I thought of starting this article like the Monty Python Life of Brian film "What have the Beatles done for us?" question!!! So I have.
They are by far my favourite music group and I am sure that they are high up in your list of favourite artists.
What can we learn from them that can push along your working life? After all, they were working too! Here goes: 1.
10,000 hours In his book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell, he put forward the theory that if you perform something for 10,000 hours then you will become successful in your field.
Ten thousand hours he saw as the tipping point (a title of another Gladwell book) for proficiency, success and mastery.
To give you some idea, working an eight hour day for five days a week, ten thousand hours equates to 1,250 days or 250 weeks or approximately five working years.
The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1963, in Liverpool at many venues and around the country too.
In addition to this they rehearsed extensively.
John and Paul would also write songs together and they all practiced individually too.
The Beatles met this 10,000 hour tipping point.
Therefore it shows us that if you want that job, if you want mastery over your current position or to work at your optimum you are going to need to practice.
Maybe not as much as the Beatles, but you need to put in the hours day in and day out.
2.
Made use of place Often people use the excuse that "if only" I lived in such and such a place then I would be successful.
Or "if only" I had the same advantages as others then I would be successful.
The Beatles came from Liverpool and it had the advantage that the sailors returning to this port City bought records and stories from overseas.
It was a melting pot for music and they took advantage of this.
Also Liverpool at the time was alive with many music venues and they took advantage of this too to give shows.
You too should consider exactly where you are at this moment an advantage.
Think what specific advantages you have in your location that can give you the edge over others? What special skills can you learn and employ to push you up the ladder of success? 3.
Go the extra mile The Beatles always wanted to go that extra mile, sometimes quite literally, to get to where they wanted to go.
When they were learning their instruments Paul McCartney tells the tale that if they heard that someone else in Liverpool knew a chord for the guitar they would seek them out to learn it.
They went to Hamburg and lived in pretty poor conditions as well as performing for hours on end for little money.
They were prepared to go further than a lot of other groups around Liverpool at the time who did not go.
If you look at the statistics for the Beatles from 1963 to 1966 when they stopped touring, their schedule was tough to say the least.
The extra mile was nothing it seems to them.
You too need to go the extra mile too.
Sign up for extra classes, work on improving yourself more, study more.
You too can be as big as the Beatles if you apply yourself.
4.
They worked in related fields They were never frightened to try other fields apart from music.
They sometimes failed in their endeavours (the Apple Store for example, not the Steve Jobs empire) but they made movies, they set up their own company Apple to promote other acts, they had music publishing companies, they promoted movies etc.
By diversifying they were able to show themselves into other worlds.
They diversified so that this would all feed back to the core, the Beatles.
You too should consider this and work in related fields in your life.
For example if you are looking for a job or a better job, then join a Toastmasters group.
You will learn the art of public speaking.
While you may not consider that this is directly with your profession, it will help to give you confidence.
You will also meet new people outside of your usual social circle.
You too can be like the Beatles too and work in related fields that will help feed your self development.
5.
Take a Risk If you recall when you were sixteen to eighteen years of age, you were encouraged to take on a "sensible" job by your parents and generally by society.
Being musicians and playing in downbeat clubs was probably not what the Beatles families wanted for them.
George Harrison was supposed to be an electrician! However, they took a risk, and devoted themselves to their craft.
They did not play the safe option, they just went for it.
You can do this too, take a bit of a risk in life, and stop playing it safe.
Follow your dreams.
6.
They were a group This is rather an obvious thing to state about the Beatles.
However, they always contributed and stood by each other.
They were a family of sorts with support, arguments, laughs and tears.
They formed a mutual support group and it was often said that they were the centre of the hurricane that was going on around them.
The calm inside the storm.
You should try and be in a group too so that you can get support.
There are job groups for example.
Also you can go to professional meetings outside of your work, network and give as well as getting support.
7.
Be Different Most groups at the time did not write their own material, they had songs written for them.
John and Paul wrote the majority of the songs from the Beatles.
They got the idea from Buddy Holly and the Crickets but they turned it into a gold mine of fantastic and classic songs.
However if they had stuck with the norm at the time we would have been deprived of the greatest pop songwriters of all time.
Consider ways that you can build on other's ideas to make you different and become the expert in your field.
This will help you to get that job, build your confidence and become the leader in your field of dreams.
8.
Over Delivery In every sense of the words the Beatles delivered more than was required.
They played lots of concerts, many times twice a day.
They stayed away from their homes from months on end.
They put their personal lives on hold to build their business.
The number of albums and singles that they produced in those seven years is incredible especially if you consider the classic pop songs on the discs.
You too should endeavour to over-deliver on your promises too.
Not only will it help you directly it will set higher standards for you.
The Beatles became leaders in their field, so why not you too? 9.
Management Team The Beatles also got a management team round them that really supported them and their ambitions.
George Martin and Brian Epstein among many others helped the Beatles on their way with their own expertise contributing to the whole phenomenon.
It is unlikely that they would have made it without help from these people.
Make sure that you get the key management team around you to build yourself in this modern world.
On line help but also mentors, management, courses, teachers etc.
You need to seek these people out to guide you to greatness.
10.
Sacrifice I have touched on this above, but the Beatles also gave up so much to give us so much.
Their personal lives were very much on the back burner or played out in the public eye.
They gave the Beatles their all until they split up.
They went for it 100%.
Commitment.
If you want to succeed in your chosen field then you too will have to make some sacrifices to get to the top of what you want to achieve.
You need to consider what you are going to sacrifice to get the bigger rewards (and I am not necessarily talking of money).
Even though the Beatles split up over 30 years ago, their influence and music continues into today.
From the list above, they are also still relevant today.