I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier. Now I know I said I'd come to the end of my

fascination with Dolly Parton, but there is one last observation that I want to make inspired

by her life. It's yet another splashy example of an idea that I've talked about before,

a secretive adulthood that has been very important for me to learn and something that I often tell

my children. You don't have to be good at something, to be good at something. This is a crucial

realization for me because growing up I always thought, well if I'm interested in following a

career in such and such, I have to be a master in all the related tasks. And if I can't be good at

every part of it, well then I really shouldn't pursue it. With time and experience however,

I've learned that this just isn't true. Many people are wildly successful in fields where they

lack what people might assume are essential skills. And that's where Dolly Parton comes in.

In my study of Dolly Parton, I learned that Dolly Parton doesn't read music.

And then I did a bit of research and guess who else cannot read music? Paul McCartney can't

read music. Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Jimmy Hendrix, can't read music. These musicians

didn't have a thorough education in music. They lacked arguably crucial skills, but that didn't stop

them. They loved music. They wanted to play, create and perform, and they figured out how to do that.

Of course, with whatever we're trying to do, we want to be as good as we can possibly be.

We must train, learn, practice, perfect. With everything I do, I'm always trying to do better.

But I also remind myself that I don't necessarily have to be good at something,

to be good at something. If you want to hear the other episode of A Little Happier where I talk

about this, I'll post a link in the show notes. I'm Gretchen Rubin and I hope this makes your week

a little happier.