Richard Pryor [born 1940], regarded as the greatest stand-up comedian of all time, said that no matter how funny you are, it takes 10 years on stage to develop the timing to become great.
Nonetheless more people are attempting careers as stand-up comics because a recession provides "good cover" for someone interested in making the kind of career change that might be considered idiotic at other times. Story here.
Malcolm Gladwell [born 1963] determined that it takes 10,000 hours to shine at anything.
It is common for lawyers to bill 1,800 to 2,000 hours or more per year.
