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The Violinist, The Maestro, And You

by Arthur Sánchez

The story, as it was told to me, goes:

There was once a young man who dreamed of being a concert violinist. He practiced very hard, studied every day, and kept his focus. One day he received the opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall, in New York City. He was incredibly excited. On the day of the concert, he learned that the great Maestro Violinist (a man whom he very much admired) was in audience. This would be a true test. For if the Maestro found his skill worthy, there would be no doubt of his success. The young man played the best that he could and when the concert was over approached the distinguished musician.

"Maestro," he said, "what did you think?"

The maestro turned to him and said: "Nice, but I don't think you have what it takes. Sorry." Crushed, the young man threw away his violin and swore never to play again.

In time, the young man began studying architecture. He got a degree in it and, because he was very talented, rose to be one of the great architects of the city. He won awards and was very successful. Years later, when he saw in the paper that the Maestro would be playing in his local concert hall, he decided to see the man.

After the performance he approached the master and said: "Maestro, I wish to thank you."

The Maestro looked at him: "Why?"

"Several years ago, I was training to be a concert violinist. You attended a recital I gave and told me that I didn't have what it takes. Because of that, I gave up the violin and devoted myself to becoming the best architect I can. I'm very successful now and I owe it to you."

The Maestro thought for a moment and then began nodding his head. "I remember you. You were very good. I thought you had great promise."

The young man was shocked. "But you said --"

"Yes," the old master interrupted him, "I know what I said. It's what I tell everyone."

"But why?"

"Simple. This is a very competitive field and talent is not enough to see you through to your goals. You have to believe in yourself even when others say that you're not good enough. I tell everyone that they don't have what it takes. Because those that do, will simply ignore me."

This isn't my story, and I honestly don't know where it came from, but I've told it to lots of people. Some have argued that it just means that the Maestro is a bastard. Others argue that instead of discouraging people, the Maestro would have been kinder to encourage them. But I've found that for every word of encouragement, you'll get ten words meant to get you to look at reality. Reality being that the odds are against you.

But you already knew that.

So what do I think this story means? Just what the Maestro said: "Talent isn't enough. You have to believe in yourself." No matter what you hope to achieve, you'll find lots of critics who will tell you that you don't have what it takes. And if that is enough to dissuade you, then you probably didn't want to achieve that goal anyway -- not truly. But if you are able to shrug off the critics, work at your craft, and apply yourself to your dream, you can achieve it. Let's face it, becoming an award-winning architect is probably no easier than becoming a concert violinist. But our hero was able to do it. Dreams can be achieved. But only if you're willing to hold on to them.