11 ways to maximize your talent
When watching Lebron James play basketball, I’ve found myself feeling like we’re not even the same species. Same goes for many professional athletes.
I could never do what he does. I definitely don’t have the height or skill. But, I could duplicate some of what he has with time and effort.
I could work out more and get the strength.
I could work on my quickness.
I could study the game and learn the sets and nuisances.
But I’d always lack the height. No matter what I did, I couldn’t duplicate that.
But of that list, only one of those is something he was born with. Maybe he had some other natural propensity towards basketball, but how can we know that? How can we tell?
This goes back to the unanswerable question: how much of a result is talent and how much hard work?
There is no doubt that Lebron worked extremely hard to get where he did. But I could work just as hard and would still have no chance. So it’s clear talent and height have something to do with the equation.
We’ll never answer this question because it’s different in every situation.
But the reality is, we all have talent of some kind. I can’t tell you what yours is, but in Atomic Habits, James clear asks 4 questions that attempt to help you discover your unique talents:
- What feels like fun to me, but work to others?
- What makes me lose track of time?
- Where do I get greater returns than the average person?
- What comes naturally to me?
If Lebron wasn’t a hard worker, he might not even be in the league!
So, what he actually did was capitalize on the natural talent he had through hard work.
Anyone, and I mean anyone, can do that.
So the question then is, once we’ve identified our talents, how can we develop them?
Take action
Once you’ve identified your opportunities, just start.
Any delay is procrastination.
Make daily progress through habits
Once you’ve started, identify habits and daily action that will keep you progressing.
Small steps each day lead to big changes over time.
Record your progress
Visibility into your progress is key.
When you don’t record, you forget.
Check your attitude
A bad attitude narrows your horizon, which limits your outcomes.
Focus on gratitude and keeping an open mindset.
Follow-through
If you say you’re going to do something, do it.
Following through on commitments to yourself are votes for your own health.
Be nimble
Being flexible when things go wrong allow you to pivot as necessary.
When you can pivot quickly, you gain an advantage over those who don’t and will get to leverage your talent in new ways.
Be teachable
Teachable people ask questions and look for their blind spots.
You’ll learn 10x more than someone fixed in their idea.
Find a mentor
This doesn’t mean to go ask someone “be my mentor.”
It means identifying someone local with the same skills but further along and ask them to lunch.
Then come prepared with some questions to learn from them.
Take chances
If you have a talent, what will separate you is your willingness to push yourself.
Take measured chances because talent makes it easier to recover.
Recognize when you need a new challenge
Sometimes it’s just time to move on.
The ability to recognize this will increase your growth rate over time.
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Talent is never enough. Hard work is always required.
But hard work allows your talent to develop and that’s when luck happens.