Learning from two young musicians

If a seed of a lettuce will not grow, we do not blame the lettuce. Instead, the fault lies with us for not having nourished the seed properly.
Buddhist proverb

Recently, a friend from England shared an article about the musical achievements of his sons; he called it a shameless plug from a proud parent. Both of his sons are teenagers, and one had been selected for the second straight year to play in the National (UK) Children’s Wind Orchestra. The other had been selected for two years running to play in the National (UK) Children’s Regional Symphony Orchestra.

I was impressed that both of his sons had achieved such a high honor. To play at that level, you must have talent. But talent alone is rarely enough to carry you to the highest level of any endeavor; being among the top performers requires dedication and hard work.

I’ve known countless individuals in various fields who were immensely talented but never really achieved what they were capable of achieving. They’d start out with lots of energy and enthusiasm, but when the schedule got tough, they’d often give up. I wanted to know how David’s sons had managed to stick with it until they began receiving enough positive feedback to keep them engaged and committed.

I arranged to have a chat with David, and I learned a valuable lesson about what it takes to achieve success at a very high level. He acknowledged that both of his sons were indeed very talented. But he also agreed that their talent alone was not enough. They had put in countless hours of practice; they were dedicated to mastering their respective instruments.

As we discussed all the factors that led to their success, two things really stood out. First, their mother is an accomplished music teacher, and she provided the technical guidance they needed in order to succeed. David admits that he’s not musically talented, but he contributed to their success another way: he mentored them, constantly providing emotional support, motivation, and encouragement.

It was the combination of teaching and mentoring that helped them reach a level of mastery where the activity itself provided internal motivation and rewarded continued commitment.

If you have a child or young person starting some activity that takes years to master, try to balance your time between teaching and mentoring. Give them guidance in the mechanical tasks to be mastered, but also balance that with encouragement, support and motivation.

If you’re starting a path that will take years to master — a new job, career, business or profession — seek out a teacher and a mentor. You’ll need both to guide you and encourage you to keep going. Eventually the activity will provide its own reward, but you’ll need help sticking with it until it becomes self-rewarding.

To me, the lesson is fairly simple: to succeed, you need a teacher to give you the technical guidance to improve your skills and a mentor to help you keep your eye on the big picture goals. Find both and you’ll have a much better chance of reaching your full potential.

The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
Plutarch
c. AD 46 – 120

Copyright © 2014 John Chancellor