We see talent as something inborn. But it’s not inborn at all. Anyone can learn to write headlines or draw cartoons, or do anything to an exceptional degree – if they make enough mistakes and proceed to eliminate the mistakes.
But how can you eliminate mistakes if you don’t make them in the first place? The only way out of this trap is to have a system to make mistakes.
There’s an old saying I’m reminded of every time I mess something up in rehearsal: Do you know why it’s called “rehearsal?” Because if you only had to do it once it’d be called “hearsal.”
Sean DSouza’s thoughtful article highlights why mistakes are important, why they should be part of the learning process, and how mistakes create “talent.”
I loved the part about ‘rehearsal’. I did my first stage play recently in Hyderabad, India. The best part was rehearsal. As Dustin Hoffman said in an interview that a take is the actor’s opportunity to fail.
I wrote about my lessons learned from the play at my blog:
http://www.pushkarbajpai.com/2012/05/all-worlds-play.html
Thank you.