To master any skill your mindset has to match your ambitions. Mindset makes massive differences. It has been said that even Olympic athletes are roughly on par with everyone else genetically, but their extraordinary mindsets set them apart.
Do you sell out auditoriums with your playing or can you not make more than a few dollars busking? You can be in either category, but that's up to you.
I believe the first key for violinists is love of the music. When you're doing something you love, there's no need to force yourself to learn or practice. It comes naturally, and will never be known as work. With this love of what you do you will be pulled towards greatness.
Discipline is next on the list. It may not seem like you need it if you love what you're doing enough, but it's easy to get caught up in other things. Bad times happen. Sometimes there will be periods of time where you don't feel like playing for one reason or another, but consistent practice makes a huge difference. When you practice on a schedule it forms a habit which can be difficult to break.
There can be no progress without practice, so don't believe otherwise. It may take you longer than expected, but you can beat out everyone else if you practice more frequently.
The next point is knowledge. A lot of this can be gained from practice. With enough time you can't help but gain a feeling for the instrument and music. Access to special knowledge aids this growth though. Basics are critical, but there are always more advanced techniques. There is always room to advance. Pick a great violinist to follow and aspire to play like. If you can get lessons from time to time from someone you love and respect as a musician, it will skyrocket your efforts and results.
Finally, there is confidence. If you don't think you can do something, you won't tap into the potential you have; you won't put in your full effort in your practice. If you don't know you can be the best around, you'll only be mediocre. This is because your progress is partially defined by your goals. If you think you don't have the ability to progress quickly you'll create only lesser goals. Lesser goals have no pull and consequently you will put in only a fraction of the ability you're capable of investing.
These points are all just different ways of saying that in order to master the violin you're going to need to put in your best effort, consistently. Everything you do towards your goal makes a difference. The extra five minutes that doesn't seem like anything now will snowball given enough time of investing that extra effort.
The difference between a master violinist and a mediocre one is that the mediocre one has given up in a way.
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