We are quick to believe that some people have more talent than us. When we witness a remarkable performance, we jump to the conclusion that they must have genes or physical attributes that give them an advantage. What the casual observer forgets is that the specific skills displayed stem from countless hours of hard work. The idea that top performers are born with abilities is a myth—what I like to call the talent myth.
Key Takeaways
- Talent means that someone is born with genes that make it easier to develop a skill or learn something.
- The view you adopt for yourself has a profound impact on your life. Those who believe that abilities can’t be improved are less likely to achieve success than those who believe in self-improvement.
- When we are born, we are dealt a hand of cards. You can’t control the cards you’re dealt, but you control how to play the hand.
What Is the Talent Myth?
Natural talent doesn’t imply you’re born with a set of skills, but it means you can do something with less training than others. While it’s true that some people can learn faster than others, or have physical traits that make things easier for them, they still need a great deal of deliberate practice.
Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, architect, and poet who had a great influence on the development of Western art. He is known for his famous David and Pieta sculptures, and the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. When people called Pieta a work of genius, he replied: “If people knew how hard I worked to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”
Mozart, a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period, labored for more than 10 years until he produced any work that we admire today. Before that, his music wasn’t original as he pieced compositions together from other composers. Despite the lack of originality in his early years, Mozart worked to the point where his hands started to deform. A famous quote from Mozart reads, “I too had to work hard, so as not to have to work hard any longer.”
While Michelangelo and Mozart may have needed less time to perfect their craft, they weren’t born with skill. Michelangelo didn’t come out of the womb ready to carve a block of marble into David or Pieta. It wasn’t until Mozart’s hands lost their natural shape that he produced any work that we admire today. What separated them from the crowd was hours of deliberate practice.
Related: Human Brain Evolution Simplified: What You Need to Know
Manifest the Talent Myth in Your Mindset
The view that you adopt for yourself has a profound impact on your life. It determines whether you become the person you want to be and achieve the goals you set for yourself. In Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, author Carol Dweck claims that there are two mindsets we can navigate life with: a growth mindset or a fixed mindset.
The growth mindset is based on the belief that success can be achieved through application and experience. People holding this belief are continually trying to grow and better themselves because they believed that skills and abilities are developed through hard work. They know that you can achieve your desired outcome regardless of talent.
In Mindset, Dweck tells the story of Patricia Miranda, a chubby, unathletic kid who wanted to join the wrestling team. When she first started, she lost to a more experienced wrestler and was told: “You’re a joke!”. She cried but knew that feeling sorry for herself wouldn’t help her grow. “I had to keep going, and had to know if effort, focus, belief, and training could somehow legitimize me as a wrestler.”
As it turned out, the young girl held a great work ethic. She continued in the face of adversity, used her free time to practice, and her effort paid off. At the age of 24, she joined the U.S. Olympic team and brought home a bronze medal. She was the first American woman in Olympic history to receive a medal in Olympic wrestling. Although she wasn’t born with any genetic advantages, she was able to achieve success through application and experience.
The fixed mindset, on the other hand, is based on the belief that abilities are carved in stone. People holding this belief think that they are born with genetic factors can’t be changed—that is, they believe that their abilities are fixed. People with a fixed mindset (or talent mindset) expect the ability to show up on its own before any work takes place.
Related: Why Crossing the Plateau of Latent Potential Is Essential for Success
How to See Talent as a Myth
When we are born, we are dealt a hand of cards. You can’t control the cards you’re dealt, but you control how to play the hand. In a fixed mindset, the hand defines your life. If it’s a lousy hand, you will not get to your goal. In a growth mindset, the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point. When you change how you view yourself, you’re suddenly opening thousands of doors that were previously locked.
The myth of talent can hold you back from achieving a high level of success. If you want better results, focus on application and experience. Remember: There is a strong correlation between hours of practice and massive success.