Wednesday, 2 September 2009

Talent without soul

Talent without soul
by Dave C from live comments

It's usually not the class presidents or those with higher intellect that make it in this world. It's those that struggle in school and when entering the workplace. Those that have to work hard to make their way are the ones that become the millionaires and business owners, a lot of times employing those that fared much better than they themselves did during school. It's those seventeen year old kids that work nights and weekends after school, learning that hard work and pride in one's work are the future millionaires and business owners. It took the reading of two books to wake me up and show me where I had gone wrong. Both books are by Thomas J. Stanley, entitled The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind


How many artists who have showed great talent, some even being labeled as "naturals," have struggled because their work, while showing lots of talent, displayed no life or soul? How many of these artists feel that all they have to do is drip a little paint on a canvas or draw half a dozen lines with a piece of charcoal and the world will be falling down at their feet, ready to proclaim them the next Wyeth or Pollock? I've attended art events and have run into this type of artist who, if you question their art, act as if you are beneath contempt, that their art needs no explanation or justification. It is what it is.


Some of us are labeled "winner" early on and it's the worst thing that can happen to us. Others get the "loser" tag affixed to them and, if they can survive it and look past it, they become some of the most successful in whatever field of endeavor they choose. Maybe, some day, we'll stop all this nonsense of teaching our children that they are special and they are winners without even lifting a finger, and get back to teaching them how to take pride in hard work and craftsmanship, leading them to much more fulfilling and useful lives.

http://clicks.robertgenn.com/winners-losers.php

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