to song writing. Hearing this, it comes as no surprise, that in my opinion Reuben is currently writing some of the best songs for the Church to sing worldwide.

The French novelist Emilé Zola writes, “the artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing with the work”.  This all begs the question, how are we devoting ourselves to release creativity?  How many hours are we honing our skills of music and singing? How many hours are we pouring through lyrics, trying to find the right phrase? How much are we thinking about ways we can grow and improve? These are challenging questions! 

I'd be interested to hear how people carve out creative time in the midst of busy jobs.  Let me know...