> [...] people who are brilliant at something, whether it be painting or music or engineering or fashion, are brilliant simply because of the focus they give it and the amount of attention they devote to it.
That sounds like somebody wimping out.
Lack of hand-eye coordination pervades every aspect of my life (It's almost a miracle that I get the booze into the glass when I tend bar.), and no amount of practice will overcome that innate inability.
And, conversely, how many kids have you seen who can draw from the instant they're given a pencil or who are good in all sports from the second they learn how the game is played?
10,000 hours can certainly hone ability into brilliance, but I don't think it can develop non-ability into anything more than a salable commodity, e.g. Tiny Tim.
