Daily Inspiration 5-23-10

"We are told that talent creates its own opportunities.

But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates

not only its own opportunities, but its own talents."

-- Eric Hoffer

When I saw this quote, I laughed because it made me think of a scenario that matched this perfectly. I was in a worship band at church and I play rhythm guitar. We had a person playing bass on a keyboard and it was so, so not happening. Frankly, it sucked. There was no flavor, no oomph, it was drab and worse than that, many times the notes she played clashed with everyone else. Not good.

Well, I had a bass guitar at home and I had this inspiration as if God was saying to me, 'why don't you play the bass?' I thought He must be kidding. I owned one, and played around with it a bit, but I was not a bass player. Now, whenever I got that kind of inspiration, I had no choice but to act on it regardless of what I thought myself, so I made the suggestion to the team and brought the bass to a practice. It was pathetic. I never bothered to learn the notes on the fretboard since I played chords mostly, so now I had no choice but to learn it or I wouldn't be able to play.

But, playing bass is not just playing notes and matching tones, to me it was a mystery, but yet, I loved listening to a great bass player--even more so than a great guitar player. I didn't understand it, but I kept working at it. Each time got just a bit better. Then I bought a much better bass guitar and almost instantly, my playing skyrocketed. I started making up my own unique bass lines and getting so excited about playing. I couldn't wait to get to practice and try out some new stuff. It was awesome.

Now this is a perfect instance where my intense desire (or what became an intense desire through a bit of prodding), created its own talent. I had played guitar since I was sixteen and had a certain talent there, but prior to this experience, the bass just eluded me. As it turned out, it brought me a great wealth of knowledge, skill and passion. I think it is amazing to look back on it.

And it is still happening today in other ways. Desire is the engine that drives everything. Feed that desire some high octane fuel and you have a race car!

Talent Is Not Something I Am Born With. It Is Something That Is Created From My Desire.

Spread Some Joy Today--Tear down the walls that you've built about the things you think you aren't talented at. By developing a strong desire, the walls will evaporate before your eyes. You are smart enough, cool enough and wise enough. It's not about money, time, circumstance, or heredity. It's about your decision and your desire.