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Why Being Talented Doesn’t Equal Being Successful
Talent means nothing
We often hear people talking about talent as something extra to have.
“Oh, he’s just super talented”.
“It’s easy when you’re talented”.
When someone is successful at what they do, it’s easy to blame it on being talented. The truth is that most people we consider to be talented are not at all that talented.
The effect of talent is widely exaggerated.
While talent is important, it is the sustained effort and dedication (grit) that ultimately lead to high achievement.
Being talented is worth nothing if you don’t do anything with it.
I recently read a book about Grit from Angela Duckworth. It confirmed what I have felt all along to be true.
One of the central arguments in the book is that
grit is a more reliable predictor of success than talent.
We don’t need to be talented to succeed in life. Someone without talent can become more successful than someone with talent. The key factor there is grit.
What is grit?
The author defines grit as a combination of passion and perseverance. She argues…
