Talent versus hard work

By Adrian Keeney
October 17, 2017

Tim Notke, a high school basketball coach expressed his opinion on hard work and talent. Photo from Flickr: Widjaya Ivan.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “All men are created equal.”

But this is not the case most of the time. While the law recognizes that all people are equal and hold equal rights, in reality, everyone is not equally talented. Some people are tall, while others have high IQ’s. While these are not necessarily talents, they are inborn traits that people can use to their advantage to succeed. In other words, they are advantages people have that cannot be taken from them.

Talent follows a similar course. Someone’s natural talent cannot be taken from them and they can use that talent to succeed in life. Some may be great writers. Others may have a knack for mathematics. For some people, certain subjects, not just in school but life in general, come easier to them and it allows them to excel.

On the other hand, hard work also allows anyone to achieve their best, no matter the circumstances. If someone is weak in one area, they can spend time honing their skills until they are competent.

Talent will only get you so far in life. In my experience, as well as the experiences of many  others, college is a revelation in that regard. In my case, I have always been a good writer. In earlier years of my education, when it came to putting my thoughts onto paper, I was always able to articulate what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. What may have came much harder to others seems to have came effortlessly to me.

When I was younger, I could rely on my talents to place me ahead of mostly everyone else. I was even able to use my talents to get myself into college; however, one thing I realized is that college is absolutely filled with hard workers. When I came here, I learned that I could not rely on my talents alone as a writer; other students were outworking me.

I decided that the best way to maximize my talents and achieve the most that I could was to work hard on my skills as a writer.

When it comes to talent and hard work, hard work is more important. This is because hard work will get a person farther in life, rather than if they solely rely on their talents. That being said, talent is wasted without hard work.

It is important to realize what one’s limitations are. While it is beneficial to be well-rounded and to be competent in many aspects, spending countless hours of your time working on things that you have obvious limitations at may not be the best use of your time.

The best way to be successful is to try to discover what your talents are. Your weaknesses are not what will take you places, only your talents can do that.

Find your talents. Work hard to hone them. Achieve the best you can possibly achieve.

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Adrian Keeney

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