I was one of those kids where many things came pretty easy. People told me, “you are so talented!” I flew through (most) work without much effort at all.

Until I didn’t. There are diminishing returns on “just hacking,” whether it be in music, sport, art, engineering, academics, business, whatever. Working on something even when it’s a slog is (to a point) 100% necessary to get anywhere. It’s also a muscle we have to learn to use. If you’re naturally talented at something, it’s easy to neglect that muscle.

It took me until now to realize that I work best when I’m leading and learning. I never stop learning! But it was hard for me to see that difficult stuff like starting your own business is actually valuable and possible. When I was younger I thought, “I can’t do that because it doesn’t come naturally.” Well, with practice, SO MANY THINGS can come naturally, good and bad — so I practice the good things! The ones that (I hope) help fellow humans. I mean, like, the people that are right near me right now. I exercise my ability to “ungrasp,” to release the illusion of control, to unlock the power of listening, to basically let myself die so I can touch and feel and hear and see the world around me. Of course it’s not so black-and-white, but hopefully you get my drift.

I’m grateful that we are all different and that there are so many mismatched ways we inhabit the world. Because we need each other to thrive, and getting stirred up by other ways of thinking and seeing is just so unique to us. Enjoy it!