In article , Giff wrote:

Sandman:
Only if they're autistic. Skill isn't something people are born
with, skill is born from an interest, and that interest means you
do it, a lot.

Like Bob Ross said: "Talent is pursued interest. Anything that
you're willing to practice, you can do".

The "born with it" is a myth, probably created by people that
hasn't practiced enough.

Perhaps the experiences of the first years of life could mean a lot
for the "development" of a child's talent for photography, or
music, or whatever.

If you exchange "talent" with "interest" in the above sentence, then yes.

But after a certain age, I don't think that
"Anything that you're willing to practice, you can do" can hold any
more, especially if you modify the sentence to "Anything that
you're willing to practice, you can do very well"...

Of course it does. Problem is that the older you get, the less time you have to
spend for these things, you suddenly find that you have to have a "real" job to
pay the bills, and you have a marriage, and kids and whatnot, so lots of people
say things like "Yeah, I use to do that when I was younger, but not anymore".

Their interest takes a back seat to other priorities, which is fine. Many people
that excel at some specific thing have prioritized away many things you take for
granted, like friends, family, hobbies, free time, marriage, economic safety,
insurance and so on and so on.

If you start playing the piano today and spend 40 hours a week doing it, I
promise you that you will play as well as any of the piano legends after five
years.

Now, the question is - do you have 40 hours a week to spend doing this now?

This is why great artists have been doing what they do since they were kids,
because that's where they had the *time* to pursue their interest. If they don't,
they don't have time later on.

--
Sandman