Malcolm Gladwell's infamous "10,000 hours of practice" rule is quite daunting. I mean, I've been doing webcomics in various forms since 2000, and I couldn't tell you with any sort of certainty if I've hit 10,000 hours yet.

I suppose it depends on how you break it up. Making webcomics involves writing, sketching, inking, colouring and distribution. Do I have to practice each of those sub-skills individually, or do they all fall under the category of "making webcomics"?

Also, surely, some skills require more practice than others. There might be a cap on how good one can get at inking, for example. Perhaps I only need to practice that one for 2,000 hours.

10,000 hours is most daunting when viewed in the context of your finite lifespan. Sure, if you can afford to practice your chosen skill for ten hours a day - nonstop, no breaks, full-time - you can hit 10,000 hours inside of three years. Most of us, though, simply cannot afford to practice something as a full time job. Maybe you can only practice for one or two hours a day, which means it'd be 20 or 30 years before you master it. You can get three or four skills, tops, and you're done.

And y'know what? I think there are plenty of things that you don't get very good at, even with practice. I've been working at call centers for over a decade at this point - most of that, full-time - and I certainly wouldn't say I'm much better at it now than I was after the first few weeks of training.

But then, I suppose, perhaps that's because I'm not as passionate about providing quality customer service as I am about making comics, regardless of what I may have said on my resumé.