Stop Waiting and Choose Your Own Talent

Written by Editor in Chief, Pick The Brain - 18 Comments
Categories: self improvement

Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.
-Gandhi

We are often held back by common misperceptions about the nature of talent and ability. We are taught that talent is a natural gift; that we have no more control over our talents than the color of our eyes. For many years I waited for my talent to manifest itself so I could reach my potential. Eventually I realized that waiting is useless, that talent is a choice not a gift, and that passion is stronger than any God given ability.

The primary source of confusion is equating talent with natural ability. By making this mistake we discourage ourselves from pursuing what we want. If we aren’t blessed with natural ability then trying seems pointless. But talent is much more than natural ability. Natural ability will get you in the door but not much further. For example, there are thousands of people with great athleticism, but there is only one Michael Jordan. Jordan became the best because he loved basketball to the point of obsession. The true source of his greatness is not natural ability but love.

Love is what motivates people to endure the hours of practice and countless failures that develop skill. Natural ability is insignificant compared to years of hard work and experience. If you really love something, don’t be discouraged by a lack of natural ability. Just work hard to improve, study your trade, learn from experience, and before long you’ll surpass those relying on natural ability alone.

The point I’m trying to make is that love, passion, desire, whatever you call it, is much more important to success than having a natural aptitude. We shouldn’t rely on our natural abilities to guide our lives. For a long time I expected my natural ability to expose itself and put me on the path to success. I assumed I’d come across it by accident and everything would fall into place. I guess I didn’t want to choose or didn’t know how to choose what I really wanted.

Long story short, this passive strategy didn’t work. If you wait for the world to find a place for you, you will be put in a group that really doesn’t fit. You lose your individuality. The truth is the world doesn’t care about finding your passion or reaching your potential. The world sees you as a means of production to be used as efficiently as possible. It is our personal responsibility to pursue our own happiness.

The beauty of it all, is that the key to success and the key to happiness are one and the same. The same love that makes you want to dedicate your life to something also motivates you to practice and develop your skills. So stop waiting for your greatness to appear out of thin air. Decide what you really love and start pursuing it today. No one else is going to do it for you.

Tags: , , , , , ,
  • http://www.craigharper.com.au Craig Harper

    Well said John,

    Great Blog!

    You’re absolutely right – love, passion, desire, whatever you call it, is much more important to success than having a natural aptitude.

    As an Exercise Scientist and Trainer I have spent much of the last twenty-five years helping people change their body. Smaller, bigger, lighter, leaner, more muscle, more flexibility, speed, power… Athletes, non-athletes, kids, mums, dads…..whatever they were after; that’s what I did my best to deliver.

    If you want an amazing life and you’re all about creating positive change, then learn to deal with, if not embrace, discomfort.

    Sorry Dude.
    Just how it is.

    Keep up the great writing John.

    Craig Harper
    john@craigharper.com.au
    http://www.craigharper.com.au

  • http://www.ldrj.com/cabl/2007/01/07/the-personal-development-carnival-january-7-2007/ The Personal Development Carnival – January 7, 2007 – from Creating a Better Life

    [...] John Wesley presents Stop Waiting and Choose Your Own Talent posted at Pick the Brain – Wit and Wisdom for Your Inspiration, saying, “This is motivation for people to stop waiting and start developing the skills they want.” [...]

  • http://www.autofix.com.au/blog Craig Wilson

    Talk about hitting the nail on the head! Just a few paragraphs and so much said on how to move forward in life. Terrific!!

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com John Wesley

    Thanks Craig,

    It’s amazing how long it often takes us to realize simple truths.

  • http://vocation.yo2.cn/archives/3857//TALENT 快乐成功 » 停止等待并选择你的TALENT

    [...] 这篇文章翻译自”Stop Waiting and Choose Your Own Talent“. #wz img{padding:1px;margin:0px;border:1px solid #EEE;}快速链接:http://vocation.yo2.cn/go/3857.html 收藏到网摘: 相关导读教你这样看透一个人世界上至少10件事你不知道?男人不愿意与你分享的七件事主要货种险别选择表测试：你真实的一面yo2blog 程序正式决定停止开发！各位正在使用我程序的网友，很对不起你们你相信可乐和曼妥思可以超级反应吗？？FeedButton新选择保存你需要的flish视频(e.g.YouTube)给你一个彩色的梦 开站了 [...]

  • http://trebla.blogrunn.com/?p=17 快乐成功 » Blog Archive » 停止等待并选择你的TALENT

    [...] 这篇文章翻译自”Stop Waiting and Choose Your Own Talent“. [...]

  • Jimmy

    Well what if you don’t know what you love? If people are anything like me that might not be the easiest question in the world to answer. Love will let me get through the hard times, but if you don’t know what you love then you have nothing.

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com John Wesley

    You’re right Jimmy, I have the same problem myself. That’s probably why I started this site, in an effort to find what I really love.

    I still don’t know for sure, but if you are already looking then you’re ahead of most people.

  • http://www.boinc-indians.net Ninad

    I read somewhere,

    Hardwork beats talent, if talent doesnt work hard. This is so true, I have this friend who is pretty dumb, too little common sense and pretty naive about many things. But he is such a hardworker, his grades and now his salary is above most of the others.

    –Ninad :-)

  • http://www.commonsenseofloosingweight.com Puchu

    John,
    You are 100% right. Like in the movie Rocky, Rocky Balboa fights with his heart more than muscle. Its all about loving and beleiving in what you do.

  • kaytae

    i agree with you one most points – except one: “The truth is the world doesn’t care about finding your passion or reaching your potential”. everybody does care, it’s just that what one persons goal or passion is could be the opposite of what anothers is.

  • http://n/a Meg

    “We are often held back by common misperceptions about the nature of talent and ability” John you hit the nail right on the head.

    Personaly I do agree 100% for a while now I have been struggling with self improvement.Do I have Talent, Yes. Do I work Hard? Yes I do. I work smart as well.But Like you equally said you need to find your place. And only by having Love and passion for that talent or ability you have can you move mountatins.

    Thanks a million for bringing this up.

    I have with patience and admit with some arrogance realized if i need to change a few things about myself then i need to begin Loving and appriciating this things.

    Thanks

    God Bless you Big Time.

    Merry-X- Mass and Happy New Year.

    Meg

  • http://www.commonsenseoflosingweight.com Rishi

    Hello Guys,
    We all have one life to live and one life to love. Life does gives us hints as to what all things we love and which path will lead us to happiness and success. We are so much involved with our day to day life that we kind of keep it back.
    Well, its just that if life gives you hints as to what you need to follow, you have to lean towards it. Initially it might not be a smooth sailing but if you stick to it, miracles might happen.

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/does-your-life-have-a-vision-or-are-you-blowing-in-the-wind/ Does Your Life Have a Vision or are You Blowing in the Wind? | PickTheBrain

    [...] living intentionally? For most of my life I wasn’t. I was waiting for life to find me. For my talent and passion to jump out and grab me. But it didn’t and it won’t. You have to find it [...]

  • http://www.selfhelpstation.com/success-secrets/achieivng-success/happiness/ Whati Is Happiness | Self Help Station

    [...] we give, love, and share, we touch upon the majesty of our soul. We bring it out into the world. We slip out from behind the [...]

  • navid

    Dear john,
    that was all true and comprehendable and wisely,
    but the problem for ones like me is what we are made for and best for, which way is best for us to aim to and start our motion, and what we really want and love.
    Can you help me to find the answer to my questions?

  • http://www.talent-talk.com Nick – www.talent-talk.com

    This is an interesting article but I think we need to clarify what ‘talent’ and ‘natural abilities’ are first.

    For me, the two are the same. They are simply the hardwires of each person’s neural networks.

    Our ‘talents’ then coincide with areas where these hardwires link up.

    Experiments have shown that these hardwires are almost fully-formed by the time we reach our late teens.

    Navid’s point needs answering – what is it we’re made for?

    To find out, we need to connect with our talents – and those are also the things we can be PASSIONATE about. Passion and talents are bot separate: they’re one and the same thing.

    Example: if I were to study to become a lawyer, if I worked hard enough at it, and was passionate about it, could I succeed?

    Answer: Is it something that makes you feel passion?

    Passion is the effect, not the cause. The cause is our talents – those things that tell us what we were made for. The rest, as you write, is discipline and hard work, made easy by passion.

    Great blog by the way! Discover your talents at highlandsco.com THE JUST DO IT!

    Nick http://www.talent-talk.com

  • http://topsy.com/www.pickthebrain.com/blog/stop-waiting-and-choose-your-own-talent/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention Stop Waiting and Choose Your Own Talent | PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ken Schmitt and Ken Schmitt, Mom WAHM Parenting. Mom WAHM Parenting said: Stop Waiting and Choose Your Own Talent http://dld.bz/jqXW [...]