“I have seen thousands of people with unbelievable potential and natural talent, but lack drive and staying power. They take the easy way out of not practicing-just sliding by. They believe their own PR that they are just wonderful. This group of people lack, what I call the missing ingredient. They NEVER amount to anything.”–Wayne Cameron
Separate What You Can Do From Who You Are
Haven’t you known people who should have risen to the top but didn’t? They had all the talent they should ever need, but they still didn’t succeed. Philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson must have known people like that , too, because he said, “Talent for talent’s sake is a bauble and a show. Talent working with joy in the cause of universal truth lifts the possessor to a new power as a benefactor.”
So is talent ever enough? Yes, but only in the very beginning. Novelist Charles Wilson says, “No matter the size of the bottle, the cream always rises to the top.” Talent stands out. It gets you noticed. In the beginning, talent separates you from the rest of the pack. It gives you a head start on others. For that reason, natural talent is one of life’s greatest gifts. But the advantage it gives lasts only a short time. Songwriter Irving Berlin understood this truth when he said, “The toughest thing about success is that you’ve got to keep on being a success. Talent is only a starting point in business. You’ve got to keep working that talent.”
Too many talented people who start with an advantage over others lose that advantage because they rest on their talent instead of raising it. They assume that talent alone will keep them out front. They don’t realize the truth: if they merely wing it, others will soon fly past them. Talent is more common than they think. Mega-best-selling author Stephen King asserts that “talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” Clearly, more than just talent is needed for anyone who wants to achieve success.
–Talent Is Never Enough
From John C. Maxwell
The Maxwell Daily Reader
