Talent - Either You Have It Or Not

[terrypen]

This is definitely a subject that cannot be put into a particular shaped box.

As far as having talent, we are all born with no talent except to fill a diaper and squawk when we are hungry! I'm fairly certain not one person on this forum came out of the womb with pencil and paper or a stamp and leather! It is ALL learned! Now, there are some people that have an ability to learn very rapidly, either they get "it" or that circuit in their brains are short wired. It is what I call God given talent, but it is something that even they have worked at probably with zeal that you didn't see all the crappy stuff that was thrown away.

I don't think any of this can't be learned in time, whether it is 10,000 hours or 1,000 hours or 100,000 hours you can learn it. It all depends on how much it will hold your interest which will directly influence the waking hours spent learning. As an example, I am a computer tech by trade, but in 1992 you could put all my knowledge about computers in a thimble. In 1994, I was in the Army and became a Training NCO for a company that had a network engineer. The exiting Training NCO told me that we had to add all PT scores using a calculator and divide by the number of PT tests to get the company average. I asked why he didn't use the computer, his answer was "we can't, we have to add them this way!" Ummmm, OK... I asked the network guy how to do it with the computer, he gave me the DBase IV books and said "when you get to a point you can't figure out come back and tell me!" I studied those books so I could do that one task that "couldn't be done on the computer!" One week later, while the Training NCO was improving his calculator skills, I ran my program and in 15 seconds had the printed output of the information he needed. To his bewilderment, after double-checking my math, he asked how I did that and I told him for the last week I've spent ALL my hours figuring out HOW to do it.

To make a long story short, if it is something that truly interests and/or captures your interest you WILL devote the time needed to learn the trade no matter what it is. But YOU WILL have to devote as many hours as it takes to get where you want, some people never stop striving. Some will think "that's good enough!." or I don't really want to learn it, I just want to do it.

Back to my computer knowledge, I do not have a degree but have hands on knowledge from spending every waking moment working on computers and just doing it. It did not happen over night it took a couple years before I landed a job as a computer tech and even then kept eating, sleeping and breathing computers. I have had people ask me to teach them how to do what I do on computers... ++blank stare++ It has taken me almost 20 years to gain the knowledge that I have, I can't "teach" you to do what I do. I can give you tips and pointers, but in the end YOU MUST DEVOTE THE TIME to learn your trade.

Now relating to learning art and/or leather crafts, all the guys and gals that have been doing it for a few years can give you tips and pointers but in the end it is still up to you and whether it is interesting enough for you to devote the time and continually strive to be better. Strive to be better than the Bob "hidepounder" Parks of the trade, you will probably fall short but keep trying and keep asking for critiques of your work and work on that stuff.

Also the people that learn trades in 1,000 hours are the ones that... make me sick... LOL OK Jealous! Some peoples brains are artistically wired and they immediately grasp the 3D images and how they should look. Some of us take a little longer in that department. I have also dealt with those 100,000 hour folks in other fields and at times wondered if they'd ever grasp the task.

Sorry for the long winded approach,

Terry

P.S. hopefully it is mostly coherent.. composition was my 25 hour subject... hated it.. haha

[Calait]

TERRY, Thanks for a great post, compensation for many of us is difficult, however necessary. You made a very good point. Thankfully many of the hobbies we pick up can be leaaarned only if we apply ourselves, some you may make money doing, others are pure enjoyment.

[jimcxls]

I would add the old proverb "when the student is ready the teacher will appear." After almost 70 years on this planet, I have found that desire can triumph many limitations. Answers and help are available everywhere. Especially in the internet age, wow!. I spent my adult life making a good living doing something I was not born to. I simply, as others have said, dedicated myself to tens of thousands of hours of execution and made good money doing that and really coming to enjoy it. During that time, I have done many other things as well. All of this has taught me that I can do anything I decide I want to do and then put in the time. We are all innately better at some things than others, but don't ever deny yourself the pleasure of doing something you enjoy. I believe it was Woody Allen who said “90% of success is just showing up.” You have the gift of your life, so use it for what you believe in.

[TRHLeather]

My favorite quote that covers this was actually in regards to mixed martial arts. "Hard work beats natural talent when natural talent refuses to work hard". I'm no mixed martial artist, nor am I a "professional" leather worker but I seem to have a natural talent to picture things in my head and make them exist, with a little hard work. I just enjoy the pursuit of these things. I love the feeling of solving a difficult leather assembly, or of finally, after three years of struggle, make my rescued sewing machine finally stitch like a champion. A desire to do something is a start, that's when hard work and perseverance will carry you where you want to go.