You could try reading the following books. They will all help you understand what you need to do to become successful in the sixth form and beyond. Ultimately, your success will depend on what you DO, not what you say. Though, what you DO is a reflection of the way you THINK. All the material in the books and following slides challenge the way helping you to be successful in your studies and your wider life.

Success – it’s all about the hours Ten Thousand Hours – case studies

Research into success Journalist, Malcolm Gladwell wrote Outliers: the story of success (2008) The book researches the background of, and potential reasons for, successful people in all areas of life. following information is based on the case studies Gladwell outlines.

What makes people successful? In 1991, Anders Ericsson (Psychologist at Florida State University) carried out a study into what caused success ….. Studied violinists at renowned Music Academy of West Berlin in Germany. Source: Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: the story of success (2008)

Three groups identified Group 1 - Top group - super talented - expected to become international soloists Group 2 - Middle group - very good - expected to play in world top orchestras but not as soloists Group 3 - Bottom group - training to be music teachers

Each group were interviewed Long interviews with students in all three groups revealed same experiences - age began to play violin similar –around 8 years old - similar number of music tutors (4 tutors) - similar number of additional instruments played (average of 1.8) - similar age when deciding to become a musician (average 15 years old)

BUT… one key difference Average number of hours practised for EVERY member of the top group was far greater than the other groups. Group ,000 hours Group 2 - 8,000 hours Group 3 - 4,000 hours No member of the top group had practised any less than 10,000 hours. Not even one! Source: Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: the story of success (2008)

Conclusion For success in complex tasks it takes on average 10 years of practise no matter how able the person might be. Each year requires 1000 hours of practise. In total this amounts to 10,000 hours.

More examples Nearly every successful athlete/sport star has practised for over 10,000 hours. Mozart – took ten years of practice until he became really successful. Picasso, worked in a studio for many years, refining his art until he became successful.

More examples Bill Gates, creator of Microsoft, had spent over 10,000 hours learning programming before he became successful Steve Jobs, Apple computers, was working on computers for many years before he became successful Source: Matthew Syed, ‘Bounce’ (2010)

More examples The Beatles The Beatles, before they became stars, performed in Hamburg often eight hours a day, 7 days a week. By the time the Beatles had their first hit record, they had performed live over 1200 times. Philip Norman, the Beatles biographer stated, when the Beatles went away from Liverpool to Hamburg, they were no good on stage. When they came back, they were very good. The Beatles put in the hours! Source: R. Weisberg in Sternberg, RJ ‘Handbook of Creativity’ (1999)

How many hours should you study for? Aiming for top grades at A/S or A level? September – May – 30 weeks 3 hours a day, over 30 weeks = 600 hours (not even a 1000!) Ability will get you only so far. The rest is hard work! Moreover, weaker students with hard work can outperform those with more ability. Put in at least 600 hours - 3 hours a day, Sept-May (exam time). If you don’t work from day 1, you will not reach 600 hours and that is less than the 1000 per year that hugely successful people tend to put in.

OVER TO YOU Find out Try finding out the story of success behind someone that interests you. Search for the story – the hours, the opportunities, the support. Don’t be fooled by the spin of natural ability explaining everything!