Kong Hee: From Dream To RealitySample

Living A Great Life

In the 1990s, psychologists at the Berlin Academy of Music conducted a study in which they found that those who became world-class violinists by the age of 20 had at least 10,000 hours of practice, while those who became merely good with the instrument had practiced about 8,000 hours.

Now if you break that down, it means to become world-class, one would have to practice four hours a day, five days a week, for 10 years. And if you were to practice four hours a day, for just three days a week, it would take you 16 years to be world-class.

In other similar studies, this same general rule was found to apply to basketball players, writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, software billionaires and successful business entrepreneurs. The number of practice hours to become great at something was right around 10,000, no matter what the skill was. Now by no means am I saying that this is a “magical” formula or number, but it does point us to the fact that greatness doesn’t come without dedication and hard work.

Take the prophet Ezra, for example, who “devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD” (Ezra 7:10). His dedication brought him tremendous respect and authority from the king (Ezra 7:11-28), and enabled him to do great things for God!

In a nutshell, greatness takes work. Opportunities may come in an instant, but if you didn’t first put in the effort and commitment necessary to prepare yourself, they will just pass you by. If you want to live a great life for God, you have to work on growing in faith daily, just as the prophet Ezra did. Make the greatest possible impact for God by devoting yourself daily to knowing and serving Him!

Prayer for the day:

Pray for the discipline to grow daily in God’s knowledge and service. And pray that you will have the tenacity and courage to live a great life for Him!