The ability to succeed or fail is in every person, it has to do with the way you think and what you believe, what habitual thoughts you have.

Is success in any field a matter of “exclusive talents or skills” ones given only to the gifted? The answer to that question is no! Whilst it may appear that some people have been blessed with a certain gift it all comes down to how much success we allow ourselves to have.

If you look into the lives of those who appear to have been blessed with a gift, you will find they are often really focused almost obsessive about their particular skill or talent. They often practise for long hours or are constantly researching searching for ways to be even better at what they do.

For many of this we would think this would be “to hard” to much like hard work. But for these extraordinary performers it isn’t hard work in fact they love what they do and how often they do it! It really is all about the way they think.

Here is a story I love and would love to share it with you, a story that I believe clearly shows what influence our minds have. If you think outstanding talent is about just extraordinary gift just read this story.

l I have shared this in a very brief form, you will find lots of information about Itzhak Perlman on the net, this guy is one of the most touching and amazing violinists, truly exceptional!

Itzhak Perlman was born on August 31, 1945 in Tel Aviv, then the largest city in Palestine. Itzhak had wanted to be a violinist after hearing a concert performed on the radio when he was a mere three-years-old. His father worked as a barber and bought his young son his first violin from a second-hand shop for about six dollars. Perlman practiced intensely every day for hours before facing one of his toughest challenges.

When he was four-years-old, he was stricken with polio, which would forever leave him disabled. He continued to practice for the full year it took for him to recover and was soon able to walk using the aid of leg braces and crutches. Upon being released from the hospital, Perlman enrolled at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music where he studied under the famed Madame Rivka Goldart on a scholarship from the American-Israeli Cultural Foundation.

In 1958, at the age of 13, Itzhak was brought to New York City, to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show for two performances during the show’s “Cavalcade of Stars.” He stunned the audiences with his talent and he has gone on to play around the world as one of the most Celebrated Violinists of our time, listen to the music theme from Schindler’s list and you will feel the magic the flows through this man and his violin.

This man practised for at least 8 hours every day, not just now and then but every day!

Several years ago Itzhak gave a charity performance in Vienna, the tickets were $500 each and this gave the guests an opportunity to speak with Itzhak. A man who attended the concert went up to Itzhak after the show and said, “All my life I have had a great love of the violin, and I have heard every great violinist, but I have never heard anyone play the violin as brilliantly as you did tonight” The man continued, “You know Mr. Perlman, I would give my life to be able to play the violin like you did tonight” Itzhak Perlman smiled, and said I have!

Now if you look at the life of Itzhak Perlman it was one surrounded with challenges, his parents were poor, he was striken with Polio which left him paralysed in both legs. Now that’s not what you would call a gifted start in life is it?

Yet he is today one of the greatest violinists because he made the decision that he wanted to be a great violinist and that’s what he thought about and that’s what he practised every day to be .

So now apply those same principles to you. Let’s say you have really decided what you want to achieve. Things get going okay and then things start to get a little tough, things just don’t quite go to plan, perhaps the person you wanted to join your business said no or someone in your business just quit. Instead of complaining and wanting to give up be like Itzhak Perlman and decide that nothing is going to stop you, decide to give your life to being all that you want to be.

Now I know it might be easy to say well if you only have to concentrate on one thing that’s okay but I am balancing a family and a job and it just gets a little tough if things don’t quite go to plan. Just let me tell you Itzhak Perlman is married and has five children and teaches others to play the violin as well!

If you think you can or you think you can’t you right! Decide to be what you want to be!

Yours in Success

Linda Cargill-Selfe