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Diamonds in the Rough

Written by: Karen E. Klein

Article Overview: Developing an idea takes strategy, research, commitment and money. Likewise, someone with raw talent must invest in training, preparation, industry savvy and networking before she is likely to get noticed.

Diamonds in the Rough

Many people seem surprised that Susan Boyle, the YouTube "Britain's Got Talent" phenomenon, got to middle-age without being discovered for her singing talent.

I'm not surprised at all. Both my parents sang and I grew up around talented amateurs who - for one reason or another - never made it big. Many of my friends today are unpublished authors, poets and screenwriters. For years, I took dance classes from a tall, beautiful woman who could have taken a place in the Broadway chorus line, but never quite got there.

The point is, raw talent is all around us. It's not unlike raw ideas, which - as we've all heard - are valued at around a dime a dozen.

What matters isn't the talent - or the idea The point is, raw talent is all around us. It's not unlike raw ideas, which - as we've all heard - are valued at around a dime a dozen.

What matters isn't the talent - or the idea - so much. What matters is what you do with it.

Developing an idea takes strategy, research, commitment and money. Likewise, someone with raw talent must invest in training, preparation, industry savvy and networking before she is likely to get noticed.

Part of it is also luck and timing. A terrific singer born in London, or Los Angeles, has got it easier than one who's lived her entire life in an obscure Scottish village. A great idea conceived in Silicon Valley has a better chance than one cooked up in Pakistan.

Most of all, developing talent and ideas takes courage. Boyle showed a lion's share of it when she stepped out in front of a hostile audience.

People with great ideas must screw up that kind of courage if they want their ideas to go beyond the raw stage and succeed on the world stage.

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Article Tags: beautiful woman, britain s got talent, broadway chorus line, dance classes, dime a dozen, hostile audience, middle age, raw ideas, raw talent, research commitment, scottish village, screenwriters, silicon valley, strategy research, susan boyle, talented amateurs, terrific singer, unpublished authors, world stage, youtube



Related Forum Posts
Raising Capital for an Invention - There have been alot of great ideas and concepts already discussed here but I will add that love money is a great way to get the ball started. Family and friends that believe in you and your concept can asked and should be asked first. Banks and other lenders are always more eager to give you more - but getting the start up investment proves to be the most difficult. Remember ACRES of Diamonds and look in your own backyard first. Jude
Re: Raising Capital for an Invention - [quote="TheRainmaker":1226ijtz]There have been alot of great ideas and concepts already discussed here but I will add that love money is a great way to get the ball started. Family and friends that believe in you and your concept can asked and should be asked first. Banks and other lenders are always more eager to give you more - but getting the start up investment proves to be the most difficult. Remember ACRES of Diamonds and look in your own backyard first. Jude[/quote:1226ijtz] Hi Jude, When you're dealing with angel investors in the form of family and friends, what kind of interest rates do you offer them or are their contributions just considered to be donations (or at least interest free loans)?
My adventure: Rappelling - A year or so ago I visited my sister over in Germany. (She's in the Air Force, stationed over there.) We went caving in Luxembourg. It was a "beginner's cave trip." - just a 1-day thing. (Three hours to get there, 2 hours at the cave, 3 hours back.) The first thing we had to do was learn how to rappel. So we were all on top of this sheer escarpment, about 50 feet high or so, and practiced rappelling down. There were 10 of us. I put it off, and put it off, and was the 2nd to the last one to go. You're supposed to turn and go over the edge of the cliff backwards, with the rope attached to your harness in such a way that you can slide down it, controlling your descent by your hand behind your back with a bit of rope in it. Well, I chickened out - couldn't do it. As I waited for the last person to go down, my sister ran up the trail to where we were and urged me to give it a try. She'd done it, I could do it. So, I gathered up my courage and tried it again. "If I die, I die!" I said to myself. So over the edge I went. And I LOVED it. Rough, and stop and go, in an unskilled fashion, but I made it all the way down and I loved it. I would have been quite happy to go again! But then it was time to go into the cave, which I didnt' care for. We rappelled through 3 or 4 different openings - which is what took the time - and then out the other side of the cave. Wouldn've taken 1 person 5 minutes. Didn't care for the caving - boring, loved the rappelling, and if I ever get another chance, I'd go again. I guess it was just the exhiliaration of being in complete control, your whole body suspended in space by a rope, but you were able to control your descent and feel like James Bond (or Emma Peel!) Great fun!


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