Talent alone is not enough

One of the great mistakes of life that many of us make, is to think that talent alone is enough to be great and become a high achiever.

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen talented people get cut off from music, acting, sports, and go bankrupt after a few years in business or completely get flat out beat by someone with a lot less talent.

I first came to realise how very little talent means in the long term during the few years of my involvement in corporate, sports and entertainment sectorss.

I was amazed and never could fully wrap my head around how some of the best musicians I knew back in school never made it to college or got signed by big record labels. Also, why some brilliant footballers I played with in Ghana Amateur Football Club Owners Association (GAFCOA) teams at basic school level at Alajo (a suburb of Accra), further their skill in top flight football in Ghana. How sad.

Let’s start with the fact that in my opinion talent is not enough. Many of us believe that without talent, it is impossible to succeed in any industry. And some even blame their failures on their lack of talent, rather than on themselves and their shortcomings. But they never think about the fact that the problem lies not in their natural abilities, but in their approach to work.

Oftentimes, behind the success of talented individuals lie attitude, resilience and perseverance. In this article, I will share my point of view on why talent is not the only key to success, and why attitude, resilience and perseverance is of the utmost importance for achieving good results.

Talent and attitude

While talent gives someone an advantage, most often, mindset decides whether or not they realise their greatest potential. A positive attitude can help someone overcome their weaknesses and turn them into strengths, while a negative attitude can hold someone back and prevent them from achieving their goals.

If you want to reach to the top, the competition is not about talent, it’s about your ability and way of thinking to use your talent. Attitude is the way of thinking about someone or something and is clearly reflected in a person’s behaviour.

A very talented person with a negative attitude can never achieve the top position whereas an average person with the right attitude can do wonders in life. I can give you examples of a number of musicians–from every genre of our music sector, both old and new, budding and legends.who had great talent that we all witnessed but today, their names do not even ring a bell.

 Take even a look at our football lately, many talented footballers have fizzled out. Unfortunately, if talent is not paired with character, a captain with a bad attitude creates a team with low morale. Many highly talented teams fall short of their goals for one reason — the attitude of their leaders. Talent does not make a leader. Character does.

 Talent and perseverance

Let’s compare two people. One of them has talent, and the other perseverance. Comparing them, we will probably see that the latter has a much greater potential for achieving outstanding results. A tenacious person is willing to invest time and effort in developing his skills, overcome difficulties and steadily move towards his goals. And if a person is lazy, then no talent will help him.

It can be imagined as a raft and a river. The raft is you. You determine its direction and speed. The river is your life and it is you who chooses to swim against the current or follow the current and live your life without really controlling it. The talent in this example can be played as a tailwind that will help you overcome the current, but without your efforts, it will not be enough and you will still continue to go with the flow.

Famous athletes, artistes, writers, scientists and businessmen rarely reach their peaks only through talent. They necessarily reinforce it with a rapid growth of professional skills and continuous improvement. An example is the well-known musician Wolfgang Mozart.

At the age of five, he was already composing short plays. Many will say that he achieved this only thanks to his talent, but Wolfgang was born into a family of composers, so from infancy, he heard music, saw how a musical instrument was played, and learned it himself. Would he have been able to compose plays at the age of five if he had been born into a bricklayer’s family? I don’t think so.

Talent and resilient

For the purpose of this article, I would define resilience as the ability to get talent to where you need it, when you need to, and being able to 'bounce back' – or rather, bounce forward – when things go awry. As a talent, you need to develop the power of resilience when there is a dark day or bad day.

Why do some people suffer real hardships and not falter? One person cannot seem to get the confidence back after a layoff; another, persistently depressed, takes a few years off from life after her/his divorce. The question we would all like answered is, Why? What exactly is that quality of resilience that carries people through life? Why do some artistes and some footballers buckle under pressure when the odds are against them financially, socially or emotionally?

And what makes others bend and ultimately bounce back? I have seen some musicians’ relationships being thrown into the media space and everyone having a bite like pizza, yet they pick up the smudged clothes, stick their broken pieces together and bounce back. This is resilience!

Does talent give an advantage?

Talent, of course, gives an initial advantage in one area or another. It makes it easier to learn new skills, absorb information quickly, and intuitively understand complex tasks. In addition, talent often attracts the attention of others and even opens up opportunities that others do not have. However, without positive attitude, resilience and perseverance, talent will remain unclaimed, and potential opportunities will remain unrealized.

 Many success stories confirm that even the most talented people can end up on the sidelines of life if they lack the right attitude to achieve their goals.

Conclusion

 Talent is a gift, but it is not enough to achieve great heights. Right attitude, resilience, perseverance and dedication are key elements of successful personal development and achievement. Above all, it is the grace of God that can enable you to overcome all obstacles and allow you to reach truly inspiring heights.