So what is more important? Hard Work or Talent?
Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, brakes down the 10,000 hour rule. This is actually the idea of mastering an area by devoting 10,000 hours from your life on it. Malcolm Gladwell actually studied a number of successful people, like The Beatles, Bill Gates, and came up with this conclusion.
On the other hand, talent plays a major role and we see it around us. Some people make the same practise, or study the same field, and still some are better than others. This is due to a lot of factors of course, but talent indeed plays a major role.
From testimonials and personal experience I have enough information to conclude that both are needed. In addition, I believe God sent us in this world with gifts and the most valuable of all is that he gave us the gift of choice. This is the gift that makes it possible for hard work to beat talent.
What if somebody has more talent than me? I have the choice to work harder and be better than him.What if somebody else is working harder than me? I have the choice to outwork him.I have the choice to decide what I want and if I am willing to put in the work to get it done.
So, why do you care what is more important (Hard Work or Talent) since you have the gift of choice?
This gift gives you the opportunity to develop, and/or create (believe it or not), your talent and reach higher levels physically, emotionally, spiritually, which is I believe is our ultimate purpose in life.
Kobe Bryant scored zero (0) points in a league when he was 12 years old. Today he is the third best NBA scorer of all time.*
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school team. Today he is considered by many the best basketball player ever.
Inevitably we will compare ourselves with others, but why not use this as a motivation to become better, instead of feeling inadequate?
During the Olympics we will experience the best athletes of the world. All of the them mastered their area. Not all of them will get a medal, but most of them will feel the fulfilment of reaching their maximum potential, and some of them will get the inspiration and make the choice to go on a higher level. They all have the choice.
One of my mentors defines hell as “meeting the person you could have been”… That definition struck me like lightning. Since I have the choice, why not go for it…? Jim Rohn was whispering, “you make up in numbers what you lack in skill… you make up in numbers what you lack in skill…” And since then I choose to play and go for the numbers…
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Anthony Robbins
Nakis N. Theocharides
Speaker - Trainer - Coach
06/08/16
