Natural Ability/Talent- Our Own Worst Enemy?

Well, based on Canadiangirl99's comment on my post with the quote from "Failing Forward", I thought I should expand my thoughts on the subject.

A while ago I heard a speaker on a CD talk about a mentor who told him, "you can be successful in life, but not if you coast on your natural ability!"

I must admit when I first heard that statement I really didn't give it much thought, until I read the following quote from the book "Failing Forward":

"Even at best, talent remains a constant, and those who rely upon that gift alone, without developing further, peak quickly and soon fade to obscurity"

Holy Smokes! Had I read that correctly. It wasn't saying - Hey - You have talent, that's great! You're going to go a long way in life. Sure you might not quite make it to the top but at least you'll be close (which was what I had always thought) Instead it's saying - Hey - You have talent, and if you decide to coast on it, not only will you NOT make it, but you will find yourself in a place of obscurity.

So of course I had to look up the definition of obscurity and I found the following: " a state of being unknown or inconspicuous"

Ouch - a State of unknown?? I started thinking to myself - they must mean people that are just a little bit talented! Then I read on in the book....

"The greater your talent, the more likely you are to lean heavily on it and skip the hard day-to-day work of improving it. If you possess this negative tendency, put yourself on a growth plan so that you can make the most of your God-given talent"

Ouch again!! :) Quickly I remembered the title of this blog - You Don't Know What You Don't Know. Well - now I knew!

So here I am today with the question. Natural Ability/Talent - Is it our own worst enemy? I guess I'm still of the opinion that it's not our worst enemy, but if all we do is rely on talent, and forego a "growth plan" we could end up being an obscure individual.

Thank Goodness I am fortunate enough to be on a systematic "growth plan" with amazing mentors and awesome teammates!

Cblog