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The First 20 Hours Summary
About The First 20 Hours Book
Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less?
Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare?
Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of practicing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . .
In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct complex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By completing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well.
Kaufman personally field-tested the methods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard keyboard, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the simple techniques he teaches:
- Define your target performance level: Figure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better.
- Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcomponents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first.
- Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice.
- Create fast feedback loops: Getting accurate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve.
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The First 20 Hours is a book about rapid skill acquisition: how to pick up new skills as fast as humanly possible.
"Skill is the result of deliberate, consistent practice, and in early-stage practice, quantity and speed trump absolute quality. The faster and more often you practice, the more rapidly you’ll acquire the skill."
– JOSH KAUFMAN
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Use Rapid Skill Acquisition to Learn Within 20 Hours
Josh Kaufman starts by highlighting it is likely you have a skill you have always wanted to learn. For instance, maybe it’s competently playing the piano, doing well on the tennis court, or becoming conversational in French. Crucially, it is never too late to learn your chosen skill. One of the most common regrets is wishing one had pursued a skill earlier. Subsequently, humans will often quickly give up before even becoming familiar with the basics because they believe it’s too late.
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This is where we can use rapid skill acquisition to kickstart our experience. Through using this technique, you can become competent in various desirable skills by putting in 20 hours of work. These 20 hours will allow you to become acquainted with the basics, but skill mastery will require more than these initial 20 hours of investment.
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Why 20 hours.
Today's book try to give you a plan that helps you learn and acquire a new skill fast, encourage you to start learning the skills you want, and avoid you from procrastinating by saying there's no time available.
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Three steps you should focus on.
- choose the skill you want to learn.
- stay commited to it for at least 20 hours of learning and practicing.
- stay with the 10 rules that I will cover.
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Important note
After the first 20 hours you won't break a world record and be a master at this skill, because reaching this level require thousands of hours practicing.
Don't get frustrated because you'll learn enough from this skill which will make it helpful for you even if you know the basics of it though.
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The First 20 Hours focuses on the idea that you can become relatively good at anything within 20 hours.
Introduction
- The First 20 Hours is about rapid skill acquisition: picking up new skills as quickly as possible. You can go from knowing nothing to performing well in a very short period.
- It could take 20 hours or less.
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Use Rapid Skill Acquisition to Learn Within 20 Hours
- You probably have a skill you have always wanted to learn. May be it's playing the piano, doing well on the tennis court, or becoming conversational in French. It's never too late to learn your chosen skill. One of the most common regrets is not pursing give up before even learning the basics, because they believe it's too late.
- However, you can use rapid skill acquisition to kick start your experience. By using this technique, you can become competent in the skills you want to learn by putting in 20 hours if work. These hours will make to learn basics but skill mastery will take longer
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- The First few hours of leaning something new are always the hardest; this is where most people give up. This said, if you break your 20 hours down into an hour of practice per day, you will rapidly improve.
- You will find it much easier to continue building your skills after you've completed the first 20 hours. Once you get through the first 20 hours, you'll have significant practice will be easier. To make the most of these initial 20 hours, adopt the ten principles of rapid skill acquisition.
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The art of quick learning ,a must-read to efficiently acquire new skills and enhance their personal and professional life.
Unlocking Rapid Skill Mastery: Key Insights from 'The First 20 Hours' by Josh Kaufman
Explore the transformative approach to rapidly learning new skills in just 20 hours, as revealed in Josh Kaufman's innovative book.
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Debunking the 10,000-Hour Rule
Josh Kaufman introduces a groundbreaking concept that contradicts the widely accepted notion of needing 10,000 hours to master a skill.
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The Power of the First 20 Hours
Discover how the initial 20 hours of practice can be transformative in acquiring new skills.
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