The timing of this book suited me well. I had just finished reading The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life by Timothy Ferriss, another book on rapid skill acquisition, and was in the midst of finishing Josh Kaufman's first book, The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business. This book, The First 20 Hours, was appropriate just-in-time information for me, as opposed to just-in-case information. Another opportunity to look at rapid skill acquisition.
Overall, there are two features of this book that caused me to give it a 5* over 4* review:
1. Book Layout
The first three chapters supply the core of the book's teachings. I read the first three chapters, knew everything I needed to know, and got started brainstorming the prime skill I wanted to focus on. This was instant learning. It took me an afternoon to get started. Many books gloss over important concepts, and make it hard to remember all the useful gold I'm supposed to implement and take to heart. This book went straight to the point.
The case studies are six skills learned by the author, following his own advice. How often do you see this? Not very often. He followed his own advice to not only prove it works, but inspire those of us out there who wish to do the same. By having an example to follow, it becomes much easier to visualize ourselves doing this.
Kaufman built credibility into his book, and reality. Two important concepts many author's don't present to readers.
2. Author's Message
Kaufman is not some Nobel Prize winning laureate, or Ph.D. genius. He is an enjoyable author to read, yes, but he is also a regular guy, and a new father. He is tight on time, and he wants to learn new things. His story and teachings resonate with us, because we are him. We want to learn new things too, and we worry about finding the time to do them; especially in Western culture.
The purpose of a book is to teach us something we can use, or to help us take a new action. This book has already helped me take new actions, and that is invaluable for a small investment of $12 and three hours of reading.
I believe in the author's message, I resonate with him, I root for him, and in turn, I started to root for myself. I can do this too. This book is reality. I've learned that I can truly learn new skills, and it doesn't have to feel like a second job to get good at. That is value.
Note: The case-studies aren't essential reading in my opinion, but I found two useful tidbits that may be overlooked by readers:
"Recent research suggests that, for greatest effect, it's best to sleep within four hours of motor skill practice: even a short nap is better than nothing at all. Any longer, and your brain's ability to consolidate the information it gathered during practice is impaired."
"Interference is the opposite of consolidation: it's a disruption of the consolidation process. If you practice or use a second, similar skill shortly after practicing a new skill, that practice can interfere with your brain's ability to consolidate the new information."
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Popular Highlights in this book
Skill is the result of deliberate, consistent practice, and in early-stage practice, quantity and speed trump absolute quality. The faster and more often you practice, the more rapidly you’ll acquire the skill.Highlighted by 954 Kindle readers- If you want to get good at anything where real-life performance matters, you have to actually practice that skill in context. Study, by itself, is never enough.Highlighted by 929 Kindle readers
- Instead of trying to be perfect, focus on practicing as much as you can as quickly as you can, while maintaining “good enough” form.Highlighted by 825 Kindle readers
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2013
- Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024
Top reviews from other countries
- Mal ReynoldsReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2013
Fantastic practical book
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JulesReviewed in France on June 17, 2013
Les 20 premières heures sont les plus importantes!
