Talent is a mysterious thing.
Some people are born with prodigious amounts of it.
Others, not so much.
In other words, talent is something we either have or we don’t, and if we don’t have it, tough luck.
Right?
Well….. Not really.
Yes, it’s true that certain levels of talent are locked in at birth, but talent can actually be an impediment to full expression of our gifts.
Check it out.
I have a friend who went to art school. When he was there, he noticed something fascinating.
The students who were naturally gifted at art often didn’t work very hard.
They didn’t have to.
Or they thought they didn’t have to.
What my friend noticed was that this perception that they could just skate by on their innate talent eventually started to get in their way.
They never learned to work.
They never learned to put in the “extra” effort that their fellow not-as-naturally-gifted classmates had to.
I put the quotes of air around “extra” because it’s actually not extra at all.
Expression of one’s God-given gifts is always a combination of talent and work.
What’s that old saying?
Melissa and I recently saw the movie Free Solo.
In the film, we see Alex Honnold, the world’s best free solo rock climber, prepare for and climb El Capitan in Yosemite in under four hours.
Free soloing is the practice of rock climbing without ropes or harnesses. Most climbers won’t do it. It’s incredibly dangerous.
But this dude Alex pulls it off.
After I saw the movie, I read an interview with Alex Honnold where he stated that when he first started climbing, he wasn’t a stand out.
A lot of kids were stronger than him.
A lot of kids appeared to be more naturally gifted climbers than he was.
You see where I’m going.
Alex Honnold is obsessed with climbing. This obsession led him to do something that no other climber has ever done before.
A few days after the climb, I read an article about Alex Honnold in The New York Times. In the article, he talked about how the mental prep work is the key factor to achievements like his. When they asked him if he was nervous before his historic climb, he said this:
“Not so much. A couple years ago when I looked at the wall it was more fear than anything. I’d look at it and be like, ‘Oh my God that seems daunting.’ But because of all the preparation and all the time I’ve spent visualizing and imagining, by yesterday I was like, ‘This is going to be awesome.’”
In other words, Alex Honnold worked his ass off. (So to speak.)
He did years of physical prep work.
He also did years of mental prep work – visualizing and imagining himself making the climb so often that when it came time to do it, it was no big deal.
Abraham, one of my favorite spiritual teachers, talks about the process of working something in consciousness to the point where you totally feel the reality of it, even if it hasn’t manifested yet. Then, when it does actually manifest, it’s no big deal.
It’s the next logical step.
That’s how it was for Alex Honnold.
And that’s how it is for everyone who combines talent with the physical and mental preparation necessary to fully express their gifts in the world.
Indeed, one could say that the physical and mental work necessary to fulfill one’s talent are part of the Talent Fulfillment package.
One could say that talent without work is like a little seed that never gets planted.
You have to actually put that sucker in the ground. And water it. And fertilize it. And, when the time comes, harvest it.
Otherwise you’re just a seed, bragging about your potential.
When I went to see Free Solo, I thought they were going to talk about Alex Honnold’s mindset going in – that he wasn’t nervous before the climb because of how prepared he was – both mentally and physically.
But they left that out of the movie.
Probably because they wanted to keep in the tension. Would he make it? Would he fall off the mountain?
But Alex Honnold knew he wouldn’t fall. He could see that he wouldn’t.
That’s the beauty of talent’s best friend, work.
They back each other up ways that are beautiful.
Inspiring.
And, sometimes, breath-taking.
What’s your experience of the talent/work combo? Share your comments below!
