The recent developments around the movie adaptation CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE brought me here. First off, I know little of the author, Tomi Adeyemi, and have not read the books. What I am saying has nothing to do with her talent, character or bestselling novel. This is in reaction to the nature of the discourse I have seen on social media and the write ups in entertainment magazines. Add to that the shows and movies that have been either cancelled or shutdown at the dismay of the fans who eager to pull the race trigger. However, is this about race or is there more to life of a gifted creative in the industrial matrix?

Movie adaptations to novels have pissed off many an author. George R.R Martin is notoriously at logger heads with HBO over GAME OF THRONES and HOUSE OF DRAGON. Anne Rice had issues with INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt as well as QUEEN OF THE DAMNED starring the late musical sensation Aaliyah. Stephen King hated THE SHINING starring Jack Nicholson. What do these have to do with being young, gifted and … black?

There are three things (among many) that every gifted person needs to be prepared for if they plan on dealing with success in this gift – in this lifetime. They need to understand ownership, envy and glory. I picked these three because it seems a lot of gifted people (including myself) slip up on one of these three aspects and it is like taking a slugger to your destiny. It is often said, if God meant it for you, no one can take it away from you. But then add to that; we are our own worst enemy.

Ownership is the first step. A gifted person, such as a creative ought to know what leverage they have in owning the various assets their gifts produce. Too often creative people are caught up in the ownership of the gift as opposed to the ownership of the product and confusing one for the other. Gifts come from God but the product is validated by the market if you will let it. Throw in a creative with a god complex and he will want to give it away for free or a overcharge for an underdeveloped concept. Most investors are very weary of this before investing in a creative. This was the key difference between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. When a creative believes they own the gift they can be very hard to work with because their focus is on their gift. When a creative is too focused on the demands of the market they overestimate their capacity for productivity and can attract users who will exploit them to burnout. However, knowing the leverage in the ownership of the product regardless of access to the gift is true creative maturity. Ownership of the gift is validated by discipline but ownership of the product is validated by stewardship. Whichever of these strikes a chord, there’s your issue.

Envy – bring on the haters. A common expression in pop culture. The urge to prove to onlookers that you are thriving amidst their desire to see you fail. Many gifted people today feel they are a target of envious onlookers. We hear it from music artists and athletes especially and it so permeates the larger creative culture as people navigate life’s challenges. Being gifted comes with positive attention, financial reward and even social status that can be hard to obtain otherwise. Creative gifts and talent invoke hierarchy. You have to come to terms with this hierarchy as a gifted person or you will suffer delusions of grandeur or worse delusions of insignificance. Both are coping mechanisms for a poor sense of hierarchy. There will be always be someone better than you but you may just as much be always be better than some others. Being able to discern in these in oneself and albeit others is the key to … wait for it – Humility. A humble person can spot the haters from outside and from within.

Fame or glory is the aspect of giftedness most people pine for. The writer and the Pulitzer, the scientist and the Nobel, the playwright and the Tony, the filmmaker and the Oscar. You can add actors to the Tony and Oscar too. Many a researcher, drama student and film student are rehearsing thank you speeches in their minds as they trudge along the early stages of their careers. Many anticipate a life of glory. The very glory they imagine will invoke the envy they find themselves so eager to dispel. However, if you read the above paragraphs on ownership and envy, you may be better equipped to manage glory – or as we usually call it, fame. A well-stewarded ownership and a humble understanding of your place in the creative hierarchy can lead to a fame that is hard to penetrate. Most people today are social media post from being rendered irrelevant or cancelled. However, cancellation is a stain on fame for the who believe they own a gift and not a product and those who are delusional about where they fall in the gift hierarchy. Fame is an amplifier not a validation. Many gifted people are waiting for fame to validate them as they ignore other more immediate ways to establish ownership of their product and improve the expression of their gift.

This brings me to my last point. Youth and race. Lorraine Hansberry wrote the play “To Be Young, Gifted and Black”. She was the epitome of that in her heyday. Today this sentiment is highly echoed in the motto #BlackExcellence. Several young black people today have risen to acclaim under the banner of black excellence but how many have been pruned through a more thorough understanding of ownership, envy and glory. Black excellence exalts glory as the pivotal feature while ownership and envy are just treated as satan’s ink and hateration. Add youth to that and you have a cocktail for disillusionment. Being black is an obstacle you don’t choose but the stewardship and humility are pillars in the management of the successful utilisation of one’s gifts. As we see black creatives lose contracts in film and television, let’s do well to restore the pillars before the next wave. Talent and giftedness does not always lead to fame but stewardship and humility always make good business.

by Julian Michael Yong.