Talent
By Peter LloydHow many times have you heard this? "Gosh, I wish I could play the piano like that." Usually right after a brilliant performance by a truly gifted virtuoso.
When I hear this, I want to reply, "Why don't you put in a decade or two of practicing most of every day?"
When I do, I often hear, "Oh, no. Not me. I don't have the talent."
Some people seem to think that talent is the alien space crew that infused Madonna with the guts to dance in her lingerie. The fairy godmother that moves the fingers of Wynton Marsalis. The invisible force that keeps Elvis alive. That kind of talent is just an excuse for not trying.
In his book The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins suggests that these people suffer from some kind of genius jealousy, which he interprets as, "How dare another human being make such beautiful music/poetry/art, when I can't? It must be God that did it."
I met violin prodigy Dylana Jensen when she was 11 years old and had just performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. We talked backstage, her parents were there, hovering. She had very little to say. Her mother explained that from the time her daughter was conceived they made sure she heard nothing but classical violin music. From the time she was born, her only toy was a violin.
When I asked the young violinist if she ever made up her own tunes, she replied, "Oh, no. I don't have the talent to compose." That made me wonder. If her parents had left her alone, would she have chosen the violin or Barbie dolls?
Human creativity, the power to invent and innovate, is the most powerful force there is. You can do anything you want with it. Walt Disney is supposed to have said, "If you can dream it, you can do it." I say, stop dreaming and do it.
Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest problems.