Geoff Colvin just wrote an article for Fortune titled: “Why Talent is Overrated.” Here is the intriguing teaser copy.

“The conventional wisdom about ‘natural’ talent is a myth. The real path to great performance is a matter of choice.”

The promise seems to be that you can become whatever you want to be. Really? I’d believe it except for one thing: my career in opera.

You didn’t know I had a career in opera? Well, I didn’t. The only thing stopping me was the lack of “natural talent” that Colvin says is a myth.

I’ve loved opera since I was young. I love to sing. I have a deep, rich speaking voice. But I can’t sing very well, though I’ve really tried.

In my forties I hired a voice coach. My coach, Roger, had been an opera singer. He didn’t like the lifestyle so he created another career singing locally and coaching voice while he studied for the ministry.

Roger was convinced that anyone could “learn to sing acceptably.” He believed that with all his heart. I believed it, too. For a while.

We did exercise after exercise. Sometimes Roger was puzzled when I didn’t hear the difference between two notes or when my voice went up when it should have gone down. But we pressed on.

Finally, one evening after a session, we sat at my kitchen table talking about singing and other things. Roger started to chuckle. Soon he was laughing.

When he finally stopped he looked at me. Tears of laughter were still in his eyes.

“You know,” he said, “You are really very, very, very, very bad.”

It was my turn to laugh. We called off the voice lessons. My hopes of a career in opera had gone up in laughter.

When I hear that “natural talent is a myth” I just don’t buy it. If it was, I’d be looking back on a grand career in opera.

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