Once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.

Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963) Anglo-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker

Outliers: The Story of Success, ch. 2 “The 10,000 Hour Rule,” sec. 2 (2008)
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