In life, everything worth having requires hard work. Every game or journey will always attract different players and levels of competition. Among these competitors, there will be those with a significant level of talent, those that have mastered their skills, and those with the will and work ethic to achieve the required results. If there would be any winner among these three, it would be those who have the burning hunger, willpower, and work ethic to win.
Talent can only take you so far when working towards any long-term goal. It would give you a head start and help you achieve success when you are naturally good at something, but it is not enough, especially when you face challenges. Truth is, talent and skill don’t prepare you for the inevitable challenges and hurdles you will experience. But the hard-working individuals will always put in their strength and grind it out when things don’t look like they would turn out well. They will give in their all, every time, irrespective of the skill and talent the competition has.
The difference between talented individuals and those who produce results is hard, backbreaking, and resilient work. The kind of work that boosts your talent instead of just banking on your gift or innate ability. In the end, talented individuals who are weak and lazy will always fumble in the face of competition.
What is talent?
Talent is a display of exceptional skill and ability. It is the capacity or natural ability to perform a function. Being talented also implies that you have the instinct or knack needed for a specific task.
But talent is only the raw mechanism. Angela Duckworth, a top researcher with hard work, grit, and perseverance, says that hard work is a higher indicator of success than talent. Hard work is required to not only use these skills and abilities effectively, but it would also enable you to use your talent at the highest levels.
Talent alone is not enough. It must be perfected through constant learning, practice, and hard work.
A talented individual might be able to achieve a lot without working as hard as someone who is not talented, which can make them believe that they can get ahead of others through their talent. This could result in laziness, lack of discipline, and complacency. However, the hardworking individual will always look for ways to grow, constantly learning, improving, and putting in the work required to achieve success.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that talented individuals are irrelevant. But being talented without working hard will make you irrelevant with time, without developing the natural skills to create impact.
Difference between talent and hard work
Talent gives people a head start. It helps them scale through the frustration and challenges experienced by beginners. But discipline and consistency are needed to keep going. To compare these two, we can say:
- Talent is a natural skill or ability.
It is a natural potential or capacity to carry out a specific function
- It enables an individual to achieve a level of success without much work or training
- It can make it easier to start, but without discipline, it could wither with time.
Alternatively, hard work
- Helps individuals build talent and skill to achieve success
- Requires discipline, determination, and diligence
- Allows a novice to become a professional without even having a knack for the function.
So why does hard work beat talent?
Everyone has a special talent or gift.
Everyone has one or more unique gifts or talents, but hard work has no substitute. The fact that an individual is talented doesn’t mean they would succeed. As a matter of fact, studies have proven that only individuals that are ready to work hard, irrespective of their talents are more successful.
Even though perseverance and determination cannot be considered a talent in itself, they are tools that enable you to enhance your innate ability and are often used to determine success.
The odds are always against any talented individual that is not ready to put in the hard work. The most important thing is always how hard they are ready to work to succeed and this requires discipline, perseverance, determination, and consistency.
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard
A popular quote attributed to Tim Notke, a high school basketball coach about the concept of hard work beats talent is “Hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard.” This implies that if you are not willing to put in the work and improve your talent, hardworking individuals with less talent will end up winning.
Also, a Chinese quote says, “After years of hard work, talent may suddenly appear”. This means that constant practice, growth, and hard work will even make some abilities you might not have initially come naturally to you.
Hard work is the only talent you need. It has no substitute and there will always be a demand for those who are ready to work hard and leave their comfort zone. Remember that talent can only take you to a point. You need hard work and determination to achieve any goal in life. It is only the individuals that value hard work over talent that will remain when the going gets tough.
