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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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At clubs and lounges, along the red carpet at Cannes, on Hawaiian beaches, and at a gala in Istanbul, Cynthia Carvajal has carried the torch—and twirled it, too. The 30-year-old professional fire dancer whips flaming ropes around her body, dancing in four-inch heels and a blazing headdress. Carvajal got her start in 2000, when she saw circus performers brandish flames in their act. "I loved the artistry," she says. "It's entrancing to watch." When one of the performers agreed to mentor her, Carvajal started twirling poi (chains with lighted balls of Kevlar at one end). "It's easier than people think," she says. (Give or take the occasional burn, which she says is "all part of the job.") Eventually, Carvajal joined a touring performance troupe, and her hobby became a full-time job. It's also a way for her to fund her passion: saving our seas. In 2010 Carvajal founded marine conservation nonprofit Ocean Lifeline—and has raised thousands by performing at events. "I never thought fire dancing would take me places," Carvajal says. "But it's been such a blessing—and it's helping me do my part."

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The car was perpendicular to the street, like the middle rung of a misplaced “H.” There were no signs of an accident. Everything was quiet. It was just...sitting there. I slowed down, grumbling to myself, late, and now later, to drop my daughter off at school. And then the out-of-place sedan slowly, slowly, began to inch forward. I’ve never seen a piece of machinery look so tentative. Traffic was starting to back up from either direction, although (miraculously) no one was honking.

The car, I realized, was from a local driving school. And then I saw the woman driving. She was probably 60 at the youngest, her hair covered with a headscarf, and she had a look on her face of sheer determination. She didn’t look scared, or embarrassed, or frantic, the way I would have surely felt were I driving not just the wrong way but the wrong, like, dimension. And something about her made me want to just jump for joy.

My irritation immediately melted away. This woman! She was doing it! She was learning to drive! It’s something most of us did without thinking twice (and without any sense of fear or danger) at age 15, a skill that now seems as ordinary as walking. And here was this woman, the world’s worst driver, inching her car towards an ill-fated parallel parking spot, concentrating so hard she didn’t even flinch when a taxi cab swerved around her.  In that moment I loved that woman, and that she was learning to drive, and that all sorts of (very slow-paced) driving adventures lay ahead of her.  We should all be so open to new ideas, new projects, new skills. Even if, at first, we really, really suck at them.

Here are some places to start:
7 Ways to Learn a New Skill
Learning for Fun