I’ve been trying to think of a proverb. A suitable tale in a single neat sentence, to describe a thought. It needs to sound wise, as though handed down through the centuries, gaining some sort of wisdom momentum as it went. I need it to convey my thoughts on a particular subject. The thing is, it doesn’t exist. There is no proverb for this situation, no received historic wisdom or message. Not for this. And I'm not the person to write one. Which is exactly my point.
I know my weaknesses. It’s one of my strengths.
We all know what we’re good at, right?. When we apply for jobs, we have no problem in listing our good points, the many things we excel at. We’re great, and we want the world to know it. Our strengths are many and we enjoy listing them. When it comes to knowing our weaknesses though, we’re not so ready to shout it from the rooftops. We fear being exposed, and we worry how others will perceive us.
But its as important to know your weaknesses as it is your strengths. How would we learn and grow without knowing where we need help? And there’s nothing wrong with asking for that help either. It could just be some advice or training we need in a particular area, or a chat with someone who’s been there and knows how to get round the problem. We need to recognise those areas, those weaknesses.
I write quite often about music. That’s where my background is, I’ve been a musician, a songwriter, promoter, and even a tour manager, working all over the world. I’ve worked gigs, festivals and theatres. I’m really interested in the band dynamic, how a closely knit team works together towards one single artistic goal. How a handful of different personalities, all unique and individuals, can form together into one single creative being. All this stuff fascinates me.
I found a story, an unknown tale about a band, buried deep online. A fascinating story I’d never heard before. A story many people had never heard before, in fact. But I knew the subject well enough to know it had an audience. After a while, I’ managed to track down the band in question, interviewed them and wrote a piece for a regular column in a magazine I write for. I thought that would be the end of the story, but I was wrong. So wrong. It grew. It ran, and ran, and kept on running, going viral and getting new followers at breakneck speed. The story seemed to take on an energy of its own. It was as if it wanted to be told. I spoke to publishers and filmmakers I know, getting advice on how to best tell this tale. A book, maybe? Or a film? For some reason, these ideas didn’t seem to fit. It didn't feel right.
After a discussion with an actor and a couple of theatre directors, it became obvious that it should be a musical. I agreed. The trouble was, I know my weakness, my blind spot. I can’t write dialogue. I wouldn't know where to start. I’m not comfortable with it, it would be a huge struggle for me and I knew that. So I took the decision to give my great idea away. I gave it to a good friend of mine, an award winning playwright who turned it into a perfect script. I knew this was the best idea. By recognising my own weakness in a certain area, I made the sacrifice for the sake of the story. We now have a play, and are in pre-production to get it to the stage. The story will be told because I knew where I needed help, and I was happy to collaborate to get where I needed to be. That's the important point here.
Knowing the areas where you need help is a strength we all need. Weaknesses are only weaknesses if you're not strong enough to recognise them.
