Initiative surpasses talent
Over the years this has been my most important lesson when it comes to succeeding in anything. Why do I think this is so?
The most talented athletes or creative people I have met, haven’t necessarily succeeded in that thing they are talented at. This may be because of laziness, or lack of belief. Either way, whatever the reason, I know that if you have the initiative you:
- Create opportunities
- Get out of bed even if you are tired
- Talk to people and make it happen
- Turn up
- Get out of your comfort zone
- Work harder
- Take responsibility
- Look for ways to improve, and solutions
I have heard the excuse “but I am not talented..,” but if you have initiative you are indeed talented, because all talent is, is intentional choices built up over time to produce being good at something. So in the end, there is no such thing as talent. There is only initiative, because talented people aren’t good at anything if they don’t do it that thing they are good at.
This inspires me no end, and with every success, the spiral continues to add success. Feed success and it grows.
Great stuff. When I was young I wanted to be a writer. I talked to people about this, but I always felt that I had no talent, that I couldn’t do it and that I had nothing to say.
I was working as a stock boy in a grocery store and i was telling one of my work buddies that I was going to be a writer. A customer a few feet away stopped and said if you’re going to be a writer you must write. I went off to college and study language and marketing, still thinking about this writing thing. One day I stopped in the writer’s workshop and spoke with a counselor. She gave me an assignment. I completed the assignment and turned it in. She butchered it with a red pen. She was stern and tough and I ran. I stopped writing. I put it aside. The dream kinda died. I just didn’t think it was practical. I got it to management. That was the ticket. I could manage people. That would satisfy me. Well i did that for 25 years and now i am unemployed starting a new chapter. I have started to write again. 3 pages a day regardless. i don’t know if it’s any good. I am just taking the initiative like you speak about above. I write. If I get stuck I write some more.
That’s for the writing. It makes me remember to just do the work and not worry too much about the result.
Ciao Ciao
And you must continue to write Seamus! Anything, everything builds up over time. More about that here: http://snippetsofeverything.com/2009/03/11/why-talent-is-overrated/
10,000 hours…. keeping tapping away.