Unifier » March 2002 » 1% Inspiration - 99% Perspiration

"A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort."

— Sydney Smith

When I was 11, I was so taken with the Bach Brandenburg Concerti that I listened to them hours at a time until the records were totally scratched and my family was ready to "sell me to the gypsies." But J.S. Bach was my hero and I figured that if there had ever been one person who had lived a meaningful life, going on to total greatness, it must be Johann Sebastian Bach.

I secretly decided that if my life were to be meaningful for certain, I would have to strive to be greater than Bach and then I would have it made. It is a little embarassing to admit this now, but I actually believed (or hoped) I had the potential to be greater than Bach. I am not sure if I thought I had the genetic capabilities of achieving this, but I am positive that I had no idea what kind of work this would entail. I would often regret not being born with his genius and when I mentioned this to my mother, she said "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." (A quote from Albert Einstein, I believe.) After she explained what that meant, I remember thinking that this was a very boring thing for her to say. It did get me to practice a little more than I would have, but I thought it fell hopelessly short of helping me become greater than Bach.

Thank goodness it was not long before I realized being greater than Bach was not realistic and I started looking for meaning elsewhere. But the experience sensitized me to what makes people successful and "great".

I have been teaching young people to play wind instruments for over 25 years. I teach most of my pupils on a one-on-one basis and have had the priviledge of accompanying these students along their way for as many as 12 of their most impressionable years. I get to know them quite well in that time. Because of this unique position, I would like to tell you about an observation I have made.

I am glad to report that most of my oboe and clarinet students somehow manage to learn to play the instrument well enough to use it as a way of expressing their artistic needs to balance out their occupation later in life. The surprising news is that it is rarely that super-talented 8 year-old that becomes one of my best students and goes on to make a career of music. The "great" ones have almost always been those "average" kids that come to me with a burning desire to play and with the will and determination to overcome, over a long period of time, the many difficulities of playing an instrument.

"Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow talent to the dark place where it leads."

— Erica Jong, American author

Now I am realizing that instead of wishing for Bach's genius as a child, I should have wished for his perserverance and commitment, for these are the qualilties that constitute greatness. I admit that it helps to have talent too, but Erica Jong's point, I think, is that without perserverance and committment, talent and 1.70 euro will get you a seat on the city bus.

Another thing I have observed is that you don't have to reach J.S. Bach's historical acclaim to be great. Our Music and Art school is located in an area of Bielefeld called Bethel. This has been a well known center (founded by the Luthern church Evangelischekirche) for mentally and physically handicapped people over 100 years ago and strove, with some success, to save its patients from being exterminated by the Nazis in the 1940's.

I have friends who work in this center and am often touched by their stories about working with people who, when you look at them, don't appear great at all. But you see them with different eyes when you hear of the courage and perservance that they exhibit just getting through each day; the brain-damaged adult drilling over and over to make change until he is finally allowed to fetch the breakfast rolls from the bakery; the woman with cerebal palsy who walks 250 meters every day from her home to the bus stop, dragging along reluctant limbs with purpose and conviction, even though it takes over an hour each way; or the teenager born with mongolism who has beat all odds; managed to complete a computer course and is looking for a job. This is greatness.

There may be a few of you out there who, like my younger self, wished that life had handed you more lucky breaks so that you wouldn't have to work so hard or had teachers or bosses that were easier to please, or that you had more money so that the things you wished for were easier to get. Here are some quotes for you:

"Not what I have, but what I do is my kingdom."

— Thomas Carlyle, Scottish essayist and historian

"A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, nothing else."

— Andre Malraux, French novelist, archaeologist, art theorist, political activist and public official

"You can either take action, or you can hang back and hope for a miracle.
Miracles are great, but they are so unpredictable."

— Peter Drucker, Austrian-American management consultant and educator

"Vision without action is merely a dream.
Action without vision just passes the time.
Vision with action can change the world."

— Joel Barker

There are many of you out there who are coping with extraordinary odds and still managing pretty well. I wish I were there to pat you on the back and praise your efforts. I dedicate this issue to all of us. May we ever strive to become greater than Bach.

— Martha