Born To Win (Or Lose)?

If we could all go back and start our life as an artist with a blank canvas, how many of us would repaint our self-image? Interacting with large numbers of radio people from corporate officers to freshmen air talent, it's our burden to match-up with them instead of expecting them to meet our standard. Frequently we hear in quiet acquiescence, "I wasn't born with natural talent."

Self-opinion and performance go hand-in-hand; almost everyone suffers from a sensory blind spot which in time can take its toll on our ability to succeed. Sometimes when I hear this admission of self-doubt (the born-with-it proposition) I ask this question: "If you really believe select people are 'born with it,' how then do we explain hundreds of little kids who learn to play the violin each year, thanks to Dr. Suzuki?" Think about it. How is that possible?

Instead of being born with or without it, it's a timeline of messages; from parents or teachers discounting a kid, or plying them with positive encouragement and messages of work-ethic leading to success. Thus we repeat innumerable times each year to programming leadership from markets large and not so large, "the biggest job of a leader is to help someone see what they don't see." Kids will build emotional attachment to that which they lock onto first. Later as an adult professional, we realize we cannot hold two conflicting opinions without loss of direction and confidence: "You seem bright enough, but why can't you be more like your sister?"

We see it all too frequently: People don't fail because of what or who they are ... they fail because of what they think they can't become.

In short, they just stop "deserving." Almost everyone has visited a McDonald's. Some are vaguely familiar with the founder's name but few know his story. For 17 years, Ray Kroc sold paper cups, playing the piano part-time to make ends meet. He took a leap and struck out on his own creating a milk shake business. When he heard how the McDonald Brothers in San Bernardino were turning out milk shakes on eight of his Multi-Mixer machines, he went to California to investigate. On arrival he couldn't believe the quality and efficiency of how the brothers turned out burgers and french fries, yet feeling it seemed wasted on one location. "Why don't you open other restaurants like this?" he asked.

They objected, saying, "It would be a lot of trouble, and besides, who would we get to open them?" Kroc had someone in mind ... it was Ray Kroc. What is usable from this history? Kroc paid his dues as a salesman, opening his business in his mid-50s! He built McDonalds into a billion-dollar business in 22 years. It took IBM 46 years to reach that mark, Xerox 63 years to reach the billion-dollar benchmark!

Perseverance doesn't imply doing the same thing the same way; it means giving full concentration to what you're doing while looking over the horizon for what "could be." And here's the kicker: most people don't realize their optimum potential and performance until later in life, contrary to what showbiz would have us believe. For younger ascending radio people it means "there's time to perfect your specialty, gain skill and track record." For older career people it means "There's plenty of time if you use it well."

I heard it whispered from an advanced soul met only in those rare dimensions we sometimes reach in dreams, out on a moss-covered promontory overlooking the Olympic Mountains. "Heroes" she whispered, "Are those who struggle against impossible odds to achieve unthinkable victories, then return to us to share with us what they saw."

Each of us has the potential to do great things ... if we only remember who we are.