I think a big part of “greatness” is the self-confidence to feel comfortable doing the thing that you think is best.
In my opinion, the two best musical talent spotters of modern times are Miles Davis and Col. Bruce Hampton.
Miles was the biggest name in jazz, so most young musicians wanted to work with him.
Col. Bruce Hampton was not a huge name and couldn’t offer conventional opportunity, yet he helped launch the careers of musicians like Jimmy Herring, Oteil Burbridge, Kofi Burbridge, Jeff Sipe, Kevin Scott, etc. When you read about Bruce (which I recommend everyone does, one of the most fascinating people of all time!), it seems clear these people had the potential, but Bruce gave them the confidence and courage to really be themselves and to pursue their wildest creative visions. While not everyone can be “great,” I believe there are many more people with the potential for greatness, and one of the biggest blockers to them achieving this is not feeling comfortable enough to truly pursue their own thing and go for it.
I think a big part of “greatness” is the self-confidence to feel comfortable doing the thing that you think is best.
In my opinion, the two best musical talent spotters of modern times are Miles Davis and Col. Bruce Hampton.
Miles was the biggest name in jazz, so most young musicians wanted to work with him.
Col. Bruce Hampton was not a huge name and couldn’t offer conventional opportunity, yet he helped launch the careers of musicians like Jimmy Herring, Oteil Burbridge, Kofi Burbridge, Jeff Sipe, Kevin Scott, etc. When you read about Bruce (which I recommend everyone does, one of the most fascinating people of all time!), it seems clear these people had the potential, but Bruce gave them the confidence and courage to really be themselves and to pursue their wildest creative visions. While not everyone can be “great,” I believe there are many more people with the potential for greatness, and one of the biggest blockers to them achieving this is not feeling comfortable enough to truly pursue their own thing and go for it.