Today I’m thinking that DRIVE – that is, love + hunger + determination – is the one essential ingredient to mastering an art and making a contribution. Drive is far more important than what we call “talent.”
I believe that we all come with a kind of “starting kit.” Some people get great ears (and they can hear and match pitches and melodies). Some get great eyes (and they quickly cop onto musical notation). Some get great fingers and hands (and their heads and hands are wired up so that can be agile and graceful very quickly).
Some come with very little of this, but they DO come with great drive.
And in the end, through practice, dedication, eagerness, and enjoyment, they actually CREATE their own talent.
Where there’s drive – love + hunger + determination – there’s always a way!
(PS – the photograph features a piece of Australian Aboriginal art by Naata Nungurrayi that reminds me of the swirling, interplaying energies at the heart of an artistic life).
