A good way to master a thing is to steal it
as Picasso said — good artists copy, great artists steal
It hurts to see talent struggle. It hurts to hear people say they have no gift, or were born without talent. In recent times, I have decided to end the persuasive debate and instead respond with a short sentence — if you think you weren’t born with talent, steal some. It really can’t be that hard.
Observation is one of the greatest tools of mastery. Watch and learn isn’t just a cliché. To steal talent, find someone who exhibits a depth of what you desire and begin to observe. You could observe through listening, reading or watching. However your senses most prefer to engage the art of observation, knock yourself out.
What good would it do, to have learnt a thing and never actually try it? Practice consistently what you have observed. That’s the principle of the one thing. Consistency is a sure way to gain momentum. If you have learnt to produce salt by the mixture of acid and base, then mix acid and base till you have learnt and known all the salt there is and can be.
The whole point of stealing is to make a thing your own and this is where all of what you are comes in. Add at least 80% of yourself to the mastery and talent you have stolen through observation and practice. If you do not do this, all you have done is copy talent and like Picasso said; good artists copy, great artists steal.
The truth is, you do not need talent to learn from the masters. What was Faraday’s talent? None I know of. He simply spent hours studying Isaac Watts Improvement of the Mind while working at the book binder’s shop and then proceeded to observe and make notes of every word from Humphry Davy; a renowned scientist at the time.
To succeed in life, you need the basics only. Faraday hadn’t even a formal education and was quite limited in Mathematics. If you believe you have no talent that is not a problem. All you need to make life happen is life itself.
Talent is awesome, and I do not believe that there is a person born without a gift or talent of some sort but, I have come to realize that some people just would not be convinced on this hence my sincere advice; if you covet mastery and desire to be the one reference for any point — art, science, public speaking, law, technology, etc. — just steal it.
