Do you know how long it takes to become an expert on a subject, or a leader in your field? Do you know how much practice and training you need to put in before you’ve a realistic chance of being crowned World Champion?

They say that practice makes perfect, and a top sociologist has quantified that old adage by claiming you need to spend at least 10,000 hours improving your skills if you want to be a success at anything. Academic Malcolm Gladwell suggests you need to put in time, training and practice over the course of a decade to get to the top of your chosen field.

Mr Gladwell further underlines his theory by pointing out sports stars such as Boris Becker, Jonny Wilkinson, Tiger Woods and the Venus sisters, who have all become world-beaters because of the obsessive devotion they have demonstrated for their game, right from childhood.

In his book Outliers: The Story of Success Mr Gladwell says that if you examine the greatest athletes, scientists, musicians and business leaders you’ll notice they only came to public prominence after committing at least three hours a day for ten years practicing. ‘What’s really interesting about this 10,000-hour rule is that it applies virtually everywhere,’ Mr Gladwell told a conference held by The New Yorker magazine. ‘You can’t become a chess grand master unless you spend 10,000 hours on practice.’

‘The tennis prodigy who starts playing at six is playing in Wimbledon at 16 or 17 [like] Boris Becker. The classical musician who starts playing the violin at four is debuting at Carnegie Hall at 15 or so,’ he added.

Natural ability is just one factor in success though. A willingness to work hard, a strong support mechanism, luck, and even being born in the right year, also each play their part. Just as the Beatles rose to fame with the explosion of pop culture in the 1960s, so Bill Gates’s obsession with the minicomputer that he used at school in 1968 placed an unassuming young student on course to become one of the richest and powerfully influential men on the planet.

No one – not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires and not even geniuses – ever makes it alone,  writes Mr Gladwell in his book.

In Olympic year it’s interesting to reflect upon past glory achieved by members of Team GB. It can be argued that much of Britain’s Olympic success is down to a combination of natural ability and sheer dedication.

Victoria Pendleton’s emphatic gold in the women’s sprint cycling in Beijing came only after humiliating defeat in Athens four years previously. After training every day for four hours, six days a week the 27-year-old finally reaped the rewards.

Rebecca Adlington, the 19-year-old swimmer who won two gold medals at the Beijing Games, had invested an estimated 8,840 hours of training since the age of 12.

Such dedication is also apparent in musicians. Maxim Vengerov is one of the world’s greatest violinists. He was born in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk and, after he was given a miniature fiddle at the age of four, he displayed outstanding aptitude. But his natural given talent was paired with an immense work ethic. He practised seven hours a day, gave his first recital at the age of five, and won his first international prize at fifteen.

My mother would get home at 8pm, cook dinner and then teach me the violin until four in the morning. As a four-year-old boy it was torture. But I became a violinist within two years.

When a journalist once ventured to suggest to golfer Gary Player that he had been lucky to win a recent tournament, he famously replied that “…the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get!”

How does this apply to successful betting?

Success with betting is unlikely to come your way overnight: Unfortunately this here betting industry that we’re all involved with, is awash with false promises of instant riches. You probably didn’t need me to tell you that. The chastening fact is that if your goal is to make money from betting on horse racing, then consistent success will not come your way overnight.

My light bulb moment came one evening in July 1998 and it took me a further three years before I saw my first profit across a whole season. A whopping £428

Make a commitment to learning: Relying solely upon purchased betting systems and subscription advisory services means putting all your income streams in the hands of others. Yes, these paid-for strategies might well form part of your portfolio, but developing your own betting skills will not only help you get the most from third party advice, but it will see you make more money on your own. Read and absorb as much as you can about all aspects of horse racing and betting. Remember, you only need to know more than the average punter to have an edge. Invest in a betting course such as Race Advisor by Michael Wilding.

Build a support system: Every champion athlete and sports-person has a coach. Successful business leaders invariably have advisors. You’ll reach your goals quicker if you get regular input from other people who have achieved already what you want to achieve. Get involved at various betting forums, and consider the opinions and advice offered by influential people who write and publish in the betting niche. I posted recently about 10 people in the betting industry that I trust and you would do worse than making contact with one, some, or all of them.

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Along with Scott Daniels I started a horse racing blog in October 2004, and we registered the SkyBlueKangaroo.com domain name the next year in August of 2005.

I reckon I spend an average of 3 hours each day studying, writing, or otherwise involved with horse racing and betting. If I do that 5 days a week, then that’s 15 hours per week. Assuming 48 ‘working weeks’ each year, at a rate of 15 hours per week, that works out at 13 years and 9 months before I will have clocked up 10,000 hours on the job.

If I need to put in 10,000 hours then having started in earnest back in October 2004, I estimate I can legitimately call myself an ‘expert’ sometime around July 2018. Better get on with it then!