High Performance Secret No One Talks About
The "10,000 hour rule" is only half the story.
A few weeks ago, my wife and I went on vacation to Palm Springs.
Want know what we did?
Absolutely nothing.
Every day, we sat by the pool and read books. The only decision we had to make each day was where we were going to eat. I don’t know about you, but to me, there's nothing better than waking up in the morning with absolutely no agenda or anything to actually do. It was incredibly rejuvenating, and I’m so glad we invested time to get some rest.
This type of soul-level rest got me thinking about a surprising statistic I read about high performance a while back.
We've all heard about the 10,000-hour rule, right?
The idea is that to become world-class at anything, you need to put in 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. It's become a sort of mantra in personal development circles.
But here's the thing - it's only half the story.
Anders Ericsson's research found that the best performers in any field have indeed put in 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. But nobody ever talks about the second most important variable that differentiated the high performers in his study.
This is what might surprise you:
It's how much they slept.
Yeah, you read that right: Sleep.
In our hustle culture, sleep often gets painted as this luxury we can't afford. We wear our sleep deprivation like a badge of honor. "I'll sleep when I'm dead," right?
Wrong.
Here's what Ericsson's research actually shows:
The best performers not only put in the most deliberate practice, but they also sleep more than the average person. On average, high performers in his study slept 8 hours and 36 minutes in a 24-hour cycle. This included 2.8 hours of napping per week.
High performance is not just about working hard - it's about resting hard too.
Yet, most of us are living in a state of chronic sleep restriction.
We don’t even notice it because we can’t remember the last time we were truly rested.
We sleep 5-7 hours per night and think we’re getting by fine. After years of this, we acclimate to a new, impaired baseline. We accept lower alertness and reduced energy levels as our "new normal." It's like we're all convincing ourselves that this low-level exhaustion in our day and week is just how life is supposed to be.
So, what's the solution?
How do we become high performers without burning ourselves out?
I propose a new rule: The 10,008 hours and 36 minutes rule.
Put in your 10,000 hours of deliberate practice, absolutely. But also prioritize those 8 hours and 36 minutes of sleep every single day.
Now, I know what you're thinking. "Mike, I don't have time for that much sleep!" The truth is you don't have time not to sleep. The research is clear: high performance and great sleep are connected. You can't have one without the other if you want to perform at your best.
I used to be skeptical about this too.
But when I started prioritizing 8-9 hours of sleep each night, it was life-changing. My energy, focus, and ability to do great work all skyrocketed.
So, here's my challenge to you:
Track your sleep. How much are you actually getting each night?
Aim for 8 hours (and 36 minutes if you want to be precise).
Pay attention to how you feel and perform when you're well-rested versus when you're running on fumes.
You might not notice a huge difference in one night, but if you commit to getting enough sleep for a month or year, I’m confident your life will improve across the board.
Warmly,
Mike Foster