Funny you put sciences and arts together. when I was a child I wanted to be both. Maybe I still want to be now, but yeah, the major challenge for me is perseverance, especially now that I am trying to go towards that thing I really want the most.

I’m amazed at people who admire the success that Mike Phelps enjoyed at the Beijing Olympics, but fail to realize the tremendous work and dedication that went into those wins. They miss one more thing about Mike. He has not only honed his physical skills, but he has a positive mindset that enable him to face with confidence the tremendous pressure and challenges without being undone by them.

I’ve been blessed with many talents and skills, but they alone aren’t worth a hill of beans. It’s the time I devoted to finish my education, build businesses and build meaningful relationships that have made for my success.

One reason child prodigies fail is that when faced with social pressures and criticism, they just cannot handle them.

It is true. EQ is more important than IQ. Child prodigies need sense and wisdom to deal with hardship, or a wise adult appear at the right time to guide them through the process. It needs perseverence or luck or both. Luckily, I got both and survived a harsh situation.

I firmly believe though that part of the dedication an action that you put towards developing and harnessing your talents includes doing whatever it takes to reach your goals, and in the case of musicians, that involves lots of networking and building upon skills not necessarily related to just playing and performing.

By developing and building these indirect skills, it really helps put you in a place where you are ready to receive and identify opportunity . Maybe the huge major record label deal might not come your way, but that doesn’t mean that you still can’t be very successful in what you do!

Don’t rely on external circumstances for your success, but definitely be ready to grab those opportunities when life hands them to you.

I would add that there is a certain degree of luck and opportunity involved as well. There are probably dozens of musicians that are better than those currently on tour with bands, but if you aren’t in the right place at the right time, ready for the opportunity, you won’t be able to take advantage of it =)