Dan McLaughlin: How to Master Any Skill

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Back in 2010, Dan McLaughlin decided he wanted to become a professional golfer. The only problem was, he’d never played 18 holes of golf in his life! He didn’t let that stop him, though.

He packed in his job as a commercial photographer and began “The Dan Plan” – 10,000 hours of golf deliberate practice. He’s now six years into his challenge so I thought now would be a great time to check in with him, find out how he is getting on, and ask him what he’s learned so far from his journey.

Dan McLaughlin Interview

Dan was actually a big inspiration to me and the Expert in a Year challenge. I reached out to him back in 2013 to ask for his advice and discuss some potential ideas.

This interview will be a little different to normal – especially as Dan has next to zero table tennis experience – but I hope that you find his story inspirational, and his dedication and work ethic infectious.

In this episode you’ll learn:

Who is Dan McLaughlin? [00:30]
How to stick with your goals and not quit [08:00]
Dan’s golfing progress over the last six years [10:30]
Should you work with a coach from day one? [15:00]
How to break through a plateau [17:30]
Where Dan is currently along his journey to 10,000 hours [21:30]
Is it more difficult to learn as an adult? [27:30]
Dan’s highlights from The Dan Plan so far [30:00]
Dan’s low point from The Dan Plan so far [33:00]
Which is best: repetition or random practice? [37:00]
How to deal with “haters” [41:30]
Dan’s top tip for aspiring professionals [44:00]
What’s next for The Dan Plan? [48:15]

Links from this episode:

Thanks for listening!

I really enjoyed speaking to Dan McLaughlin and I hoped you enjoyed listening to the episode. To learn a little more about Dan’s story and challenge you should definitely check out the video below…

What was your favourite tip from the episode? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought.

Please share the show

I know that lots of you guys are regularly sharing the podcast with other table tennis players all over the world. I just want to say thanks for all the help you’ve given me already! Please continue to support the show and subscribe on iTunes, leave us an honest iTunes Podcast review, share this episode on Facebook or Twitter, or simply just mention it to a friend. I appreciate your help so much!

I’ll be back in a month with Episode #37 – to be released 1st August 2016. I’m hoping to be joined by Alois Rosario and Jeff Plumb from Pingskills.