The debate about natural talent versus hard work, and which one will prevail, is as old as time. The debate often hinges on context and individual perspective but underlining context and perspective is the undeniable fact that the two are intertwined.
My recent work and interactions with young scholars on the SparkXplorer platform have given me a fresh perspective on this old debate. On the platform, I have seen supposedly dull unintelligent children, struggling with mathematics and other academic skills suddenly turn into academic superstars, mastering several skills at once and excelling in school. What is the secret?
What is talent? What is hard work?
But, for perspective, let us first examine what talent is and what hard work does.
Talent is a natural gift, an innate ability or skill that an individual is born with. For instance, one may be born with the gift of drawing, an artist, the gift of singing, a mathematical gift, and so on. John D. Rockefeller was reputed to have the ability to calculate long and complex sums in seconds. Talent gives an individual an edge because it’s innate. It is like having a head start in a race. For the talented, success often comes easier and faster.
Hard work, on the other hand, is the desire and willingness to put in the time and energy to succeed at something or a given task. It requires effort or exertion, consistency, and determination to persevere or overcome challenges until a goal is met, achieved, or surpassed. For the person who lacks the natural talent, it takes more effort, willpower, consistency, and nimbleness to succeed.
Talent is king
Many will argue that talent will always trump hard work because the task or activity comes naturally to the individual; it is not forced and so it is fun for them, which helps them succeed readily. Those who argue this point to prodigiously talented individuals in different spheres of life and how their talent helped them achieve unimaginable successes. In business, for instance, names such as Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Mo Abudu, Sim Shagaya, Jason Njoku, and Stella Okoli are mentioned as talented individuals who have created value in their specific sectors. In sports, names such as Lionel Messi, Usain Bolt, Michael Jordan, Jay Jay Okocha, and Mary Onyali are mentioned while in music Michael Jackson, Davido, Tiwa Savage, King Sunny Ade, Fela, and Simi are standard bearers.
Hard work is king
Others will argue that hard work is and always will be a recipe for success. When an individual is consistently putting in the required efforts success is guaranteed, even though it may be tough. Cristiano Ronaldo, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Branson, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, Benjamin Franklin, Oprah Winfrey, Albert Einstern, J.K. Rowling, and Don Jazzy are poster boys/girls for hard work.
Talents
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan was a highly talented basketball player. Despite having retired from the game over 20 years ago, many in the sport continue to drool over his NBA achievements and unusual skills. Jordan could change direction midair and switch the ball from one hand to another. He was known as Air Jordan because he could defy gravity by hanging in the air to beat opponents and score a basket. He also perfected the buzzer-beating throws, where he would delay taking a shot until a second or two to the buzzer to ensure the opponent was unable to fight back. It is not surprising that he won every prize in basketball before retiring: several Most Valuable Player awards, NBA trophies, including a double three-peat with the Chicago Bulls, Olympic gold medal, Slam Dunk medal, and many more. However, despite his talent, Jordan was also known for his work ethic. He was once described as an “aggressive” trainer. Long after the regular team training, Jordan would stay back and train for hours on his own, perfecting his skills and improving on areas of weakness.
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was hugely talented and caught the world’s imagination when he was just five years old performing alongside his brothers in the Jackson Five musical group. In that group, he was the standout performer. Widely regarded as the King of Pop, he was loved across the world, and even after his death, he is still revered worldwide. Despite this undeniable talent, Jackson was known for his legendary rehearsals where he would rehearse with his band and choreographers for hours on end trying to achieve perfection on stage. The documentary on him “This Is It” showed the late singer’s great work ethic. He was involved in every aspect of his music; from sound, choreographing, dance, and vocals Jackson would work with everybody to ensure his public performances were top-notch.
Lionel Messi
Messi is a hugely talented football player who caught the world’s attention at a young age. He was described as an alien because of his extraordinary goal-scoring, dribbling, and passing abilities. His talent notwithstanding, Messi is known for his unique training routines to constantly refine his skills and add new ones.
Hard workers
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo is at the other end of the spectrum to Messi. Unlike Messi, Ronaldo was not blessed with natural footballing talent but his determination to reach the pinnacle of the sport and be the best propelled his work ethic. Ronaldo trained hard to become a scoring machine, to be physically fit and athletic, to take powerful shots, and to dominate opponents in the air. Today, at 40 years, Ronaldo’s on-field performances confound the young guns who are in their 20s or early 30s. He has scored over 900 career goals, won mountains of individual and team awards, and currently holds the record for the most goals scored by a player, playing or retired, in international football.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is usually mentioned in any conversation involving high IQ. His Theory of Relativity and other scientific breakthroughs transformed him from being a regular individual to a scientific superstar whose theory underlines many scientific innovations today. He is often considered the greatest physicist/scientist of the 20th Century.
Einstein didn’t start out as a star. He struggled at school and also struggled for several years in his career. He was rejected in every university job he applied for and was forced to take minimum-wage jobs teaching children. Even then, he failed at that as he was repeatedly sacked. He also worked at the Swiss patent office for pittance. But he was determined to succeed and never gave in to the setbacks. He continued to work very hard. He set a six-day workweek for himself for several years and would often work 10 hours each day.
There is a common thread linking the names above; apart from being successful individuals, they are all diligent in what they do, talent or not. Thus, talent and hard work are intertwined. Talent without hard work will lead to unfulfilled potential. Someone once likened talent to a diamond. The beauty and value of a diamond are seen after it has been polished. In fact, many would rate hard work above talent. Truly, we have seen highly talented individuals who failed because of poor work ethic and complacency. The well-known author Stephen King, who himself has had to work hard to achieve global fame, once said of talent and hard work, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
My perspective
My new perspective on this old debate is that hard work pays great dividends but hard work combined with smart work will bring unimaginable success. This is my experience working with young school children on the SparkXplorer platform. I have also learnt an important fact about children and academic prowess. There is no dull child; we only have unmotivated and bored children who perform poorly academically because they are distracted. The lack of motivation and boredom could be a result of parental neglect, poor teaching methods, inadequate teaching tools, emotional problems, or unreasonable expectations from parents and teachers.
Give a child adequate parental attention, the right tools, a great teacher with brilliant teaching methods, encouragement to practice daily, and the freedom to explore and innovate and watch a supposedly dull student become an academic prodigy. SparkXplorer helps to unlock these possibilities and the results on the platform have been amazing. Many children on the platform have seemingly transformed overnight from academic dullards or strugglers to academic stars easily mastering skills thought too hard or impossible.
