The Thing About Having “Talent”
Talent is an elusive thing. We are in awe of and envy people who have talent. We all wish we had it. It is viewed as a “gift”; some innate property that the talented were fortunate enough to be born with. Although we all have different talents and degrees of talent there is perhaps an often over-looked component in nurturing that gift.
I love watching shows such as the CBS News “Sunday Morning” show where they interview various creative or performing artists. This is because, somewhere in the conversation is an off-hand comment that contains a gem of wisdom that applies to art and artists of all different types. Yesterday’s interview with concert pianist, Ruth Slenczynska, was no exception.
The Interview
Slenczynska is a child prodigy who is still performing at age 97. She is a world-renown pianist and the last surviving student of Rachmaninoff. Additionally, she has just released her latest album.
The interview was a joy to watch. Slenczynska is extremely talented and full of life. There is a sense of joy and zestfulness in her. The gem of wisdom was in this exchange with interviewer Mo Rocca:
Rocca: You were called the miracle child. Slenczynska: Every child is a miracle, really. Rocca: But you were an awesomely talented one. Slenczynska: I wasn't. No. If I were talented, I wouldn't have had to work so hard.
There it is, that thing about having “talent”; that often over-looked component; hard work. You can see the full interview below. I’ve queued it up to the 1:48 mark where this exchange happens. However, I’d recommend you watch the full interview. II think you’ll enjoy it and find out what a amazing person she is.
Hard Work
Hard work is not popular. We half-jokingly say such things as “Hard work is a redundant phrase. After all, is there any other kind of work?” Or, “Of course it’s hard, that’s why they call it work.” Although hard work isn’t popular, it is necessary if we want to grow as an artist. Who knows, if we work hard enough maybe someday we’ll be good enough to be considered naturally talented?
As I’ve said before, “While I may not always succeed in creating great photos one of my objectives is to try to make every photo a great one. I believe that the difference between a great photo and a merely good photo is in the details. It’s doing all the little things right. It’s putting in the extra effort rather than settling for “good enough”. I challenge myself to make sure I do everything I’m capable of to create a great photo.” I still have a lot of hard work to do but will keep trying to become “talented”.
If I were talented, I wouldn’t have had to work so hard.
Ruth Slenczynska
With that thought I’ll leave you. I have to get to work. I’ve got an awful lot of catching up to do.
Leave A Comment And Share
How do you go about nurturing your talent? I’d love to hear your comments and feedback. Please leave a comment in the comment box below.
