John S. Gordon - Business and Personal Coach

"You have the greatness and the power.  I just help you turn on the switch."

Welcome to Issue 275.  The mission of "Marvelous Mondays" is to offer an inspirational thought, a practical exercise, some humor, or a simple tip to jump-start your week and to enhance your life, business, outlook or relationships. 

Please feel free to forward "Marvelous Mondays" to others who will enjoy it.   

Did you miss a previous issue?  Click here to view an Archive.   

TALENT ADVOCATES VS. TALENT SKEPTICS

1. Talent Advocates.  As we discussed in Issue 272  there are talent advocates and talent skeptics. The talent advocates advance the "Divine-Spark Theory of Greatness", a phrase coined by Geoff Colvin in his book Is Talent Overrated?  It means that great talent is a natural born gift.
2. Talent Skeptics.  Talent skeptics doubt there is convincing evidence that genetics explains the greatest talent.  However, the talent skeptics do admit that further research might prove that individual genetics does explain the greatness of some performers.   

3. There is a split of opinion on this.

DID MOZART HAVE A DIVINE-SPARK OF GREATNESS?

Many talent advocates consider Mozart as a great example of innate or natural talent.  Geoff Colvin says this is the theory of a "Divine-Spark of Greatness".  Let's list some of the commonly held beliefs about Mozart.

1. Composed music at age 5.
2. Gave public performances as a pianist at age 8.
3. Produced hundreds of works, which are widely considered treasures before he passed away   at 35.   

TALENT SKEPTICS THOUGHTS ABOUT MOZART

Author Colvin makes these observations:

1. Leopold Mozart, Mozart's father, was a famous composer who began intensively training his son in composition and performance at age 3.  Leopold was known as a highly accomplished pedagogue.    

2. Mozart's first 4 piano concertos, composed when he was 11, contain no original music by him, but is a collaboration of works from other composers.

3. At age 16 he composed 3 other works, which again contained no original music, but were arrangements of Bach (one of Mozart's teachers) and are not regarded as great works. 

PROPENSITY, PUSHING & PRACTICE (THE THREE Ps)

1. Propensity.  Even if you tend to follow the talent skeptics about Mozart's early career, there is no doubt that he had a great propensity for music.  At age 11, being able to compose from the works of other composers is itself quite an achievement and further demonstrates his early propensity for music excellence.
2. Pushing.  His father was known to be domineering and pushed his son to become great.  This is one of many examples of persons who excel because of the push received from a parent, teacher, coach, or mentor.
3. Practice.  Mozart is an example of a person who devoted tremendous hours and effort to practicing.    

This week I invite you to look at the three Ps and reflect on the following:

1. Propensity.  Do you have a propensity for talent/greatness?   
2. Push.  Do you feel like you were ever pushed as a young child or student?  By whom were you pushed?
3. Practice.  Where in your life has your constant practice made a difference in your success?

I'd really like to hear from you and will listen to you.

As a business and life coach I have the skills to:

• Help persons discover their propensities for greatness,
• "Push" (inspire and encourage) them, and 
• Establish a realistic plan to "practice" and develop their talents through a system of accountability and reward.

"The artist is nothing without the gift.  But the gift is nothing without the work."

-Emil Zola (Prominent French novelist of the late 19th century)

                   **John is currently accepting a few new coaching clients.**