“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” —Calvin Coolidge
Ever notice how talented Michael Jordan was? How talented Babe Ruth was? How talented Muhammad Ali was? How talented (fill in the blank) was/is?
Most of us don’t see all the failures and hard work they went through to create their talent. Jordan did not initially make his high school basketball team. His dedicated hard work paid off in college and later in the pros. Behind that talent was tremendous persistence. Daily habits that don’t require talent, but instead enable it. The same is true of the others I mentioned.
Recently I read a list of things that don’t require talent, but go a long way to helping you become talented. I would consider this an entry point in everything you do.
- Being on time
- Work ethic
- Giving your best
- Positive body language
- Energy
- Positive attitude
- Passion
- Being coachable
- Doing more than is required
- Being prepared
“I will persist until I succeed. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult. I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete an undertaking.” —Og MandinoSimple common habits. They don’t require talent. Done consistently, they develop talent. Hard work + persistence = talent.
Have a great weekend.
—Vijay
About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!