I have been thinking about why some people are so much more successful compared to others. Are they smarter, luckier, or have more connections? I think a lot of it comes down to having a lot of uninterrupted free time. That is the magic ingredient or secret.
Why does free time matter so much?
1. A lot of time is needed for mastery. Even though the ‘10,000 hours’ rule may not apply to everyone or has not withstood scrutiny, it’s evident that a lot of time is still necessary to become good at something, whether it’s 5 years or 20 years. Talent is necessary, but so is time. And having a lot of time can overcome some lack of talent.
2. Getting into a ‘flow state’ requires uninterrupted free time. This seems especially important with coding or writing. Tech companies invest a lot of money into resources to help workers be more productive by minimizing distractions. A 30-minute work session is more productive than two 15-minute chunks with a large distraction in the middle.
3. Successful people seem to care a lot more about ‘owning their time’ than owning things. This is why a common thread of advice of the most successful people in business is ‘learning to say no’. It’s not the missed opportunities that do you in, it’s not having the time to act on existing ones.
Ownership of time does not mean having to be or do productive things. It simply means the freedom to live life to your heart’s content. That can mean playing video games, watching tv, researching Kennedy or 9/11 conspiracies…whatever.