Last year, on a long family roadtrip, I discovered that Shonda Rhimes, writer of Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scandal, is also the author of the inspirational book Year of Yes: How to dance it out, stand in the sun, and be your own self. Rhimes has become a bit of a personal hero of mine — often capturing the challenges of everyday life in such a creative, poetic, and matter-of-fact way that — in the middle of an entertaining story — you realize you have just heard great wisdom.
One of the stories that always sticks with me is a conversation between Dr. Burke and Dr. Yang regarding a mentor to Burke – an accomplished violinist who’s life Burke was trying to save.
It says something important about life. And learning.
Burke: There was an interview that Eugene gave. I saved it. I taped it to my bathroom mirror. He said that he wasn’t the most talented student at music school, but he said what he lacked in natural ability he made up for in discipline. He practiced. All the time. All the time he practiced. I wasn’t like you, I wasn’t the most talented student in school, I wasn’t the brightest, but I was the best.
Yang: You practiced.
Burke: I practiced
Grey’s Anatomy, Blues for Sister Someone (Season 2, Episode 23)
Rhimes, S. (2015): Year of yes: How to dance it out, stand in the sun, and be your own person. Simon & Schuster: New York.