Recently, Seth Godin published a book called The Dip which is about concentrating only on the things you can be the best at, and pushing through the obstacles to make it happen.

If you’ve been following my posts on creating expertise, it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. Noticeable ability, though, is easy to develop. It may take hundreds of hours, not thousands. So, the difference between the hundreds of hours to become good at something and the 10,000 hours to become great at it is a dip.

Seth posted a manifesto about his book, The Dip, on Changthis.com. Here are a couple of quotes from the manifesto:

The reason that being the best in the world is worth so much is that so few can do it. Scarcity carries a premium.

The Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery. A long slog that’s actually a shortcut, because it gets you where you want to go faster than any other path.

The Dip is the combination of bureaucracy and busywork you must deal with in order to get certified in scuba diving.

The Dip is the difference between easy “beginner” technique and the more useful expert approach in skiing or fashion design.

The Dip is the long stretch between beginner’s luck and real accomplishment.

The Dip is the set of artificial screens set up to keep people like you out.

I recommend that you read the manifesto when you get the chance. It’s free. You can download a PDF from the following link:

The Dip Manifesto

Here is a link to Seth’s lens for more information on the book:

The Dip Lens

Just knowing that the dip is out there will help you prepare for it and confront it. Becoming an expert requires confronting the dip. It’s not easy, and it’s not supposed to be — that’s what creates the scarcity. That is what will make you the best.