Outside of my "real job" as a UX Designer, I do artwork for fun and for sale. My artwork is done in pen with one continuous line that never crosses over itself. I call them "One Liners." Har har, get it?! Anywho's, I go to art shows and display my work and it's generally well received (phew!). But there's one phrase that irks me in the art world (and in the work world) and that phrase is: "You're so talented!"

The thing is, anybody can do what I do. Anybody can do anything they want. You want to cook better? You can. You want to paint? You can. You want to learn to play the piano? Guitar? Cello? Bass? Trumpet? YOU CAN. While in athletics, certain people are blessed with height, jumping ability, fantastic metabolisms, faster than normal injury and workout recovery, in the world of art, cooking, music, these "innate talents" are far less influential on your success. So what's the secret?

PRACTICE. And more importantly, focused practice.

I didn't come out of the womb knowing how to draw, animate, code, sketch, cook, drive, etc. You get better through constant practice. When people say things like "I wish I knew how to play the piano" what they really mean is, "I really wish I could play the piano without having to put in the countless hours of practice, lost social and tv watching time, and just know." Well, it doesn't happen for anybody like that. For any virtuoso, any supremely talented person, when you peel back the layers of what makes them great, what you find is the same: hours and hours and hours of practice.

So what does it mean when you tell someone "You're so talented"? It means that you are inadvertently discounting the hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades of practice that it took to make their finished product as good as it is. You are telling them that they were given a gift that the "layperson" doesn't have. And probably most damaging, you are telling yourself, and anyone else within earshot, that this person is somehow better than you and better than anyone else who can't create something like that. It's just not true. And you're not being fair to yourself.

If you want to learn a new skill, you absolutely can. Skills are honed. Crafted. Built up over time and through repetition. I will end this article with one of my favorite design stories of all time:

"Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him.

“It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art.

'It’s perfect!' she gushed. 'You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?'

'Five thousand dollars,' the artist replied.

'But, what?' the woman sputtered. 'How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!'

To which Picasso responded, 'Madame, it took me my entire life.'"

-cac