In recent thread about coaching for your magic business, the topic of talent came up. This came up in response to a quote from Tony Robbins. The quote said find someone who is doing what you want to do, learn from them and you will have the same success - to paraphrase.

Some responded that one must have the same level of talent to have the same level of success. Others believed that new levels of success can be achieved even if the level of talent is different.

I just heard about this book "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle, here is link to the book on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Great......5380684X

This book attempts to debunk the "myth" of talent and get to the bottom of what causes people to develop a skill quickly. It gets into details of what happens in the brain when a skill is acquired. He suggests that talent is many hours of hard practice which trigger repeated and urgent neuron firing.

I have not read the book yet, but most likely will soon. Based on these findings, talent isn't born, it is grown. What do you think?

John Maxwell also has a book on the subject, titled "Talent is Never Enough."

- Donald

I think if it were true we would have more Michael Jordan types in the NBA than are there.

You can reach your full potential and no more.

I don't think this is an easy answer as there are different types of talent. There is natural talent which seems to come from breeding or genes. I personally know two drummers that the very first time they were ever given a pair of sticks and sat down at a kit, could naturally or instinctively play as if they've been playing for years. I also know many families that seem to have the genes of vocal harmonies. There is something to the entire family harmony things and "natural talent."

Yet I also believe there are different types of talent that can be taught/learned, or a skillset which can be developed, improved and perhaps mastered over time with the right tools, resources and efforts.

When talent is used as in behavior modification as in the Tony Robbins example, I see this different than these others.

As this applies to our profession of magic or performing, several of these type of "talent" exist within. One of my favorite quotes and thoughts on this topic comes from Steve Martin who said "Magic the only talent you can buy." This says a lot about many things.

Regardless of talent or the types of talent, as Danny points out, it is more about your own specific potential which is what is and is often measured and compared to others. Then comes the fact of what you choose to do with that talent that can determine success and can be the difference in the context of the Tony Robbins quote.

I also think success is about much more than talent. Talent is a component that can play a part, but not the deciding or main factor. I have seen many of the most-talented, best-skilled entertainers never get out of a basic level. Yes, they have the talent to do so, but not the business behind the talent to be achieve the level of success they desire. Talent often is not enough. At the same time, we all probably know someone not as talented as others you may know, yet they are far more successful because they understand the other elements and aspects to being a successful performer more than just talent.

I think personality is much more important than talent. This too is another flaw in the Robbins quote and perception. He (Tony) has a great dynamic personality that has lead his success. Someone could be taught everything he knows but without the same or right personality they will not experience the same results Tony has.

Proof of that is even with all his students NOBODY HAS YET!

There is an ole saying that Attitudes are Caught, not Taught. Same is true with Duplication; it is often caught and not taught. Those that benefit the most from Tony Robbins are the ones that catch his passion. Passion is the first step to achievement and you can’t fully develop your talent without it.

A couple good quotes on talent:

“One difference between those who make it and those who don't--regardless of their field of endeavor--is not the "talent" difference. Those who go over the top have a dream and the dream has them. They make the commitment and pursue that dream with dogged patience and persistence. Commitment produces consistent, enthusiastic effort that inevitably produces greater and greater rewards.--Zig Ziglar

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” --Stephen King

Tom

I don't care how many pointless platitudes you put up, all people are simply not created equal.

Those things sell books. But fact is without talent to be a professional basketball player I don't care what your commitment level is you can forget it.

All you can ever reach is your full potential. Trying to be anything more is a waste of time. Settling for anything less is not the way to spend your life. It takes enough commitment just to reach your full potential without wasting it in pointless endeavours.

People should stop trying to reach someone else's full potential and focus only on their own.

I look at like have all my life in sports, boxing, fighting, magic , etc. You can tell when someone has the "It" factor. They do almost anything they want go with less effort than others. Also, I believe we all have talent but, people lose it every day by not using it. Just because you have the it factor or talent doesn't mean you make it. Its about luck being prepared for the moment, and having discipline. These are just a couple of things. My dad always said you can train a mule for the Kentucky derby all his life and he will always come in last place. These are some words of wisdom from me.

I don’t think people like Tony Robbins are saying that we don’t have limits. We do, but we shouldn’t allow others to set those limits for us. Nor should we allow ourselves to set limits that we haven’t tested. The winners in life think constantly in terms of 'I can', 'I will' and 'I am'. Most others, on the other hand spend most of their time thinking on what they can't do.

Even in sports that require great physical ability, the difference in the winners and losers is often just the mindset. And that is the valuable lesson we should take from the sports quotes.



“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” –Michael Jordan


Sometimes our talent just needs a little more practice.


Tom

This is well said. In using the example of the mule, leveraging the strengths of work capabilities, and longevity is a better path than preparing for a race against horses. Unfortunately, it is more complicated for us, if the goal is reaching our full potential. First, society places a monetary value on what constitutes valuable contribution and that value often changes over time. This can influence our pursuits and perhaps create a situation where we do not fully develop areas of greatest talent because there is not a monetary reward. A easy example of this is sports. Because so very few achieve proficiency high enough to be financially rewarded, many great sports players seek to earn money in less competitive fields, where a greater percentage of individuals can achieve "success". This is why there is a delicate balance between staying the course and being patient, as Tom suggests and being "honest" with ones self with respect to talent potential. As Danny often points out, there is nothing worse than one falsely believing they have what it takes to achieve "success" in a certain endeavor only to find out that they don't, and that they passed on other opportunities more suited to their realities.

I tend to view talent much like I view diamonds. You need to find the best raw gem. Not all are equal. Then you need to find the best expert that can see the potential and make the best of that particular stone. Raw talent and the correct training/polishing. One without the other isn't enough. Yes, there are those with mediocre talent that are highly polished and those with amazing raw potential that never live up to it. I frequently felt that my job was to find those rare ones with the exceptional potential and then help shape and direct them to achieve their ultimate best. "Success" is a totally different metric based on business sense as well as inherent abilities. I know some amazingly talented artists that never achieved what others with less talent did. There is a common misconception that if you have the drive and perseverance you can be great. No... you might be successful but true greatness comes from the perfect combination of raw talent and perfect training.

Ray makes an excellent point. Well said Ray.

Drive and perseverance can make you successful but that doesn’t mean you are great. A horse can win the race and be successful, but to be 'great' he must keep winning races, only then can you say he is really talented.

YES in magic there are many unheard of magicians that could outperform most of the professionals any day of the week. Simply because they have a 'talent' that many don't have.

This is why I keep saying it doesn't take as much as you might think to be successful. You don't have to be a superstar, you just need the right mindset because it all starts there.

Again, well said Ray.

Tom

There is a very interesting book, Outliers, by Malcolm Gadwell, that discusses individuals who achieve a high level of success in their chosen field.

One of his conclusions is the 10,000 hour, or ten year rule. That is, 10,000 hours or ten years of working on a field to become a master in that field. Basically, hours plus good training = expert. One example that I found intriguing was the correlation between birth month and professional hockey success for Canadians.

Certainly individuals have different levels of natural talent, but proper training and sufficient practice will often dominate results.

Hudson