Assessing talent

It came up again this week, talent.


We have all heard it from time to time, “does my kid have talent?” or its variation, “Do I have talent?"

Do you mean, I respond, “Can you/they win American Idol, become a pop culture commodity and benefit financially from excessive adulation, and live the life of rich and famous?” Probably not.

Or do you mean, “Do you/they have the ambition, desire, patience, focus, clarity of purpose, time, money, access to resources, and family support to realize your/their potential?” I don’t know.

Or, do I respond, “After you/they have put in 10,000 hours of focused practice lets revisit the question.”

Or, do I respond, “How big is your/their desire?”

Others have stated: “talent is ability“, let’s keep practicing!

Cheers,

David Story

Creativity

Some ideas I’ve collected over the years:

• Don’t be afraid to fail
• Work, work, work
• We are all a product of our influences, so choose well
• Work long enough to get some results
• Hang with creative people
• Turn off Facebook, Twitter, MSN, etc. Use the time to work
• Attend events (concerts, galleries, lectures, workshops, etc.) outside of your range of interests. Let some fresh air in.

Cheers,

David Story