Hard work and commitment beat talents

In January 2020, when we all not had any faintest idea that a pandemic this massive would happen, I decided to work my butt off so I can realize two of my dreams. While I love working on these dreams, there were days that I wanted to give up, but I realized that hard work and commitment beat talents.

I started to work on the first dream in March and achieved it in December. However, there were days that I was so demotivated that I would put it aside and watch Netflix shows. In August last year, I also took a leap of faith to accomplish my second dream and I am still working on it. It is still a long way to go, yet, to be honest, there were moments that I would question my decisions, would feel dissuaded, and would idle away the hours watching Youtube vlogs and Netflix series instead of working to materialize this dream. I mean, taking time to relax is not bad at all, but too much of doing it in preference to carrying out more important tasks is something else.

Kevin Durant, one of my favorite NBA players, said that “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” This is true in so many ways.

Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Warren Buffett are just some of the most successful and richest people in the world. We can even argue that they are only successful because they have talents and brilliance. But, is that it? Can we credit their success to their knacks alone? I doubt it. I believe that they are who they are today because of their talents and their insane work ethic, diligence, and steadfastness. I have witnessed and experienced firsthand so many times that hard work and commitment beat talents every time.

It is very easy for us to claim that we are not as successful as our colleagues or friends because we are inept, we are not as lucky as they are, or we do not have the connections. That is an easy route to feel not guilty of lazing our days away instead of working hard. I remember few former classmates who were not that smart but really conscientious. They are more successful now compared to some of our classmates who are naturally intelligent.

I am currently working as an IT Project Manager, though I do not have an IT degree. Oh, the hardships and rejections I faced before I even got the chance to prove myself. The times that I was second-guessed were uncountable. Even if I am good at projects and resource management, I have effective communication skills, and I can learn new things pretty fast, I knew that I had to work harder than anyone else in the room.

Why do hard work and commitment beat talents? It is because success is one of the many things in life that does not happen overnight. Surprise!

This website remains active as a result of me constantly bugging myself to create a new post every week, and thinking of a topic to write about is not an easy feat, especially if you are cocooned in a small place without a new experience to write about in the first place.

I love writing. If I can probably do a single job without getting paid, it is writing. However, no matter how I think I am good at it, some of my write-ups would sound bland and amiss and it would prompt me to practice and write more and be better.

Starting any endeavor can be as easy as pie, particularly if a person is inherently talented, gifted, and brilliant, but following through and actually committing to it is the most difficult part.

I believe that everyone is born with a unique talent to offer, but what sets successful people apart? I presume that what makes the difference are the choices they make in their lives. They choose to learn, to read, to improve themselves, to strive every day.

Putting this one out here as my reminder to keep on persevering with each passing day because hard work and commitment beat talent every time and it always pays off. It is all going to be worth it in the end.