I want to ask you something that’s been on my mind for a while now.
Are we born with talent or we learn it during the course of our life?
That was the question I asked my brother and we both paused to think deeply about it. After a moment’s silence, he replied.
“If it’s true what they say, then Messi is a natural and was born with the talent of playing football”.
But how can they know that? He could barely play walk let alone play football when he was born.
“Okay. What about singing? Some people can not sing to save their life and some seem to be born with the talent. How do you explain that?”
A long pause followed. I could smell defeat. It seems my logic would fail me afterall. After thinking long and hard I replied.
It is genetic. That’s why some people have similar voice to their parents and why everyone in some families are good singers.
At this point I wasn’t even sure if I was correct or not. It just sounded like the only not-so-wrong explanation.
“How about David in the Bible and his talent of playing harps?”
Oh come on, we learn how to play musical instruments.
“Okay. How about King Solomon and his poems?”
God gave him wisdom, and the wisdom was the key that unlocked other intellectual abilities.
“So it is possible for God to give?”
And that’s when it dawned on me that it’s possible that talent can be inborn.
But whether a talent is inborn or not, it is never enough. You still need to nurture your talent. For it to serve any purpose to humanity (and to you) you need to hone your craft.
Messi would have not been called the god of football today if he never picked up a ball. If he never put in the hours to train.
Talent begins the race but hardwork takes you past the finish line.
Today, you can brush your teeth even without looking at the mirror or putting careful conscious effort. This is because of the amount of hours of practice you’ve put into brushing your teeth.
The average person spends 1 minute and 52 seconds brushing his/her teeth daily. If you brush twice a day, that’s still under 5 minutes.
What is that one talent or skill of yours you want to use to make the world a better place? The one you need to be really good at to achieve your dreams.
Spend just 5 minutes everyday practicing and watch the magic happen. If it’s really important to you, start today.
G.
