I wonder what fraction of the population is "sitting on" talent they could pursue through hobbies or volunteer work if making a living didn't suck all their energy?
I am no saint, but I have some useful things I'd like to pursue with extra energy and time.
Took my first real vacation time in over a year (a block of days between christmas and new years). Wrote a novel from scratch in that time. My first time doing that kind of writing in easily ten years, and it was easy once I actually had enough distance from work.
> "ROCKFORD, IL—Retired post office branch manager Nancy Hollander, 97, died at her home of natural causes Tuesday, after spending her life completely unaware that she was one of the most talented musicians of the past century and possessed the untapped ability to become a world-class violin virtuoso."
> ""Nancy was the most gracious person I ever met," said retired coworker Geraldine Hunter, 82, echoing nearly verbatim what Pope John Paul II would have said after inviting Hollander to play at the Vatican in 1989. "She really lived every day to its fullest, and I don't think she could have been blessed with a better life.""
I am no saint, but I have some useful things I'd like to pursue with extra energy and time.