But surely there are special cases?

But surely there are special cases? Mozart, for example, is always considered a "born genius (天才)". He performed in public at the age of four and by six, he had written 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 practice for hours each day from an early age. And the music that Mozart wrote when he was six wasn't great. Mozart produced his first real best work when he was twenty-one. By that time, he'd done at least 10,000 hours of practice and had "become" a genius.