Gibbon convinced me that there are many, many tasks in life where time is a non-substitutable ingredient of excellence.

He spent 17 years(?) covering 1,500 years of history.

Is it perfect? No. But it is thorough.

Which is comforting, if you don't happen to be the best in the world at something, but still want to leave a contribution to subsequent generations.

PS: Mention of John Harrison for similarly spending 43 years perfecting a marine chronometer. Highly recommend Longitude as a book covering it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_(book)