Are you inspired by talent?

I was in the presence of indisputably genuine talent last night. I was a fish out of water.

Two hundred of my friends and I were at the Rancho Mirage Library listening to a performance by students from the Idyllwild Arts Academy. It is a boarding school for exceptional talent located in the mountains above the desert. The school is nestled on a blanket of fallen pine cones and in a forest of mighty oak trees. I understand the buildings have an old rustic quality, but the school has the newest devices in acoustic electronic technology.  The students, approximately 300 of them, are between 14-18 years of age and come from 27 different countries.  I heard piano playing, quartets of violins and passionate readings performed against a backdrop of piano music. It was free, but priceless.

The student's performance was impressive. It was star quality. They perform frequently at libraries, concert halls and at the high school. They received a standing ovation. Their performance was moving, without error. I felt like I was in the presence of super talent. These students work every day, 14 hours a day, 7 days a week on their craft.

It made me realize how hard talent works to make it look so easily.  It is easy to forget when we see such talent perform a difficult music piece with ease, the thousands of hours of dedication and sacrifice required to create the talent.

The performance reminded me to appreciate that the harder I work at something the more talented at that something I become. Talent is not lazy. I need to get back to work on my latest book, it will not finish by itself. There may be in a world of 7 billion people such a thing as natural born talent, but it is superseded by talent created from discipline and persistent effort.

Go see some live talent and it will put a kick in your own life.

webtalkwithbob