10,000 Hours

I watched this video (http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/248313-Orange-Land-Confessions-of-the-middle-long-distance-runner/video/621777-10-000-Hours) from Flotrack.org a few minutes ago and was reminded of a quote I read once from Malcolm Gladwell.  The quote goes like this: "The magic number for those like Bill Gates, Tiger Woods and so many other outliners, as I call them, appears to be 10,000 hours."  What he means is, to be GREAT at anything, you must put the time in.  Sure, some people are better at somethings then others, but "pure ability" means very little if you do not utilize it.  Hard work and perseverance are the only true characteristics of greatness.