The YouTube video "The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything" by Josh Kaufman explains that the common belief of needing 10,000 hours to learn a new skill is a misinterpretation of research on achieving expert-level performance. Kaufman argues that this rule, originally applied to highly competitive fields like professional athletics, has been distorted through popular culture. He asserts that to reach a "good enough" level of proficiency in most new skills, one only needs 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice. He outlines a four-step method for efficient learning, which includes deconstructing the skill, learning just enough to self-correct, removing distractions, and committing to those initial 20 hours of practice. Kaufman demonstrates this by showcasing his ability to play the ukulele after dedicating 20 hours to it, emphasizing that the primary barrier to learning is often emotional, not intellectual.