I studied hospitality in Nanyang Polytechnic and business in National University of Singapore, but had always loved telling stories through documentaries. I created my own projects and learnt the ropes through experimentation.
When I thought of pursuing documentaries as a full-time career, I believed I had to be honest about whether I had innate talent to excel at the craft. Hard work is always required for any endeavour, but talent is a multiplier for growth and outcomes.
Moreover, talent may be easier to identify than passion. According to Stanford design professor Bill Burnett, less than 20 per cent of young people know what their passion truly is or how to fulfil it.
He explained that most young people are “dabblers” – they can list their interests and hobbies, but not a single, concrete passion.
A telltale sign of talent is when you find it easy to cultivate the skill. Not only do you pick up new concepts and techniques quicker than most, you also enter into a flow state readily when working on that activity.
COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY
In any industry, there will be competition, and in any competition, there is bound to be comparisons.
