Experts I’ve talked to have delicately suggested that I stop sharing new articles here every day.

“You could write just a few that are targeted to the exact problem you solve for your prospective customer,” they say. “And then you can link to those on social media.”

Yes, that is a very tidy way to do business. But that’s not what this blog is for.

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I didn’t realize the extent to which some kids face pressure to excel until I moved to a major city and began to work with affluent families there.

Though these kids enjoyed certain privileges and choices that I had not had, they were also expected to follow a certain path in life. They were expected to be exceptional students and go to exceptional colleges.

Presumably, to have exceptional lives.

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A friend of mine is investigating a business idea.

In fact, he’s been investigating various business ideas for the past few months. He’s not sure whether the idea he has now will turn out to be a good one.

I wonder if what he’s really asking is, “Will my idea be successful?” And perhaps he would define success as, “Will it yield a profitable business?”

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I came across a plaintive blog post by a struggling entrepreneur. “God,” she said to the Internet, “Why won’t you send your blessings to my business?”

Yesterday, I wrote about how we can succeed with something if we stick with it and refuse to entertain the possibility that we don’t have what it takes. But that’s about our own skill and persistence. We run into trouble when we think we can control what other people do if we just try hard enough or show up long enough…and if that is the case, controlling the actions of an almighty deity would seem to be to be off the menu as well.

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When people call my music school inquiring about lessons for adults, they often wonder in all sincerity if it’s even possible for them to learn. “I’m thirty-two. Is it too late for me to learn how to play the piano?”

Whenever I’m asked a question like this, I jokingly tell respond that they should’ve called a week earlier, and now it’s too late.

People get the “too late” idea from a misinterpretation of the research that shows that from the birth to age six, human beings have a much higher capacity for absorbing language and music. It’s during this time that children actually develop not only skill and knowledge in these areas, but the aptitude itself. In other words, they it’s not so much their ability but their potential ability that’s increasing. A child who has a lot of exposure to music during their formative years, then, will have increased potential in music as an adult.

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