Requirements Needed To Have Success In Occult Arts, Aye Options

Ever since i have been acquinted with the occult arts I KNEW THIS. I knew that the occult arts are not for everyone; just like not everyone can be a highly paid lawyer, or a marathon runner, or a singer in a heavy metal band, a mathematician or have a phd. The list goes on and on. Now i think Bym touched upon this too in one of his recent posts so kudos to him.

So i've been thinking lately, what are the requirements in order to succeed in the occult world DESPITE how diligent you approach the magickal systems? What i mean by that is no matter how diligent ( and how hard) a man with low intelligence tries to comprehend a magikal philosophy he probably won't fully absorb it as well as an astute student of the arts.
So again, what ARE the requirements?

1) Gift/natural talent. What i mean by this is that magick is not a science, it is an art. Having said that, ( now i think Darmage talked about this too prior to this post) you need some form of talent in order to achieve success in the occult arts. Just as chess or soccer or computer engineering, you need to have a natural desposition for the art in order to be good at it so to speak. It needs to be your destiny.

2) Intelligence. You NEED to have ATLEAST an average intelligence to be competent enough to absorb all those thousands of books and theories on complex matters with complicated language, metaphors and hidden meanings.

3) A strong memory. Without a strong memory how could you possibly remember ( and digest) all those facts and theories and statements written by those who have written books on occult related subjects? Not just that, but how will you be able to build on your vocabulary ( which is quite important I think since it will help the magickian tremendously when it comes to studying books ) without a strong memory? Not just that, but a strong memory will undoubtedly help the magickian memorize the conjurations/rituals etc as well.

Make a post below showing whether you have all of these ( or not) and how it has impacted your magickal lifestyle.

Comments , criticism welcome.

Greetings!
I do not agree intoto with what Vagrant Dreamer says. Each of us is capable of doing many things. The potential exists. All of us are able to breathe, etc. We are alive. With dedication one may be able to train oneself to handle a paintbrush or a saxophone...BUT will we be able to achieve the level of a Micheangelo or a Dizzy Guillespe (sp?)? I am capable of throwing a baseball...can I play for the Yankees? Doubtful. There is such a thing as talent and genius. Not everyone is capable of producing a work of Art. I agree that we all have various potentials that we can work with but I think it highly unlikely that all will succeed with effort. There are just some things that you will be unable to do. I love to sing but that doesn't mean I'll achieve even the beginnings of a Pavarrotti (my friends and neighbors will attest to this!)

Magic exists all around and through us. Some of us resonnate to it to the point where we can work with it though there are those of us who cannot and even should not. There are limitations in this world, like it or not. Try to find your potential strengths (and weaknesses) and make yourselves into the best that you can be. I am interested in many, many things but it is unrealistic to think that I will be the Master of them all. You may find this as self-limiting, I do not. Look around you. Not everyone will be good at everything no matter how they try. That is why we must strive for community. By blending together we achieve what we can not do alone. I hope that I've made a point. It is not to discourage one from grasping at stars but how to grasp at stars, together. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)