But Nobody’s Born with It
Last week I saw a young music star belting it out on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans. His confidence and comfort in the spotlight amazed me. It’s tempting to say “He was born different than me, that’s why he can do that and I never could.”. That might be comforting, but it’s not true.
Not long ago in New York City I visited a small music venue. I watched each singer take the stage for a set, and they were good. I was impressed but how much practice they already had, and how much more practice they would get before ever singing on a big stage. Hundreds of gigs, thousands of hours, that’s the back story.
Every mastered skill, everything that looks like a “gift” has the same back story.
Back to last week and the young star. I looked him up on Wikipedia during the performance. He started performing when he was 4 years old.
It’s not inborn, it’s practice.
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January 27th, 2012 at 9:00 am
Hey there Mark,
I like your perspective because it really has me thinking today. For one, I admire your writing skills because it takes me awhile to even write these simple posts. “maybe I wasn’t born to write”? (; But on a serious note, I have certain people that I choose not to include in my life any longer and they would tell me that my success and possessions are are result of me being blessed by god and that everything I touch turns to gold? UNTRUE! I’ve lost in business more times than I struck gold believe me! I just don’t let a failed project direct the path to my future. If a copper mill doesn’t produce me any gold, then I swiftly close that mine and dig a new hole in a different spot! So, I do agree there are hundreds if not thousands of background practicing that goes on before the curtains are opened……
January 27th, 2012 at 9:26 am
I don’t completely agree with you Mark. I do think that practice is important, but I also think people are born with unique tendencies as well. I think part of being successful is finding out what those are and practicing those.
I believe there are people who were born not to be singers or performers, and the same amount of practice would not be a positive experience, but would just lead to a life of frustration and depression.
I’m not a calvinist but I don’t think we’ll lead happy fulfilled lives if we think we can be anything we want with enough practice. At some point we have to learn who we are and operate within those parameters, and accept that success within those parameters may not always be something that the masses will view as success.
That doesn’t mean don’t work hard, don’t seek to excel, and don’t practice, but not everyone can be in the spotlight all the time. It’s more like everyone has their own niche market.
I think that if we can approach life and other people with that perspective, it can break down a lot of barriers and help prevent a lot of frustration, disappointment, and discontentment.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Thanks for the comments guys, and for the different perspectives.
There are some genetic differences between people, especially physical attributes and IQ, but that leaves a whole lot of options open.
Studies have shown for example that students who practiced more in music school were more successful, and students who practiced less were less successful. There were no “gifted” students who succeeded without practicing more, and no “ungifted” students who practiced more but didn’t succeed. They weren’t born with it. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He wasn’t born with it.
I think what makes you “who you are” is simply what you’ve already practiced for thousands and thousands of hours. It may not be wise or practical to start over and put 20 years of practice into something else, but if you do, you’ll get good at it.
Even though it’s a popular idea that people are born with different gifts, reality doesn’t support it. A great book that delves deeply into this idea is “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell.