Talent alone won’t make you a success. Neither will being in the right place at the right time, unless you are ready. The most important question is: “Are your ready?” – Johnny Carson
They may look the part, but even if they were in the right place at the right time, I’m not sure about their talent level, and I seriously doubt that they are ready.
What does that mean?
This is a classic statement of the true nature of success. There are plenty of talented people. There are plenty of opportunities. Even if you have both together, success still isn’t a sure thing. This quote states that there is an additional, final ingredient to the recipe for success.
The quote asks the question “Are you ready?” That’s an interesting question in show-business. Most people think they need to work until they’re good, then move to Hollywood to get a chance to be in the right place. But Johnny knew better. They also had to be ready.
I watched a bio on a (then) young comic, and all the hoops he jumped through trying to get onto Johnny’s TV show. The talent scout kept telling him that he wasn’t ready yet. Fortunately, he kept at it, and eventually, the scout said he was ready, and he made the show. Being on the show, of course, opened the door for additional work. And he had proven he was ready.
Why is being ready important?
A fireman, with a fire truck, set up in front of a burning house. Sounds like a done deal. But if the fireman wasn’t well trained, or was still very scared of fire, are they really ready? Is that what you want if you or your loved ones were in the building? How important is being ready to you?
What about an EMT or an emergency room specialist who was brand new, and wasn’t quite ready for the kind of mess is usually associated with car crashes and other major trauma? They could have talent. They could be in the right place. But if they aren’t ready, things could get really bad, right?
It’s one thing to know what to do. And even if you can do them when the stress isn’t there, people can still show they aren’t ready in the heat of the moment. While not every person in every position in life needs to be that ready, there are key people who need to be ready, if they are to be able to execute their duties quickly, efficiently, and effectively.
Where can I apply this in my life?
To me, being ready is part of how I live (one of the lasting results of my brief stay in Boy Scouts). I do a lot of book learning, but then I try to put it to the test. I wanted to learn how to weld. So I got a welder, read up on methods, and then screwed up a pile of scrap before I proved to myself that I was ready.
Note that being ready doesn’t mean you’re perfect (although in some fields, the standards for ‘talent’ are quite high). It means you’re good enough for the task you’re trying to do. Sometimes it requires a lot, but if you’re trying to get a job as a dish washer, it’s probably not a problem.
The quote is about how talented and ready you had to be before Johnny would give you a shot on The Tonight Show. However, most of us live our lives held to a slightly lower standard. If you’re a brain surgeon, you might be an exception to that, but most of us just need to be good enough and ready enough.
For most of us, if we want to get a chance to do something, we need to know what it is we are going to have to do. If you’re looking for a job as a truck driver, you should probably have either some prior experience, or have taken a class. You’ll have to find someone who is hiring. That’s two of the three elements. But are you ready?
Being ready might mean having the arm strength to work the steering (at least in the non-power-steering models). It might mean having the physical and mental stamina to be able to handle the hours on the road. And it might mean having the emotional stability to be away from home for days at a time. Are you ready?
We all undertake steps forward in our lives. We train, we practice, we try new things. Often times, we get pretty good at these tasks. But are we ready? I enjoy singing, but I’m not ready to take the time out of my life to tour. Never have been, likely never will be. Not ready.
What things in your life have you been working on? How well are they going? Are they strictly for your own amusement, as singing is for me? Are there any that you might be looking to turn into something more serious? Have you considered what would be required to be ready?
Being ready, to me, is about understanding how your talent will be applied, and how you will behave under the pressure to perform. Untested knowledge, lightly used skills, these are things that might or might not be ready. If you’ve only ever played chess against a computer, you’re not ready. 8)
Not every skill, knowledge set, or talent needs to be ‘ready’ for the big time, or the little screen. But having the talent to change a tire, but never having changed one, can you truly say you are ready? Be honest with yourself. Practice the skills that will make a difference in your life. Be ready.
From: Twitter, @MarketYrSuccess
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnnycars158444.html
Photo by Tobyotter
Happy Birthday to Johnny Carson, longtime host of the Tonight Show, born 23 Oct, 1925.
