The Secret No One Told You About Success
When we think of those who have achieved greatness in life, it’s easy to convince ourselves that they must have some innate and naturally gifted talent that we don’t possess. But is greatness truly something that is bestowed upon only a select few?
Listen to James Dyson or Richard Branson give advice about entrepreneurship; David or Simon Reuben talk about property investments; watch a video of Eric Clapton as he rips through a blues guitar or Michael Jordan dunking a basketball.
The gap is so big between what these people are capable of and what we can do; it is easy to convince ourselves that they must have some innate ability and some naturally gifted talent that we don’t possess.
That’s why they can excel and be great, and we can’t.
Right?
Wrong!
The truth is greatness is not determined by innate ability or unique skill sets but rather by hard work and dedication.
Take Michael Jordan, for example. Many would consider him one of the greatest basketball players, but he didn’t achieve that level of success through natural talent alone.
Jordan once said,
“Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I led you to believe it was easy when it wasn’t. Maybe I made you think that my highlights started at the free throw line and not in the gym. Maybe I made you think that every shot I took was a game-winner. Maybe it is my fault that I didn’t let you see that failure gave me strength, that my pain was my motivation. Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a god given gift and not something I worked for every single day of my life.”
The belief in natural talent is a self-limiting belief that can prevent us from achieving greatness. It leads us to believe that we either “have it” or “don’t have it” and that if we’re not naturally gifted at something, we’ll never excel. But this isn’t true.
Imagine a person who has not been conditioned to believe in natural talent. They would approach learning anything with an open mind, willing to practice as much as it takes to excel. They could become great at anything they set their mind to, from math to playing an instrument, from sports to sales. They would view life as a limitless opportunity to learn, grow, and improve themselves, rather than being ruled by fears and self-doubts.
However, for most, this perspective is highly foreign. Most people see their shortcomings with incredible clarity, but they see their potential to learn through a fog-like haze. So how does this happen to them? How do they come to believe that the only people capable of achieving high levels of success are those who have been fortunate enough to be naturally gifted?
Countless examples perpetuate the myth of natural talent in sports, media, and everyday life. We hear stories of child prodigies and naturally gifted athletes, and eventually, we believe the myth. The insidious conditioning process that perpetuates this myth is evident when we watch any sporting event or read a newspaper or television. We will likely hear reference to an athlete’s incredible natural talent or some child prodigy.
The media often highlights stories of individuals who possess incredible natural talent, making it seem like success is preordained and only attainable for those born with specific abilities. Take Joshua Waitzkin, a child prodigy who won eight USA national championships in chess by 14 and earned the title of International Chess Master by 16.
It’s easy to assume that he must have possessed some innate gift that allowed him to excel in the game. But as we delve deeper into his story, we discover that his success resulted from excessive hard work and dedication.
Media often fails to mention the countless hours of practice and the numerous setbacks and mistakes individuals like Joshua Waitzkin had to overcome. The story of Joshua’s chance meeting with a US Chess Foundation National Master at six, who took him under his wing and taught him to become a chess grandmaster, is often overlooked. Through thousands of hours of training and practice, Joshua honed his abilities and became a chess grandmaster.
It’s important to remember that the myth of natural talent can convince people that it would be impossible to develop if they weren’t born with incredible skill, leading them not even to bother trying.
But as Joshua Waitzkin said,
“The moment that we believe that an ingrained level of ability predetermines success, we will be brittle in the face of adversity.”
Success is not preordained; it’s attainable through hard work and dedication, regardless of innate abilities.
It’s important to remember that greatness is not determined by innate ability or unique skill sets but rather by hard work and dedication. So instead of being held back by the belief in natural talent, let’s approach life with an open mind, willing to work to achieve greatness, and recognise the limitless potential we all possess.
Take the work of Swedish psychologist Dr Anders Ericsson was curious about ‘talent.’ He wanted to know if it was naturally gifted or the result of something else.
To answer this question, he and his team of researchers went to the West Berlin Academy of Music, a school known for producing international soloist-level violinists.
Without the students knowing, Ericsson asked to split the class of violinists into two groups – those that would make it to the international soloist level and those that were ‘merely good enough to be 1st or 2nd Violin in internationally renowned symphony orchestras.
He then conducted detailed interviews with the students, their teachers, and their parents, collecting data on each student, which Ericsson and his team then analysed.
They found that the violinists from both groups had remarkably similar stories. They had all started playing at around the same age, won similar competitions as they were getting older and were currently putting in equal practice time honing their playing skills. The only difference between the two groups was the amount of lifetime practice hours.
On average, those destined to become soloists had racked up 7,410 lifetime practice hours, while those destined to be ensemble players had only managed 5,301 lifetime practice hours. That’s a differential of 2109 hours or 30% more practice.
Dr Anders Ericsson’s study suggests that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become the very best at any skill.
In fact, spending just a few hours per week of deliberation on any given subject can put you way ahead of the game in as little as 12 months.
The media often focuses on the stories of “naturally talented” individuals, but the truth is that success is not preordained. It results from hard work and dedication, and those who put in the extra hours of practice will appear more “naturally talented” than those who don’t.
Remember, this is a common misconception that natural talent or some inherent genetic advantage is what makes someone great in a particular field just isn’t true.
No DNA or gene automatically makes someone a great chess player, a superstar athlete, a world-class musician, a top salesperson, or a great leader.
Imagine the possibilities if we genuinely believed that we could be good at anything we set our mind to. The potential for success would be limitless. Without the limiting belief that natural talent is a prerequisite for success, we would approach learning and developing new skills with an open mind.
With the right mindset, the fear of failure, the fear of not being good enough, and the fear of making a mistake would cease to exist. Instead, we would view life as a virtually limitless opportunity to learn, grow and improve ourselves.
So if you genuinely believe that you can be good at anything you set your mind to, even if you practice a skill set for 10,000 hours, nothing would stand in the way of your success.
The road to success is not a straight path; it is a winding journey full of obstacles and challenges. There will be moments of doubt, self-doubt, failure, and setbacks along the way.
What sets apart those who succeed from those who give up too quickly and ultimately fail?
It’s their unwavering belief in themselves and their ability to overcome obstacles.
It is the strength of their mindset that propels them forward.
Success is not bestowed upon a select few, but it can be achieved by anyone with the determination and willingness to put in the hard work. It is not a linear process but a series of peaks and troughs that test our resilience and willpower. But through it all, the one constant that will guide us to our destination is our self-belief.
The power of the mind is a formidable force; it can shape our reality and future. The journey to success is not just about the destination; it is about the person we become along the way. It is about the strength we gain, the lessons we learn, and the person we become. And when we finally reach our destination, we will look back and realise that it was not just the destination that mattered but the journey, the person we became and the impact we made on the world.
So let us not be discouraged by the obstacles we face, let us not be swayed by the opinions of others, and allow us not to be limited by our self-doubt. Instead, let us have the courage to believe in ourselves and our abilities and the determination to see our journey through to the end because success starts and ends with our self-belief and mindset. And with a strong mind, we can and will achieve our goals in life.
James Fleming
Managing Director
The Power Within Training
The Motivational Intelligence Company
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