Practice Makes Perfect: Lives Well Lived

The "10,000-hour rule" was devised by Professor Anders Ericsson. It's the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become accomplished at something, whether it's playing a guitar or building a business.WESTEND61/GETTYIMAGES

Some readers will know this old joke. A visitor to New York City gets lost going to a concert and asks a man carrying a violin case, “Sir, can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” The man smiles at him and responds, “Practice, practice, practice.”

In “Outliers: The Story of Success,” Malcolm Gladwell asked a different question: “How do some individuals win fame and fortune?” He found the answer in such places as their culture and the circumstances of their childhood, their passion and drive, their personal habits and experiences, and even the dates of their birth.