Bring Out the Best of Your Talent

In his book, Talent is Never Enough, author John Maxwell says, “Too many talented people who start with advantages over others lose that advantage because they rest on their talent instead of raising it. They assume that talent alone will keep them out front. They don’t realize the truth that if they merely wing it, others will fly past them. Talent is more common than they think. Mega-best-selling author Stephen King asserts that, ‘Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.’”

Without question, our business, like any other, abounds with talented people who never come close to reaching their potential. This is because while talent is a great head start, it is no guarantee of performance. One must make right choices consistently in order to get the most out of the gifts one has. You can use these points to develop your own talent, as well as to coach those on your team to make daily choices that bring out the best of their own talent.

1. Belief lifts your talent.

The first and greatest obstacle to success for most people is their belief in themselves. Once people figure out where their “sweet spot” is (the area where they’re most gifted) what often hinders them isn’t a lack of talent, but a lack of trust in themselves that becomes a self-imposed ceiling. To lift your talent, you’ve got to stop seeing yourself only as you currently are and begin to see yourself as you potentially could be; then, do all you can daily to close that gap.

2. Initiative activates your talent.

Talent-plus people don’t wait for everything to be perfect to move forward. They don’t wait for all the problems or obstacles to disappear, or for fear to subside. They take initiative, because initiative creates momentum. And momentum is a leader’s best friend. Increase your inclination to initiate by realizing that desire, good intentions, and talent aren’t enough. Success requires initiative, and the greatest time wasted is the time getting started.

3. Focus directs your talent.

Focus does not come naturally to us, yet it is essential for anyone wanting to make the most of their talent. Having talent without focus is like being an octopus on roller sakes. There’s plenty of movement, but you don’t know in what direction it will be. Increase your focus by giving up spending too much time with the things—and people—in your life that distract you and take your eyes off your dreams. If you know that you have talent, and you are energetic and active but still don’t see meaningful results, then lack of focus is likely your problem.

4. Preparation positions your talent.

What happens when you don’t prepare? Things you hoped won’t happen do happen—and they occur with greater frequency than the things you hoped would happen. The reason is simple: being unprepared puts you out of position. Increase your preparation ethic by deciding to pay the price to prepare daily and accepting that preparation is not glamorous; and, that it’s often long and slow, but you cannot wait for the opportunity to appear before you start preparing. Prepare in anticipation of the opportunity, and when it comes you will be ready. You don’t get a second chance to seize upon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

5. Perseverance sustains your talent.

While talent provides hope for accomplishment, perseverance helps ensure it. Playwright Noel Coward commented, “Thousands of people have talent. I might as well congratulate you for having eyes in your head. The one and only thing that counts is: Do you have staying power?” Improve perseverance by having a vision that inspires you to keep moving, and grasp that the number one characteristic of a leader is the ability to make positive things happen – and that takes perseverance. Without perseverance, a talented person is little more than a one-hit wonder.

6. Teachability expands your talent.

If you are a highly talented person, you may have a tough time with teachability because talented people often think they know it all – which makes it difficult for them to expand their talent. Improve your teachability by changing your attitude toward learning. Learning is energizing and gives you an edge. It changes your thoughts, which improves your actions, which edifies your results. When you see learning in this light, you won’t be able to get enough of it!

7. Character protects your talent.

Many talented people make it to the limelight, but the ones who have neglected to develop strong character rarely stay there long. The absence of strong character eventually topples talent because people are often tempted to take shortcuts. Hone your character by accepting that while many of your circumstances are beyond your control, your character is not. Character is the sum total of your everyday choices. Thus, great character is built by making the right choices, one choice at a time, and it is destroyed one poor choice at a time. Talented, but low-character people aren’t done in by outside forces, they self-destruct through bad decisions.