I think Kevin Durant of the NBA said it best, “Hard work beats talent, when talent
doesn’t work hard.”
There is a fine line between being talented and being hard working. One can’t
exist without the other and success can’t be had if they are both not in motion.
How many times have we watched The X Factor and seen great talent on
the show but not seen or heard of them a few years later… Steve Brookstein
anybody?
Anyway, my point is that you can have a natural talent for something but it is
wasted if you don’t exercise, develop and nurture it. I think shows like the X
Factor paint a false picture of success. The success on the show is fast-tracked
and within 4 months the winner is catapulted into stardom, but the question is,
for how long? Granted, there have been great successes from the show that have
sustained and made good records, but only because they made their talent work
for them instead of simply relying upon it.
I think it’s truly important to look beyond the successes and instead focus and
tell the story of the late nights, the failures, the rejections, the early mornings and
the journey that leads to the end product. This will break down the story into
something tangible for people to actually think, right, I’m prepared to do what it
takes to get what it is that I want instead of becoming disillusioned and give up
after a few months of trying because it has happened for them yet.
Celebrities are out of reach and seem unrealistic to young people within our
community. Aspiration raising is key, but setting the bar too high and making it
look easy is damaging our generation into thinking success is easy.
- Jamie Dunn (www.jamie-dunn.com)
Entrepreneur | International Speaker | Coulumnist
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