Dumb Luck or Incredible Skill?

     Was it incredible skill or simply dumb luck that someone tossed these sneakers onto a power line in my neighborhood? Dumb luck, I think. Contrary to that, my accomplishments come the hard way - repetitive practice.     
     That’s what a young musician, violin case in hand, learned when he got lost while visiting New York City. He asked an old man, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The man waggled his index finger at him. “Practice. Practice.”      
     How much practice? Author Malcolm Gladwell says it takes ten thousand hours to become accomplished in something. Take, for example, the artist Pablo Picasso. Legend has it that he was sketching in a park when a woman recognized him and insisted he draw her portrait. After studying her a moment, he drew her likeness with a single pencil stroke. She was thrilled with it and asked his price. “Five thousand dollars,” Picasso said.     
     “But it took you only a second to draw this.”     
     “Madame,” the artist replied, “it took my entire life.”     
     All this could be discouraging, because few of us can carve out ten thousand hours to develop an expertise. Yet I’m amazed by my friends who develop impressive abilities simply by pursuing their interests.They’ve become experts in grilling, gardening, quilting, crafting, woodworking, hosting, leading meetings, socializing, and extending kindness to others. Their examples encourage me that it’s never too late to develop a skill - if I’m willing to practice, practice.     
​     Because mastery doesn’t happen with dumb luck.