Photo: Thinkstock

Here it is, the key to succeeding at something intensely difficult despite the odds, such as, say, mastering the violin when you only have one hand: ignorance. 

That's according to the classically trained, professional musician Adrian Anantawan, who happens to lack a right hand, when he and his parents decided that he should learn the violin it worked because “we came from the premise of ‘why not?’” And Anantawan thinks this is precisely what gave him the confidence to go on to become a skilled violinist who studied at Yale and has performed at the White House, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and Carnegie Hall.

Playing violin this well is an accomplishment for anyone, but in this case it's particularly amazing. Because Anantawan was born without his right hand, he plays the instrument with a special device designed just for him that he calls a "spatula." (You must see this video of Anantawan in action to see how this amazing device works -- and how effortless the music sounds.) The talented fellow told the Harvard Gazette that growing up different from those around him, finding the violin “was one of the first times I was accepted within a peer group, mainly because it’s how you sound; it’s not how you look. It’s how you express and communicate.” And so Anantawan has decided to pay it forward, using his talents to teach music to kids with disabilities.

I don't know what's most inspirational about this. The working with disabled kids? The persevering despite a profound disability? The cheery attitude Anantawan exudes? Or is it simply the idea that by forging ahead, powered by optimistic ignorance, anything is possible? 

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