We all want our children to achieve greatness.

The Rockefeller or Mozart kind of greatness.

Is there something we can do

to help them achieve it?

What would you say if I told you

the most amazing people in the world

were not really more amazing

than you or I?

From Mozart

to Bill Gates

to Michael Jordan.

Would you think I was crazy?

There seems to be

luck involved

in every case.

But, more importantly,

it seems that

interest

and

practice

seem to be the common factor

that sets them apart.

What are you doing

to spark your child’s interests?

Would that interest be enough

to sustain him/her

for 10,000 hours of practice?

Researchers believe

the Beatles

became so successful

because they played

for 8 hours straight

for most of the year

and reached

a magic number of 10,000 hours.

Bill Gates was fortunate enough

to access computers

starting in 8th grade.

He was so interested in computers

that he would go to a computer lab

from 3 am to 6 am

because he was so passionate.

In the end,

by the time he started Microsoft,

he had been learning and practicing for

10,000 hours.

That is a lot of time.

Greatness will not come

from memorizing

facts and figures.

Sparking an interest

is the most important factor.

When I am interested in something,

I do not mind spending time learning.

I enjoy the learning.

So will your children.

I would,

like Bill Gates,

get up at 3 am to learn more.

What are you doing to encourage

passion strong enough

that your child will WANT to practice

and learn?

A passion so strong

s/he will seek out opportunities

to practice?

I don’t have the formula yet,

but I know that I want to encourage

passion

and

interest

and I believe the rest will fall into place.