Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Tonal Tuesdays - More Than Confidence

It has been said that anything is possible if you want it badly enough and you are willing to pay the price.  I do think many people are unwilling to do the latter.

Our daughter, Colleen sent me a BBC article about a young man, Nicholas McCarthy, who was born with just one arm.  Click on his name to see the full article.  Below you can see him with his small electronic piano playing away.  You can also hear him playing and talking about his journey if you go to the complete article.
Nicholas McCarthy

Last weeks, Tonal Tuesday, was about Confidence.  Well this young man has that in spades.  Not only did he have to be confident but absolutely committed to his goal of becoming a pianist.  His parents were very supportive but those in the music schools less so.  Unfortunately or perhaps, fortunately, he was denied an audition at first because at first blush, one hand seemed an insurmountable obstacle for Nicholas to overcome.  Little did they know that he had all ready gone round that corner and it was the officials who had the road block.

The mind is an amazing thing.  When you put something into the subconscious, the mind does not differentiate between what is actual and what is an unrealized goal.  Obviously, Nicholas saw himself as a pianist and could feel and see that happening and just didn't let anything stand in his way no matter what anyone said.

The lesson here is that no matter what, if you want something badly enough and are willing to "do the work" to make it happen then it is yours.  Are you willing?

2 comments:

Colleen said...

I think it's amazing that the Royal College of Music did see his potential. They say that he has to have more stamina than the average performer, but you really can't hear the difference between his playing and somone with two hands. Amazing!

Embro Thistle Singers said...

When you listen to his playing, there is no way to know he is any different from anyone else. He is just a bit more talented than most and very committed. What an inspiration.