When Malcolm Gladwell and Macklemore agree on something, they’re probably not wrong. Which is why it’s so compelling that, in his Grammy winning album “The Heist,” Macklemore’s first track is titled “Ten Thousand Hours,” a refernce to Gladwell’s famous book that argues that success comes from 10,000 of focused effort. He discusses the importance of hard work in making the album.

Ten thousand hours I’m so damn close I can taste it. Put those hours in and look at what you get.

Macklemore faced the uncertainty, but his answer was hard work to develop his talent. No one starts off good at anything, and those willing to learn in the early stages will succeed.

The greats weren’t great because at birth they could paint. The greats were great cause they paint a lot.

Whether it is Krewella courageously deciding to put everything into becoming better DJs, or successful blogger James Clear talking about the power of repetitions, there are common themes in all these stories. Both Krewella and James Clear knew that progress would be slow, that it would take a while. Both got just 1 percent better each day, and after years it paid off.

Even Drake has something to say on this topic in his hit “0 to 100.” He describes the intense process to put out the music in 2008 that would eventually lead to his stardom in 2009. 

Man it’s 2008, I’m tryna paint the picture
Comeback Season in the works and now I’m thinkin’ bigger
I got 40 in the studio, every night, late night
Oh Lord, got a whole lot to show for it
I mean we can really get it, we can go for it
I’m just here for the bucks and the billi’s

Everyone is looking for that secret to success. There isn’t. It’s simply a matter of having a goal and putting in the work. There’s no shortcut, no magic potion. Success is a journey, not a destination. Focus on it, and success is yours.