Episode 103 - People Will Pay Well for Anything You Do Above Average
Erica Jong wrote, “Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to nurture it.” And here was a teenager who asked earnestly how she could become a success because she believed she was talent-less. I replied, “I know you have talents.” She frowned, said, “No,” and got ready to defend her position, so I cut her off by asking, “What is something you love to do? It could be dancing, swimming, drawing, singing, problem solving, writing news for the school paper, organizing food drives at church, coordinating fashions, caring for animals or any of hundreds of things. What ever it is, keep doing it until you are better than most people in your school. You don’t have to be the best, but you have to be above average. Later, when you are out of school, keep doing it until you are better than most people in your business. You don’t have to be the best, but you have to be above average. People will pay well for anything you can do that’s above average.”
That was my advice to her. I hope it resonated.
I believe that where a person’s heart is where her moneymaking talent is. And that most people dismiss their talents as insignificant because they see a few people who are better skilled. I like the advice of Henry van Dyke, who wrote, “Use what talent you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.”