My sister read me the following quote yesterday after I expressed my dismay with the magazines.
We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents. -Eric HofferDo you think that drive can sometimes make you better at something? Or is it - either you have talent or you don't? Take Brittney Spears - the girl doesn't have a speck of talent, but she has (or had) drive and the ability to know what would sell. Maybe that, in itself, is talent. What are your thoughts?
3 comments:
That's a tough one. I don't believe that drive can give you talent. Either you have it or you don't. But I do think that the drive can give the "impression" of talent. If you know what you need to do, have the desire, drive, and knowledge to do it, then it can be accomplished, but doens't mean that you actually have the talent for it. (Brit spear, Ashlee Simpson...they have the drive...but have you heard them sing live??? Can you say doctored up recording? today's technology can make ANYONE sound good...but doens't mean they actually have the TALENT to stand on their own without it.)
Britney and her K-Fed opportunistic, poor excuse for a father figure, husband are great examples of opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to marketing. Neither have great talent but when Britney was young and presumably innocent, she listened to her handlers and portrayed the exact image that would sell. To her credit she worked hard at making it work, then one day she met Mr. Federline. K-Fed, on the other hand, simply was trying to bully his way into the lime light by riding on someone elses coat tails. He's finding out what the rest of us have known for a few years now, that her act is tired and little talent can only take you so far, especially when you get off message. His bad attitude helped to bring out the true trailer trash in her. In this way they are the same type of couple as Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston but without the talent. That one is really a shame.
The point here is that, yes a good lead in or marketing connections can make up for a lack of quality or talent. We've all known of great college bands that didn't make it for some reason other then talent. It has to do with contacts and right place, right time. Unfortanately, this means all of us sometimes miss out on innovative ideas or real talent. Just ask the big motor companies how many great ideas they have killed in the name of short term profit. Our plant lost out on that one, but that is a topic for another day.
I totally agree. I'm wondering if the transparency of "drive" makes a difference - wanting fame just for the money, or wanting to be an artist because you are passionate about what you do.
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