Talent Quotes

Don’t let it go to waste.

“We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.”
Bruce Lee, Striking Thoughts (Page 115)

“It’s insulting to call a professional talented. She’s skilled, first and foremost. Many people have talent, but only a few care enough to show up fully, to earn their skill. Skill is rarer than talent. Skill is earned. Skill is available to anyone who cares enough.”
Seth Godin, The Practice (Page 103)

Iain Thomas Quote on Being Gifted and What That Really Means

“Being gifted doesn’t mean you’ve been given something. It means, you have something to give.”
Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You

Beyond the Quote (344/365)

The question is, will you give it? Or, maybe better yet, do you even know what your gift is? My belief is that we all have a gift. And while you might hesitate at that thought and think to yourself, “Does he even know who he’s talking to? I’m the least gifted person I know”—I stand firmly in my position. Even if you think to yourself about how gifted and talented you already know you are—that isn’t exactly what I’m talking about—I’m talking about a specific gift.

“What looks like a talent gap is often a focus gap. The ‘all star’ is often an average to above average performer who spends more time working on what is important and less time on distractions. The talent is staying focused.”
James Clear

“There is no limit on better. Talent is distributed unfairly, but there is no limit on how much we can improve what we start with.”
Kevin Kelly, Blog

Winston Churchill Quote on Being Prepared and Ready When Your Special Moment Comes

“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”
Winston Churchill

Beyond the Quote (135/365)

Rather than wait for the opportunity before you start to prepare—start preparing for the opportunity that is going to come. Too many people wait for their golden ticket, their lucky break, their big moment—when really, all they’re doing is waiting. Golden tickets aren’t given to people who aren’t even in the competition. Lucky breaks might happen, sure—but luck has more to do with preparation meeting opportunity. Don’t base your life plan on the lottery—it’s not an admirable way to the top anyway. Big moments come and go all of the time. The tragedy, as Sir Winston Churchill points out, is when those big moments come and you’re unprepared, unqualified, or just plain too passive to step into it.

“Consistency beats talent. Consistency beats good intentions. Consistency beats luck. Consistency even beats quality.”
Unknown

Beyond the Quote (96/365)

**When does consistency beats talent?**

Well, you have to be consistent enough to bridge the talent gap. The fact that somebody is ‘talented’ in a certain area implies that they have innate aptitudes, abilities, or skills that start them ahead of you. But just because somebody has a head start doesn’t mean that they are always going to win. In fact, this is the basic premise for every underdog story you’ve ever heard.

“Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge. But there is another element, an X factor that Masters inevitably possess, that seems mystical but that is accessible to us all. Whatever field of activity we are involved in, there is generally an accepted path to the top. It is a path that others have followed, and because we are conformist creatures, most of us opt for this conventional route. But Masters have a strong inner guiding system and a high level of self-awareness. What has suited others in the past does not suit them, and they know that trying to fit into a conventional mold would only lead to a dampening of spirit, the reality they seek eluding them. And so inevitably, these Masters, as they progress on their career paths, make a choice at a key moment in their lives: they decide to forge their own route, one that others will see as unconventional, but that suits their own spirit and rhythms and leads them closer to discovering the hidden truths of their objects of study. This key choice takes self-confidence and self-awareness—the X factor that is necessary for attaining mastery.” ~ Robert Greene, Mastery

“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“It doesn’t matter how talented you are, how great your connections are, how much money you have. When you want to do something – something big and important and meaningful – you will be subjected to treatment ranging from indifference to outright sabotage. Count on it.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

“Passion is the thing that will help you create the highest expression of your talent.” ~ Larry Smith, via Talk Like TED

“Most often people believe that the ‘gift’ is the ability itself. Yet what feeds it is that constant, endless curiosity and challenge seeking.” ~ Carol Dweck, Mindset

“When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world – the world of fixed traits – success is about proving you’re smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other – the world of changing qualities – it’s about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself. In one world, failure is about having a setback. Getting a bad grade. Losing a tournament. Getting fired. Getting rejected. It means you’re not smart or talented. In the other world, failure is about not rowing. Not reaching for the things you value. It means you’re not fulfilling your potential. In one world, effort is a bad thing. It, like failure, means you’re not smart or talented. If you were, you wouldn’t need effort. In the other world, effort is what makes you smart or talented. You have a choice. Mindsets are just beliefs. They’re powerful beliefs, but they’re just something in your mind, and you can change your mind.” ~ Carol Dweck, Mindset

“It is not our abilities that show what we truly are… it is our choices.” ~ Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets

“Squandering our gifts brings distress to our lives. As it turns out, it’s not merely benign or ‘too bad’ if we don’t use the gifts that we’ve been given; we pay for it with our emotional and physical well-being. When we don’t use our talents to cultivate meaningful work, we struggle. We feel disconnected and weighted down by feelings of emptiness, frustration, resentment, shame, disappointment, fear, and even grief.” ~ Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

“No one ever achieved a goal by being interested in its achievement. One must be committed. In fact, in studying the source of people’s success, I’ve found that persistence overshadows even talent as the most valued and effective resource in creating and shaping the quality of life. Most people give up a maddening five feet from their goal!” ~ Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within

“We don’t know who we can be until we know what we can do.” ~ Ken Robinson, The Element

“The great mystery isn’t that people do things badly but that they occasionally do a few things well. The only thing that is universal is incompetence. Strength is always specific! Nobody ever commented, for example, that the great violinist Jascha Heifetz probably couldn’t play the trumpet well.” ~ Peter Drucker

“People’s purpose in life is always connected to their giftedness.” ~ John C. Maxwell, Leadership Gold