We’re all obsessed with discovering and cultivating talent, but we don’t talk enough about what actually turns talent into epic achievement.
I’ve been hearing about this talent stuff since I was a child, but it wasn’t until recently that I gave it any real thought. There was always this vague idea that talent was something you’re born with, and if you just practiced enough, you’d magically achieve something great. But let me ask you this: what separates the average Joes from the extraordinary high achievers out there?
According to science, the secret sauce is simple. It’s effort. Effort is what links your talent, no matter how average or extraordinary, to success.
One of the books which resonated a lot in our family is Grit by one of the key researchers in the psychology of achievement field – Angela Duckworth. The book is brilliant and packed with fantastic ideas, but let’s start with her very simple but super insightful formula for success:
Talent x Effort = Skill
Skill x Effort = Achievement
In the book, Angela writes:
Talent is how quickly your skills improve when you invest effort. Achievement is what happens when you take your acquired skills and use them.
Of course, there are other variables that matter a lot (e.g. having a great teacher, simple luck, access to various resources). But think about it – if we take two people with similar circumstances (e.g. siblings), what each of them will achieve depends only on talent and effort. And talent is important as a starting point, but effort counts twice:
Effort builds skill. At the very same time, effort makes skill productive.
There are people out there with all kinds of talents who never achieve anything because simply they didn’t put in much effort. And then you got average Joes with nothing special going on, but they go out there and pouring their energy into something, showing up every day, and boom! They become legends.
Calvin Coolidge (the 30th president of the United States) once said:
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Let me blow your mind for a second. Do you know that Darwin and Tolstoy were considered as average kids? Or Mohammad Ali and Michael Jordan weren’t exactly showered in talent when it came to sports? But look, they worked hard, and this is how the genius is made.
Apparently, there’s one more element that’s important on the path to success . And that’s passion. But that’s a whole other story.
Now, I want to hear from you. Ever put in some serious effort and turned it into an epic achievement? Or maybe you were outshined by someone with more talent, but you you were the one who got to the top because of your hard work? We would love to hear your story below!
Loads of love,
Irina & Dawid
