Early on in Peter Jackson's new Beatles movie, Get Back, there's a moment in which George Harrison is speaking earnestly to his fellow bandmates about his shortcomings as a guitarist and his desire for growth.

As a huge fan of the Beatles, it's illuminating to hear George talk about his skills and the way he sees himself in relation to other guitarists, like his friend Eric Clapton.

And it's heartbreaking to see how dismissive John and Paul are as George is speaking. Paul is practically yawning.

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I got a great question this week from a friend. I love questions!

He wants to know if his reluctance to follow through on a business idea is due to a lack of courage.

Not at all, I’d say. To me, it sounds a lot more like an abundance of wisdom.

Pop culture loves stories of people who quit their jobs and took big risks, betting everything on one idea. Personally, I find these stories unsettling.

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When you first start playing guitar, the physical pain can be quite a deterrent.

“It’s like getting a sunburn on your fingertips,” I tell students. “It’s okay. Keep playing every day — just take a lot of breaks.”

It gets worse before it gets better. However, for those who persist through the discomfort, magic awaits. Your body will, in obedience to your habits, provide assistance in the form of calluses. With this hardened extra skin, your guitar chords will ring out true and clear. Playing won’t hurt anymore, and your learning will accelerate.

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“Yesterday, she sat at the piano and cried,” said Angie about her nine-year-old, “and today she’s refusing to play.”

It didn’t take much to soothe Angie, despite how dire the situation seemed. I told her that I’ve cried at the piano bench many a time. It’s normal. It doesn’t mean that her daughter has had enough and should quit piano. On the contrary, it means that she really cares about what she’s doing and a breakthrough is on its way if she sticks with it.

Do we want a child to feel this level of frustration in their first six months of piano lessons? Of course not. But Angie’s daughter had been playing for more than three years. She was an accomplished player for her age who was setting big goals for herself.

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Talent is convenient.

It’s undeniably helpful to have early promise or natural aptitude in a particular area. We tend to enjoy things we’re good at. If you are naturally good at something, you will stick with it all the way to mastery.

However, the flip side concerns me more. If you are not naturally good at something that you really want to master, I urge you to stick with it anyway. Sooner or later, with consistent effort over time, some aspect of it will click. When you evaluate things several weeks, months, or years later, you may even find that your results are indistinguishable from the “talented” person.

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