Talent not required

Talent not required

It’s easy to palm it off on natural ability.

“He’s a natural... that’s why he can do it.”

“She’s so talented, I could never do that.”

But where did they start?

Does a piano player get born with the ability to play piano?

Does a programmer get born with the ability to type print(“hello world!”)?

Was a baby writer born with a pen in their hand?

Of course not.

They learned how.

A basketball player has natural ability if she’s 7ft 2. There’s no way I’m making the pro team over her if we did the same amount of practice.

But that’s not what I’m going for.

You can do the same.

When you see someone who seems like they’ve got a talent for something or they’re a natural at out. The ordinary explanation is they’ve spent the hours practicing. They’ve done the work behind the scenes and now you’re seeing a finished product.

It’s unproductive to compare your version 0.1 to someone else’s version 6.2.

The one talent everyone’s capable of developing?

Showing up.

Break a sweat, get lost in thoughts, create something which surprises yourself.

Eventually, someone will notice. And they’ll say.

"Wow, you’re so talented! I could never do that."

And you’ll smile. Because you know what it took.