On January 12, 2007, world-class violin player Joshua Bell played for an audience of over 1,000 people. Interestingly enough, he played while dressed as a common street artist in the subway of Washington DC. Mostly ignored by the apathetic and rushed subway crowd, it took him almost 45 minutes to earn a measly 30 dollars. A few weeks later, however, Bell played again, but now in Carnegie Hall, which was packed to its limits with ecstatic listeners who loved his work. In both cases, his talents and skill were identical, yet the results were vastly different. The big difference was that Joshua Bell moved to a place where people loved his work.
Often, the easiest way to exponentially increase our success and happiness is to simply go to a place where our work is recognized and valued. This is not always easy: Too many times I have seen talented professionals and executives struggle, because they were working in (a part of) an organization which didn’t recognize and value their contribution. Working harder didn’t help, yet once they decided to quit and use their talents somewhere else, their energy and contribution soared.
Thus, ask yourself two questions:
- What’s the place where people love your unique talents and skills?
- Which (courageous) decision do you need to take to get there as soon as possible?
Fertile land beats better seeds every time….
Photo Credit: iStockPhoto/Leonid Eremeychuk