Thursday, December 11, 2008

Your Own Gift

In his classic essay Self Reliance, which used to be required reading, Emerson writes:


"Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another you have only an extemporaneous half possession...Where is the master who could have taught Shakespeare? Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin, or Washington, or Bacon, or Newton?"


I have never agreed with everything Emerson spouts, but it's always inspiring to me nonetheless. You can read the rest here.


OMG, I got distracted by a classic video of Madeline Kahn singing with Elmo. The link is below. It promises a moment of joy:


JUMP!


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