I read about a very interesting concept called deliberate practice. The premise is that you may reach greatness at anything, devoid of talent, by deliberately putting approximately 10,000 hours of practice into it. I agree with this to an extent, but I want to discuss additional ways to achieve success without natural ability.
Because Michael Jordan was such a phenomenal basketball player, it is easy to doubt the stories about his lack of natural talent. It seems implausible that a person could go from talentless in an area to being the best of the best. But for me, Jordan’s amazing story is not hard to believe.
I’m extremely impressed by people who clearly have an innate ability to do something. It is thrilling to see a small child, like Mozart, playing the piano at the age of 3. How can you help but be amazed by an academically gifted student like Kim Ung-Yong who attended University at age 4?
Yes, talent is wonderful. If you’re born with a knack for something–lucky you! But I find it even more thrilling to see extraordinary success from those who lacked outstanding aptitude.
A talent is a natural ability or gift, but these tips are every bit as effective for achieving greatness and outstanding success:
Do what you love
I am a firm believer that the people who are best at what they do, are those who love what they do. When you do something because you really want to, not just because you think it is a means to some rewarding end, greatness is never out of reach.
Dedicate your time and energy to what you love. And never lose sight of why you’re doing it. If it takes 10,000 hours or practice to achieve greatness, you’ll accumulate that time naturally without feeling as if it’s a chore. You won’t want to stop because you enjoy it…. it is what you want.
You will put in whatever time, energy, and passion are needed for your success, without the frustration that you would feel if doing something for less satisfying reasons.
If ever in doubt about what you can be great at, consider what you truly love to do.
“Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” – Confucious
Positive Attitude of Enthusiasm
Your emotions are a great sign of how successful you will be. When you’re doing something that you love, it is easy to feel great. And when you feel great, you attract circumstances of greatness.
On the other hand, it is difficult to keep a positive attitude when you’re working on something mostly because you hope it will lead to money, fame, or some other worldly treasure. And when you can’t keep a positive attitude, your journey to greatness will be painful and possibly unattainable.
Pay close attention to what you feel. With a positive outlook and a heart full of enthusiasm, you cannot fail.
“Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars. With it, there is accomplishment. Without it there are only alibis.” – Henry Ford
Keep a Laser Focus
The world is full of distractions. You’ll undoubtedly be pulled towards things that don’t match your goals. You may be encouraged to concentrate your efforts on more realistic goals, a “normal” job, other people’s great ideas, finding (or keeping) a spouse, time with demanding friends or family members, etc. You may even be faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Life does throw curve balls. But your ability to remain focused and avoid the tendency to give up is a key to greatness that should never be forgotten.
“Never take no for an answer and never give up. If you really believe in what you’re doing, and you’re really keen, then you’ll succeed – it’s as simple as that.” -Sir Peter Blake
Pure Desire
As I’ve mentioned in other articles, pure desire is the key to Law of Attraction success and manifestation. This type of non-resistant desire exists only with an attitude of positive expectation.
It means that you are filled with excitement for what you know is to come. Unlike resistant desire, there is no feeling of lack or yearning, thus the Universe will always respond to this type of desire with manifestation.
“Burning desire to be or do something gives us staying power, a reason to get up every morning or to pick ourselves up and start in again after a disappointment”. – Marsha Sinetar
Supportive Inner Circle
It is always easier to stay the course when the people in your corner support your vision. Unfortunately many successful people have to reach their goals without a strong cheering section. And you can do this too.
At the very least, I suggest surrounding yourself with people who don’t seek to discourage you, whether or not they actually believe in you.
“We possess such immense resources of power that pessimism is a laughable absurdity.” – Colin Wilson
Related Self Improvement Blog Posts
What It Really Takes to Achieve the Impossible
7 Things Holding You Back from Success
Law of Attraction and Positive Thinking
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome post! I liked it so much I just posted a link to it on Twitter!
I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks so much for your support.
Great advice. Your description of “Pure desire” to me almost sounds like it is a self-less, non-worrisome, and thoughtless motivation that cannot be hindered by anyone. I think you are absolutely right that this is an important key to any success. Thanks for sharing.
And thank you for taking the time to read it.
Nea. I love this article. I had to check on the Ung-Yong just to be sure there’s no typo on his age. I seriously cannot imagine a 4 year old studying in one of the most prestigious Uni doing Physics!
Neal,
Great post!
I totally agree with you on the first point of “Doing what you love”…
Imagine somebody who is not really talented spending 10,000 hours on something that she doesn’t love!
I know that some people would do that if they think that at the end of those 10,000 hours of practice they would become rich. For me, happiness and success are just a byproduct of a life focused on a high purpose.
All the best!.
Boris
I totally agree.
Bizarrely, this post made me think of skateboarding. I tried to learn to skate when I was younger but gave up. To this day, I have massive respect for anyone who has learnt to do tricks on a board, it is incredibly hard, and painful too. To learn you repeat the trick over and over and over until you nail it – you need enthusiasm, passion and a laser focus to do that. Also you rarely see kids skating alone, they have the supportive inner circle too!
I take my hat off to anyone without a natural talent for skating who was worked for years to get good.
I see your point. I’m a bit skeptic though about the zero talent premise. I see it rather as some talent, which just manifests itself a bit later, after a lot of practice. I know that’s not how we conventionally see talent, but…
Wow, I really like this quote: “We possess such immense resources of power that pessimism is a laughable absurdity.” – Colin Wilson
Thanks for another great post!
Hi
good post
I am 24, and still can’t find my favorite job.
Thanks for the compliment. You are very young. I’m sure you’ll change your mind about your favorites many many times. And you’ll find your way.
I sooo agree with doing what you love for a living. I recently moved from being a Chef teaching Culinary Arts to a Law of Attraction Coach/writer. I love writing and having a blog is such a joy for me. I simply cannot imagin doing something that I did not love.
Very nice article, great post. Thank you.