But surely there are exceptions to this rule? Mozart, for example, is always considered a"born genius'. He performed in public at the age of four and by six, he had composed several pieces. Surely his success was down to natural talent, not hard work? In fact, Gladwell argues Mozart had a very strict father who made him practise for hours each day from an early age And the music that Mozart composed when he was six wasn't outstanding. Mozart wrote his first real masterpiece when he was twenty-one By that time, he'd done at least 10,000 hours of practice and had 'become' a genius