The First 20 Hours

How to Learn Anything... Fast!

By: Josh Kaufman

Narrated by: Josh Kaufman

Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

"Learn anything... fast!"

Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What's on your list? What's holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills - time you don't have and effort you can't spare?

Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy?

To make matters worse, the early hours of practicing something new are always the most frustrating. That's why it's difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It's so much easier to watch TV or surf the web...

In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition: how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct complex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By completing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you'll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well.

This method isn't theoretical: it's field-tested. Kaufman invites readers to join him as he field tests his approach by learning to program a Web application, play the ukulele, practice yoga, re-learn to touch type, get the hang of windsurfing, and study the world's oldest and most complex board game.

What do you want to learn?

Listen to The First 80 Minutes FREE from The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything . . . Fast!.

©2013 Worldly Wisdom Ventures LLC (P)2013 Worldly Wisdom Ventures LLC

Critic reviews

"As a father of three, practicing neurosurgeon, and global journalist, I don't have a lot of free time on my hands. The First 20 Hours is a practical guide to learning beyond our mid-20s, when our brains are fully developed. Josh's book will inspire you to pick up forgotten hobbies and chase elusive dreams." (Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent)

Down to Earth but too detailed

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The initial chapters explain the method, and although they are common sense, nothing revolutionary, it is well explained and good to be reminded of. But the following chapters are really boring since it goes too deep into details about what he is learning, and unless you are interested in the same issues....like for instance playing the ukelele, it is just plain tedious. Couldn't keep my attention at all.

Would you recommend The First 20 Hours to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Only worthwhile the few first chapters.

Good, but . . . .

I found the first three chapters very helpful. The other chapters? Not so much. I didn't feel that Kaufmann's descriptions of his learning activities were that helpful. They might have been, if he had more closely related all of them to his first three chapters.

A very easy read especially if you're lazy...

its doesn't get any easier... I love that the author is reading the material and the life application is genuine.

Josh Kaufman does a great job explaining learning

Hearing how Josh acquires these skills is well worth a listen. He is full of practical advice that’s based on experience, not theory. I’d recommend this book to anyone curious about it.

Boring and repetitive.

I've loved some of Josh's other books, but this was just awful. Very boring. Pretty much covers the same material multiple times in multiple ways

Lots of fluff!

His examples of putting his method into use are very fruitful and helpful, but the level of detail that he puts towards detailing his process is near non existent.

I would've liked this book as a gift, not worth spending my money on. Everything you need to know is on his website.

Excellent book

It was an excellent book with very useful tips about how improve or acquire any skill and get a good level on whatever you can imagine.

Too much example

He gives too much example but I don’t think they are useful. Shorter useful example would’ve been better

Disspointed

Would you try another book from Josh Kaufman and/or Josh Kaufman?

I don't know.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I don't know.

Have you listened to any of Josh Kaufman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The First 20 Hours?

All stories telling me how do yoga, programming, playing go, sailing, etc.

Any additional comments?

The author has some great advice for learning but the meat of the advice comes in about the first 45 minutes and the rest is just telling me how to do yoga, program computers, play GO, sailing, etc., stuff I'm not interested in, nor did I want to learn about. I realize the author is trying to use those as examples as to how he learned something but it was ridiculously detailed and certainly took him more than 20 hours. I feel like the rest of the book was decdicated to plugging his wifes Yoga video and his other computer businesses and his "20 hour" website.

It real waste of my time and my money for this book!

Too long

Any additional comments?

Could have been much shorter and not lost any of the message. The descriptions were overly long and not all of the projects needed to be in there.