The Talent Code

I stumbled upon an AMAZING blip this morning!

As I got out of my car on P3 in the parkade of the Delta Bow Valley Hotel (adjacent to where I am working and with cheaper parking), I heard the sound of a horn being played.

There, at the far end of the parkade was a gentleman with a brass instrument. I approached him and (for once) asked his permission to photograph him playing his French Horn (I confirmed with him that it was indeed a French Horn), and he acquiesced.

As he took breaks to rest his lips, we chatted. He described himself as a 'enthusiastic amateur' who had played in High School, then went back to it 27 years later. He had been at it for 10 years now (and sounded pretty good to me!). I explained that I was also an enthusiastic amateur ... in photography.
Eventually the conversation turned to the topic of Talent vs. Native Ability.

This is a field in which he is well versed. As it turns out, I was speaking with Alain Lefebvre, technical direction of the Quebec Swimming Federation, a man who (after a quick internet search) is credited with developing a very successful Long Term Athlete Development Program and coached Olympic Athletes!

He talked to me about a book he was reading, called The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, in which research shows that Experts are made, not born. Apparently in takes about 10,000 hours of practice in a field to become an expert.

He told me about Mozart, whose father began teaching him at age 2, who had 3500 hours of study by age 6 when he wrote his first symphony, and 10,000 hours by age 10.

The book of course, was of great interest to Mr. Lefebvre, citing examples from Sports and Music, two of his passions. I may check it out!

For me it was a most entertaining start to my day. A great subject (for my photography) and an engaging conversation. Thank you Mr. Lefebvre!