I read a very interesting paper, Innate Talent: Myth or Reality? by Lynn Helding. It delved into whether you can truly succeed and become extraordinary in your field without innate talent.
It got me thinking of writing, among other things, such as musicians and mathematicians.
Do some writers have an innate ability (talent) to create amazing and memorable stories?
Do the words just flow onto the page with less effort than the average writer?
Can a writer with an innate ability come up with storylines when needed without staring at the computer or pulling their hair out?
If you don’t possess that innate talent, can you become a skilled writer and produce works as outstanding as those of talented or is gifted individuals?
Does practice and HARD work make up for innate talent?
While I’m not an expert in the field, I believe some people do possess certain innate abilities, whether it’s talent, physical prowess, agility, exceptional intellect, or something else.
With that said, aside from physical attributes, I don’t believe the lack of innate talent in a particular area limits anyone from excelling in it.
Jeff Goins, in his article, “The Truth About Natural-Born Talent,” agrees with this. “Certainly, there may be some amount of natural talent for some abilities. But as Geoff Colvin pointed out in his book Talent Is Overrated, if talent does exist, it doesn’t really matter.”
Goins goes on to say that it’s all about hard work, practice, and consistency.
In another online article at Fortune Magazine, Secrets of Greatness, it pretty much states the same thing. “You do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts don’t exist. You are not a born CEO or investor or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that’s demanding and painful.”
Even the paper I mentioned at the beginning of this article concludes that innate talent is not what creates greatness. It’s the time, effort, and work one puts into a career.
On the flip side, in the Fortune Magazine article, Warren Buffett said that he was, “wired at birth to allocate capital.” The article does note that Buffett devoted his life to studying his field.
What’s super-interesting in that article is that research shows that a lot of people who work hard for decades in a particular field may not achieve greatness.
The researchers found that it takes ‘deliberate practice’ and consistency to make the difference, to take one’s performance to an elite status.
As I mentioned, I believe that some people do have something, an innate talent or physical attribute, that may make writing, playing an instrument, or excelling sports or the business world come easier and allows them to become extraordinary in that area.
One example is the 7’2 basketball player. Won’t it naturally be easier for him to make a slam dunk than a 5’10 player could? But on the flipside, imagine that 7’2 guy trying to do gymnastics.
In these instances, physical attributes may play a greater role than innate talent. But aside from that, research shows that an average person can become great through hard work, deliberate practice, and consistency.
Innate talent may get the individual started, and it may initially be easier for him; still, some with innate talent won’t go on to greatness or develop expertise without putting in the work and time.
What do you think?
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