Want to be good at something? Really, really good? Talent doesn't matter. What matters is practice, 10,000 hours of it to be precise. That's 20 hours a week, or about 3 hours a day, for 10 years. Do that, and chances are you will be very, very good at what you do.

Many of us see such accomplished people and attribute their skill and resulting success to innate talent, but in his book Outliers: The Story of success, Malcolm Gladwell proposes that the outrageous success some individuals achieve is mainly the result of two things. Primarily, it is the result of hard work. Successful people don't just work harder, they work much, much harder. To a lessor extent, and depending on the industry, timing can also have a huge influence.

In his book, Gladwell defines what he calls the "10,000" hour rule, and address the subject of innate ability. We like to think some people are just born with a unique gift or talent that will enable them to rise to the top, seemingly without any effort. When Gladwell digs into the success of some of these people, he learns innate ability plays a much smaller role than preparation.

"The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours."

So the question then becomes: What made these people different, in that they had the motivation and persistence to keep going to achieve that level of expertise? Why do some people burn out while others keep going? Most of us become bored far before we get close to that mythical 10,000 hours. Yet some others keep pushing forward. Why?

I see the pattern repeated time and again i my own life. I have had many interests, and most of them I stuck with until I reached a certain level of competence, and then I became bored, or disillusioned with the work I would have to do to keep getting better, and I quit.

Perhaps then the secret to success is not innate talent or ability, or even hard work, but rather the perseverance and persistence to keep doing the work until you achieve mastery. How do we keep ourselves interested in the seemingly endless effort and striving for improvement? Maybe the answer to that question is the secret of success. Maybe that persistence is the innate ability one needs to have to reach the highest levels of competence?

I decided to play hooky yesterday; with both the kids in some sort of summer camp, my wife and I headed out for a rare day together and the prospect of uninterrupted conversation. She's been jonesing to see Away We Go so off we went.

Although the theater left much to be desired, we enjoyed the movie. Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are unexpectedly expecting their first child. Their current residence, a ramshackle house with inadequate heating, was chosen for its close proximity to Burt's parents. But Burt's parents announce their intent to move, and Burt and Verona embark on a journey with the intent of finding a place to settle and start their family.

It's a quirky film with quirky characters--perhaps a bit too quirky--that points a lens toward that searching feeling most of us have had at one time or another. Am I doing the right things? Am I in the right place? Am I headed in the right direction? Am I doing everything I can with my life? Unfortunately, these questions have no answers, or rather, have answers that reveal themselves in retrospect only.

Most of us are trained to think life has certain check-boxes and deadlines, and if we make the right plan and fill them in we will achieve fulfillment and happiness. Once embroiled in the actual process of living, however, we are quickly disabused of the notion that life can be planned. One of my favorite lines is from the movie U-Turn: "Nothing makes the Great Spirit laugh like a man’s plans."

We all imagine being safe and secure and not having to deal with anything sad or difficult. It's just a dream, however, and one that can never be realized. Life and all that it entails is hard and complicated and no amount of seeking will ever reveal a place where it's not. Nevertheless, it's the human condition to strive. It is also the human condition to wonder if what we have is really what we want.

In its representation of archetypes, the movie is one of extremes, but not so much that they ruin the story. I think most people will recognize the characteristics on display, if not the characters themselves. Burt and Verona are too centered, too self-contained, more selfish than they think, and perhaps a bit smug without even realizing it.

If you enjoy movies such as American Beauty (also directed by Mendes), Lost in Translation, or Adaptation, you'll probably be a good fit for Away We Go.

Sarah Palin's resignation--obviously not anything you haven't already heard about. The amazing thing is that millions of people thought (and probably still think) she was a good candidate to be vice president. Amazing.

Even more ludicrous is that she'll go on to make millions with her book(s) and guest appearances and, I even read, a potential TV show.

Only in America.

Added:

I suppose I owe my readers a more in-depth editorial, but I' not sure how much effort this is worth. It seems pretty straight forward to me. McCain's picking Palin was a Hail Mary pass in an attempt to appeal to a demographic he had no influence with, that being middle-aged white women. He figured he already owned the white mail demo and thus didn't need to bolster it (by choosing, say... Romney), and he thought Palin would bring in the votes he needed to push him over the top.

Perhaps a rational decision at the time: Palin looks good on paper. At first blush, she seemed young, articulate, smart and tough. Also a Pro-Lifer, a positive as far as the Republicans are concerned, since there are some people in this nation who simply won't vote for someone who is Pro-Choice. Son in the Army headed to Iraq, mother of five, including a disabled child, member of the NRA.... She's also very attractive, and there's no denying the power of a pretty face in the U.S. of A. She has a compelling story; small town Mom makes good. She's Every Woman (more on that later).

But maybe they should have interviewed her a little more before tossing her the slot. Once she opened her mouth, it was pretty much all downhill, at least with those voters who exercise a modicum on rationality when it comes to choosing their team. There was also some contradiction coming out of the gate. The RePubs had been bashing on Obama's lack of experience, and Palin, despite their protestations, had even less. Then there's the pregnant teen-age daughter--despite Palin's record of promoting abstinence as opposed to sex education. She's been associated with the Alaska Independence Party, which wants Alaska to secede, and attends a church that can most kindly be described as being on the fringe.

And then came the lunacy of her interviews. She came across as more than incoherent. It was as though she lived in a fantasy world. Her responses were so idiotic, Saturday Night Live was able to lift them whole for Tina Fey's comedic skits.

Lastly, referring back the the Every Woman role they planned for Palin to fill, which was a big tactic of the McCain's campaign. We don't want elitists! We want someone just like you! The message they sent was if you were educated and thoughtful, you were an elitist. Boo! Down with education! Down wirth rational discourse! Down with thoughtfulness! Boo!

Do we really want someone who represent the 'average' American as President or Vice President. I run into average American's all the time. They can't get my order at McDonald's right. They tailgate me when I'm already going 10 over. They can't count change. They can't point out Iraq on a map. The average American on the street is overweight, uneducated, irrational and confident that they are the smartest person walking. One of the stalwart signs of incompetence is the inabliity to recognize it in yourself. I can't speak for you, but personally I want someone educated, thoughtful and rational as president.

Maybe now with her resignation, we can hope we've seen the last of her. I doubt it though. Soon her book with be on the best seller racks and we'll be seeing her all over the daytime talk shows pimping it. She'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

Maybe she's not so stupid after all....