do you need talent to be successful? why talent is overrated...
Why talent is overrated is a phenomenal Fortune article about what it takes to succeed.
here's a sample:
"So if specific, inborn talent doesn't explain high achievement, what does? Researchers have converged on an answer. It's something they call "deliberate practice," but watch out - it isn't what most of us think of as practice, nor does it boil down to a simplistic practice-makes-perfect explanation.
It isn't just hard work, either. Deliberate practice is a specific and unique kind of activity, neither work nor play. It's characterized by several elements that together form a powerful whole. The greatest performers have consistently combined these elements, sometimes just by luck."
and from the conclusion:
"What you want - really, deeply want - is fundamental because deliberate practice is an investment: The costs come now, the benefits later. The more you want something, the easier it will be for you to sustain the needed effort until the payoff starts to arrive. But if you're pursuing something that you don't truly want and are competing against others whose desire is deep, you can guess the outcome.
The second question is more profound. What do you really believe? Do you believe that you have a choice in this matter? Do you believe that if you do the work, and do it with intense focus for years on end, your performance will eventually reach the highest levels? If you believe that, then there's a chance you will do the work and achieve great performance. But if you believe that your performance is forever limited by your lack of a specific innate gift, then there's no chance at all that you will do the work. What you really believe about the source of great performance thus becomes the foundation of all you will ever achieve."
WOW - I love reading highly credible support for my own ideas, lol. I'm filing this article with my collection of 'must read once a year' texts.
here's a sample:
"So if specific, inborn talent doesn't explain high achievement, what does? Researchers have converged on an answer. It's something they call "deliberate practice," but watch out - it isn't what most of us think of as practice, nor does it boil down to a simplistic practice-makes-perfect explanation.
It isn't just hard work, either. Deliberate practice is a specific and unique kind of activity, neither work nor play. It's characterized by several elements that together form a powerful whole. The greatest performers have consistently combined these elements, sometimes just by luck."
and from the conclusion:
"What you want - really, deeply want - is fundamental because deliberate practice is an investment: The costs come now, the benefits later. The more you want something, the easier it will be for you to sustain the needed effort until the payoff starts to arrive. But if you're pursuing something that you don't truly want and are competing against others whose desire is deep, you can guess the outcome.
The second question is more profound. What do you really believe? Do you believe that you have a choice in this matter? Do you believe that if you do the work, and do it with intense focus for years on end, your performance will eventually reach the highest levels? If you believe that, then there's a chance you will do the work and achieve great performance. But if you believe that your performance is forever limited by your lack of a specific innate gift, then there's no chance at all that you will do the work. What you really believe about the source of great performance thus becomes the foundation of all you will ever achieve."
WOW - I love reading highly credible support for my own ideas, lol. I'm filing this article with my collection of 'must read once a year' texts.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Greg Brown on -
As near as I can figure, these things matter:
-- Pick your parents carefully (not essential, but you have a lot to overcome early if not)
-- Be a fundamentally competitive person
-- Set clear goals for yourself
-- Work hard
If you can manage to go to a fancy school, be a natural-born networker, be in the right place at the right time (the fame element), inherit some money (not too much), or otherwise get a leg up, it helps, but these things are often given the credit for success that the first four things I mention, in my view, really drive the train.
The text below is from Money magazine. Another perspective on the issue of achieving. I have done this, and it's very revealing, not just about money but what you want to do in life:
Financial planner George Kinder has a set of three questions famous for their ability to focus you on what really matters about money. Take a few minutes to answer each before you move on to the next one. The first question tends to get people thinking about life's possibilities; the second and third help people zero in on their priorities.
Question 1
Imagine that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. How would you live your life? Would you change anything?
Question 2
Imagine that your doctor says you have only five to 10 years to live. You won't feel sick, but you'll never know when death will come. What will you do? Will you change your life? How?
Question 3
Now imagine that your doctor says you have only one day left to live. Ask yourself: What did I miss? What did I not get to be or do?
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Permalink Reply by Eric Shannon on -
Well said Greg, I'm not sure I chose my parents properly - but I could have done a lot worse!!
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Permalink Reply by Javier-Boston on -
"What you want - really, deeply want"
What a great way to say it. It seems simple but it is a good daily meditation exercise.
Today Sunday
- Be happy: Travel with my family (I was thinking on Madeira, Portugal for next summer).
- Be part of a new idea.
- Select a good chunk of movies for my second year attending with my wife to Sundance Film Festival next January in Park City, Utah.
Hey it is Sunday morning. Tonight I'll think about tomorrow ;)
Thanks for the reading Eric.
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