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If you read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers you know about the 10,000 hours rule, which is based on a study by Anders Ericsson.

I’ve been listening to the series of episodes for self-improvement month in the Freakonomics radio podcast, which goes deep into this topic. It’s very interesting to hear the conflicting points of view of both Malcolm Gladwell and Anders Ericsson.

I believe that they both reach some common ground when they say it’s not just about deliberate practice.

If you don’t know how to play the piano, you won’t be a great piano player if you practice for more than 10,000 hours with the best teacher. You will definitely get better at it, but you won’t be a star piano player.

They say that “Practice makes perfect” but that’s just not so. If you don’t have some talent, you will never be the best in the world (even if you do deliberate practice for more than 10,000 hours)

Talent plus deliberate practice makes perfect.

Every time I need to decide between a free and a paid service I think about it long and hard.

Why is this free? How does this company make money? Is it open source?

If I don’t understand why they are offering a service for free, I will usually go with the paid option.

Here are some of the free applications that I’ve used:

• Gmail: This service is free because Google uses it as another channel to place ads. They don’t read your emails, but they have algorithms that will automagically display ads based on the context of the page. Genius!
• Google Apps: This service was free because Google offered a free tier and a paid tier. The features in the free tier would drive you to the paid tier. This service is now paid per seat (user in your account).
• Mailbox: I have no idea why this app was free, but it stopped working soon after Dropbox bought them. This is a clear example that you cannot trust free services to be around forever.
• Wave: It’s small business accounting software for free! It took me a while to believe it, but it’s free because they will deliver partner offers within their app and that’s how they make money.

I don’t usually go for the free option right away. I recently bought Airmail 2 to handle my email accounts, even though there were some decent free options out there.

When you go with the free alternative, you need to be careful. You are accepting their terms and conditions, which probably say that they can do whatever they want with your account.

When you are trying to hammer a nail, you need to be in a comfortable position. Try hammering a nail in an uncomfortable position, the nail will end up in a shitty position. You will take longer than if you were in a decent position.

Now try to hack some code in a loud environment with an unreliable Internet connection surrounded by people who keep interrupting you. You will likely write poor code in more time than usual.

Now try working in an environment where your boss is an asshole and you work long hours. Waking up early in the morning will be harder than if you were in a nice environment, with a boss that you respect and who respects you.

Don’t expect your environment to change. Don’t count on it.

If you want change make it happen. Change your environment or look for a new environment.

When life is hard, you need to change.