The Top Skill to Teach Your Child Early and Help Them Succeed at Nearly Everything
As a leadership consultant with 30 years of experience studying high performers, one truth keeps proving itself: Being artistic, especially mastering a musical instrument, can rewire your brain for greatness.
Even Steve Jobs said it best: “The people working on the Macintosh were musicians and poets and artists… who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world.”
The Importance of Playing an Instrument
1. Visualizing Success Becomes Second Nature
Musicians mentally rehearse long before playing, turning visualization into a superpower for creating reality.
2. You Develop a Sacred Relationship with Time
Focused practice teaches you to value time deeply and build discipline that shapes all areas of life.
3. You Learn to Embrace Discomfort
Facing difficult parts of music builds resilience and the ability to lean into challenges rather than avoid them.
4. Emotions Become Designable
Music teaches you to regulate and direct emotions intentionally, a skill that benefits all stressful moments.
5. Boredom Is Feedback
Musicians see boredom as a signal to refocus on goals, helping you become sharper and more engaged everywhere.
5. Being Stuck Leads to Invention
When things don’t work, musicians innovate, teaching a vital lesson in creativity and problem-solving.
6. Standards Rise and Stay High
Experiencing excellence makes mediocrity unacceptable, raising your expectations for yourself and others.
7. You Create for Others, Not Just Yourself
Playing for an audience shapes your work into a meaningful expression that aims to move and inspire.
How to Start Learning an Instrument Today
- Pick the instrument that moves you emotionally. Don’t overthink it, follow your heart.
- Practice 20-30 minutes daily. Consistent, focused practice rewires your brain.
- Celebrate progress, not perfection. Mastery is small steps compounded with passion.
