Idiots Do 10,000 Hours. Successful People Do 10,000 Iterations.
“You jackass Tim Denning. Do you know how hard I work at this? I clock in over 70 hours a week. Some of us are crabs still stuck in the crab bucket and we can’t get out.”
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The 10,000-hour rule is the path to stupidity.
It’s this rule that led to hustle culture. And that culture created burnout and an obsession with this mythical land called work-life balance.
If working harder is the way to be successful, then we’re all f*cked.
The average guy who can’t see the answer hiding in plain sight
I’ve been chatting to this dude.
He’s from San Francisco, 40-something, smart, slicked back brown hair, wears nice cardigans from Tommy Hilfiger, has blue sky eyes, and has a tone of voice that shows he’s well-traveled through Europe.
He shared with me his small business.
It was an idea that turned into a passion. He’s been doing it for 12 years and still only makes about $6000 a year from it. The weird thing is he got mad at me when I pointed out that something sounded off.
“You jackass Tim Denning. Do you know how hard I work at this? I clock in over 70 hours a week. Easy for you to give advice. Some of us are crabs still stuck in the crab bucket and we can’t get out.”
I’m Aussie so I’ve never heard of the crab bucket analogy. We prefer to eat good ‘ol Aussie trout or slam down a vegan burger. Nonetheless, he struck a nerve.
He’s angry at me because he accidentally followed the 10,000 hour-rule whether he knows it or not.
Nobody gives a crap how hard you worked.
Only idiots do 10,000 Hours
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results – Albert Einstein
This is where the 10,000-hour rule crumbles to bits.
Yes, you may have worked hard. You may have followed the rules or stayed at the same company for 10 years to build up credibility and experience, but did you ever think your strategy is messed up and needs to change?
Some strategies don’t work. Or they work for a bit and then stop working.
I find a lot of hard workers and hustlers who worship the 10,000-hour rule, consciously or unconsciously, live in echo chambers.
All they can hear is their own voice. Or the voice of some guru they should have stopped listening to years ago, such as Dave Ramsay.
Case in point, I spoke to another woman yesterday about her LinkedIn. She’s been working hard and posting every day for 25 months.
She’s still getting zero traction.
So I asked her, “Have you looked at what the successful LinkedIn accounts are doing?” She hadn’t. She never thought of it – because she lives in an echo chamber.
Perhaps she’s too proud, I don’t know. But it’s freaking stupid.
All I did was look at her LinkedIn account and it was a world apart from anything that remotely resembles content people read on LinkedIn.
Her problem wasn’t working harder or doing more, it was pivoting to the 10,000 iterations rule.
The 10,000 Iterations Rule
I no longer believe in this hard work hustle culture nonsense.
Most of these people are doing the same dumb habits every day, getting nowhere, and then expecting different results (or to find success).
Not gonna happen.
The 10,000 iterations rule is different. Here are the components.
1. Small bets
The hustlers who YOLO their way into taking big risks scare me more than when I was 6 and had nightmares of the boogie monster.
Iterations are small changes you make that have tiny risks. If one iteration blows up then it doesn’t ruin you. This is key if you want to iterate in a smart way.
2. Execution leads to insight
Some people never even make it to the 10,000-hour way of thinking.
They’re stuck at the starting line. They’re overthinking, procrastinating, and waiting for the right time or the mythical “someday, mate.”
The 10,000 iterations rule is centered on one core belief:
Execution leads to insight.
If you’re not doing things then you’re not even in the game. Therefore, you’re stuck on the sidelines flinging dog poo at people that are trying to do things, and being a critic and nitpicker on Twitter while indulging in useless politics.
Action must be a daily habit.
3. Frequent experiments
I use the 10,000 iterations rule in my online business.
Recently I realized my academy model was messed up. People were buying information but they weren’t using it enough. So I decided to pivot. But rather than do a hail mary and create a wild new business, I started testing new ideas.
I jumped on lots of back-to-back Zoom calls with prospects.
I sent more surveys than I ever have before.
And I spoke to 7-figure online business owners to ask them what they’re doing differently.
Slowly the answers to my big business problem have become clear.
Some experiments failed and 1-2 have been a big success. Now that I have the data and am not guessing, I’m going to double down on the successful experiments.
Herein lies the problem: too many people just guess. Or worse, they hope.
This is, again, stupidity. Experiments create evidence. That evidence gives you data to make decisions on. Those decisions lead to iterations that slowly increase your level of success which compounds over time.
4. Change your identity (or drown in work)
People who follow the 10,000 iterations rule know they have to change their identity. This means their beliefs need to change. And they need to take new actions based on the future person they seek to become.
Example: What would 2025 me do in this situation?
That question helps you change your identity.
I recently read the book “The 10X Rule” by Grant Cardone. He’s an absolute clown of a guy. He has 10X on everything, including his private jet in all his videos. But if you put his personality aside, it’s a powerful framework.
I recently wanted to change my identity and used the 10X rule. I learned that I was often thinking in 2X terms, which means I get 2X better at something, but what I now do is think in 10X terms.
Example: “How do I get 10X the results from this goal?”
The difference between 2x and 10x isn’t that much. I’ve learned it mostly comes down to the number of iterations you’re willing to go through.
Some people do one small iteration and then stop. And others do 10,000 iterations until they achieve the power of the 10X rule.
To change your identity, adopt new beliefs. The more wild the better.
Why most people will fail at using the 10,000 iterations rule
Wait, what?
Yep, most people will never use this rule. Why? They lack a core skill that’s missing in modern society: open-mindedness.
Wild frameworks like the 10,000 iterations rule require a flexible and adaptable mind that will dare to try it.
It’s easier to keep doing the same thing and following the 10,000-hour rule because it keeps you comfortable. And you get to blame the world, or the elites, or the oppressors for your guaranteed failures.
It’s hard to change though. It’s hard to admit you may have been following the wrong plan or become delusional. That requires humility and self-awareness.
So … most people will never try this rule and that’s the harsh truth. It makes me sad because the 10,000 iterations rule is what every successful person I know follows, whether they’re aware of it or not.
It all boils down to this: mindset is everything.
If your mindset is screwed by everyday living then nothing can help you. And working 10,000 hours without ever iterating only makes the madness worse because you end up old, tired, cranky, mentally drained, and burned out.
The takeaway here is clear: dare to be open-minded and use the 10,000 iterations rule. It’s how you work smarter instead of hustle harder in a by-the-hour world that offers no true wealth.
Final note before we get finish up.
Many of you have recently told me you want to build a newsletter or Substack.
So soon, I'm going to start teaching how I got 175,000+ people to subscribe to my newsletter.
But the question is:
What do you want to know about starting a newsletter?
"They’re stuck at the starting line. They’re overthinking, procrastinating, and waiting for the right time or the mythical 'someday, mate.'"
Once you see these people, you realize they're everywhere. They giving themselves away by using phrases like, "I'm thinking about XXX" or "I'm looking into YYY"
They're not. 99% of them will never leave the starting line. Anyone who simply starts already has a huge lead on this crowd.
I've done about 100 iterations since I decided to ramp up my editing business during COVID-19. These have included taking an editing skills upgrade course and a super-detailed proofreading course, with 4 units to go of 13. Just these two improvements have brought me about 5X the business I had three years ago. I'm going to get to 10X in the next two years, so I can have the income I want to go visit my friends in Europe and the UK (from Canada). I also want to spend a few months each in France and Australia, so that will mean I better push forward with at least 1,000 iterations in the next two years. If I can get to the income level I want, I will be joining them in Europe as a resident in the next 5 years. Thanks for the tough facts, Tim.