The journey of life is filled with immense possibilities. But there is a catch at every stage and phase. Success requires not just hard work and discipline, but also the ability to navigate through the various stages and phases. Talent is given to each one of us, but how we navigate through competition and elevate our relevance beyond our natural ability is what the game of success is all about.
Too often we see dazzling talent fade away far too quickly, making us wonder if not talent that can make you reach your potential, then what? Success stories are rarely about talent. They are mostly about resilience, the ability to push back failure, survive struggles, reinvent oneself….
But mind you, the game begins for everyone in the talent space. Each one of us is gifted with a certain level of talent. It is different for different people though. For example, if there are hundred people with basic singing talent, the initial ease with which everyone can sing will vary. For some, it would be far more effortless, for many others, the realisation to put in the harder yards would become more obvious.
Yet, we see that in the long run, it is not the most talented who reached a certain level. Those who ‘get there’ are the ones who apparently stood little chance. Why does this happen?
This happens because talent only helps you get started (you cannot get started without it of course). As talent is nothing but your natural ability, it can sustain on its own only for a while. It comes with an ‘effectiveness expiry date’, unless it is nurtured and continuously nuanced. This natural phenomenon, a gift given uniquely to each person, itself follows a certain path: Talent-Accomplished Talent-Leverage Of The Talent.
To move from talent to accomplished talent - which is when it enters the zone of capability or competence – requires hard work and commitment. There is too much competition in the natural talent space, but the competence canvas relatively shrinks as we move beyond our natural ability and imbue it with skill as well as the right kind of attitude.
Many talented people tend to be complacent, as they are not tested enough. The so-called less talented people tend to work hard anyway, as they know they are already at a natural disadvantage. To cover up for their ‘lack of talent’, they bring alive qualities like resilience and the ability to handle failure that create success in the long run. For the ultra-talented, accomplishment is never an issue till ‘luck’ runs out or competition around them starts throwing up more of ‘accomplished talent’ than just natural ability.
Talent to translate into sustained success demands a great attitude and a fantastic work ethic. Look around, and you will see how many people with a talent disadvantage have surged ahead on the back of a great work ethic, discipline and the ability to maximise their chances with the limited resources at their disposal.
Few highly talented people attain supreme success, because they back their God-given gift with the temperamental attributes which we just discussed, and may be even luck comes around for them more frequently than for others. Leadership too is about recognising this difference and providing timely and perspective-driven mentoring.
We all are talented, but let’s not forget to work hard, so that eventually talent becomes a leverage and starts working for us.
(Hariharan Iyer is a seasoned Motivational Speaker, Corporate Trainer and Author of multiple management books. His latest release is Off Stump – Life And Management Lessons From Cricket. He is the Founder-Creator of Hariharan’s School Of Success Education (HSSE) - www.thehsse.com. He is popularly referred to as The Enter-Trainer®. He can be reached on hariharan@thehsse.com).
