Talent is Overrated

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“Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will, and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.” – Stephen R. Covey

In 1984, Eliyahu M. Goldratt published his theory of constraints in the book The Goal. Essentially, the theory of constraints explains how in a production plant there are certain processes that take more time than others, thereby limiting the overall amount the plant is able to produce. In other words, the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This concept, that a weak point is always what holds something back, can be applied to far more than just a production plant. Human beings store nearly limitless capabilities, however, we constantly fail to reach our utmost potential, not because we don’t always work hard enough at the things we can do, but that we fail to sufficiently progress the things we cannot do. Our current limitations eventually become our permanent constraints.

“What if everything you know about talent, hard work, and great performance is wrong?” This is the primary question Geoff Colvin, Fortune’s senior editor at large, answers in his book Talent Is Overrated. Colvin argues that there is no such thing as innate talent; that, regardless of a person’s genetics, they can be trained for greatness in any aspect they choose. His theories expand to nearly every area of life imaginable--writing, stand-up comedy, chess, music, business, sports, and many more. If this is true, the question becomes, “What really separates world-class performance from everybody else?” Colvin’s answer: deliberate practice.

 Deliberate practice is essentially choosing one’s weaknesses in a given field and addressing them. Mindfully practicing them over and over and over again, past exhaustion, until finally, progress is made and it is no longer a weakness. For example, in order to become a better writer, Benjamin Franklin read sophisticated essays, line by line summarizing the main point of each sentence or converting the ideas into poetry. He would put away his notes and the original essay until he forgot the content, at which point he would take out only his notes or the poetry, and attempt to rewrite the entire essay. He then would compare the essay he had written with the original, noting the differences and where improvementscould be made.

If everybody has the potential to achieve a world-class level in his or her chosen field then why is true greatness so rare? The answer is because deliberate practice is difficult, unpleasant work, and requires hours upon hours of intense focus and training. However, just because you do not want to devote your entire life to becoming world-class at something does not mean improvements cannot be made. Everyone has the power to examine certain areas in their life they consider to be weak points and work on getting better at them. Just being mindful of them is enough to make a difference. Then, perhaps one day they will no longer be a weakness, but rather, a strength, and you will be one step closer toward reaching your true potential.

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