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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 5679760" data-attributes="member: 19675">Not at all.  You just have to look around.  Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you love it.  And there's no guarantee that the vicissitudes of life mean you'll be able to make a living at it even if you do.I excelled in biology through college.  I cook at a pro level.  I have a rare gift for stringed instruments AND perfect pitch.  People who own some of my jewelry designs have rejected bids of 50K and more.What do I do?  I'm a Lawyer with an MBA.I have a buddy who is a jeweler.  He used to be a very well-off stock-broker.Another buddy was the bass player for a band getting major label attention.  He's a computer programmer now- carpal tunnel syndrome ended that dream.Go to Austin, Nashville, Minneapolis or any major music city in the USA and you'll find musicians you can't believe are not signed to major labels because they're better than what you hear on the radio.  And they're making your sandwich at the sub shop.Look at Susan Boyle.  Had it not been for a cheesy TV talent show, the world would never have heard her gift.Its an educated guess.  (It's roughly 34 per 1 million men.)Just looking at height, in 1963, there were 3.25 billion people in the world and about 5% of the males were 6'2" or taller.  Mike is 6'6".  Lets say that's 2.5% of the world's male population.  That's 40,625,000 males with the potential to grow to be 6'6"+ tall men.  Given the US's population as a percentage of the world, 2,437,500 of those males were born in the USA.At 2.5% of 2,437,500, that's 60K.  But clearly, there were not 60K MJs in the USA: as I said, I was talking 60K worldwide.Only a few will have the reflexes he has.  Of those, only a few will be as hardy as he was.So the number gets pared down more based on other things, like environment.Regardless of country, a certain number of those nearly 40M+ will not survive to adulthood.  Nutrition will take a toll on max height.  Accidents will take a toll.  Wars will take a toll.  Drugs will take a toll.  Disinterest in basketball in general will take a toll.  B-Ball not being played in your country takes a toll.  Family expectations (as in, you ARE taking over your father's farm) will take a toll.  Extreme interest in other things will take a toll.Of those, only a few will have the opportunity to practice like he did.  Only a few will have someone scouting their school.  Hell, only a few will have the resources to get into a school that is likely to be scouted.To translate "drive" into game terms, think "take levels in the class in question".  Any RW human who excels at something has a mix of talent and practice.  In D&D Wizards "study" and Sorcerers "unlock" arcane secrets- that's fluff telling you they intentionally work at what it is they do, whether it is something purely academic (wizardry) or honing a natural gift (sorcery).Or, simply put, a D&D character who is not "driven" to master the arcane will not take many levels in arcane classes.</blockquote>

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