Is Your Child in the 5%?

What do these composers have in common?

Paul McCartney

Danny Elfman

Michael Jackson

Prince

They, along with many other famous musicians, didn't know how to read music!! Despite them being leaders in their industry, they did a lot more than just "get by" in their chosen careers! They smashed it!!

Imagine if they were in school to be musicians and were not allowed to compose songs until they did all the menial busywork necessary to learn to read and write musical notation. I bet we would never have heard of them!! Well, I can read music, but I have never composed a single song!! Those "illiterate" composers are geniuses who wrote songs that we all love!

Did you know that less than 5% of the general population can write songs? It's an even smaller percentage that have written songs that we are familiar with. Wouldn't it be criminal if those composers were not even allowed to compose music until they got a passing grade in music reading? Nobody would want to hold them back in that way!!

• How can we apply this lesson to the children in our lives?

• How often do our kids have abilities that go unnoticed because we're so busy trying to make sure that they are like all the other kids?

• Are we taking too much of their time, requiring the kids to master skills they will never need in their lifetimes?

• How can we help them spend their time more effectively to become the individuals they really can be?

• What if every child has some type of skill that only 5% of the rest of the population has?

• What if "making sure" they get all their schoolwork done keeps them from practicing and perfecting the very skills they truly need to be successful in life?

I would love to hear your thoughts as you answer these questions. Even more, I would love to hear in what ways you are helping your child find and practice their 5% skill!

-Heather