Do you have talent?

You've got talent. We see these shows, and hear people tell us this. What does this mean? How have some people who have been rejected become famous due to their talent? Is talent innate or is it something that everyone can attain?

Have you got what it takes to stand out? I know you do. Ask yourself, what comes naturally to you that may be hard for other people? Is this what talent is? Here I can be boring, or balanced as my friend put it, and say both yes and no.

First let's examine what I mean by 'naturally'. I don't believe that you are born great at anything as some people may distinguish a difference between talent and skill, talent being something you are born with and skill is something that is achieved through deliberate practice.

I believe that everything is cultivated, and it begins with your parent's actions to your great parent's actions.

Is talent passed through genetics? Not exactly. How you come into this world does play a role. Let me explain. If you are born with defects and a disadvantage then you will have a tougher time succeeding, as opposed to someone who is born healthy has a leg up right from the start.

Next, your environment and social aspect's have a major influence on who you become.

They will influence you to pick up certain habits, and to work on certain skill sets. I always write about awareness. Some people this may never come to other's it comes very early in life. I am not talking about meditation and sitting in a still position under the Bodhi tree for hours everyday humming until you reach Vipassana.

What I mean is that we are curious beings, and at some point we not only ask questions to render our curiosity, we also are able to step back and observe without passing any judgement. Why am I telling you this? Because when you do this you are able to understand and carve your own path in life.

This doesn't mean that people with constant guidance and persuasion are not talented, they just never took the initiative to discover for themselves what they could enjoy or be good at. I want to stop here for a moment because I feel that I should make something clear.

"People who become really good at certain skills grow to love doing them." Just like talent can be cultivated so can happiness.

Who is your role model? Who do you wish you would most likely want to be like?

When we see someone who we want to become we program in ourselves to practice and acquire those skills that will get us there. Some may call this a calling as Geoff Goin declares.

In his book Talent is Overrated, Geoff Colvin argues talent means nothing and is irrelevant. If it even exists. What talent is, is rigorous training and practice.

Do you think you still have talent? Sure you do. What have you been practicing, that you have become so good at?

I have explained previously there is a distinction between practice and deliberate practice. I will have psychologist Andres Ericsson explain it further.

"Practice must become uncomfortable." The only way to become really good at something, and I mean "So Good That They Can't Ignore You" is by challenging yourself. When you get comfortable you are no longer deliberately practicing.

This is what talent is. A skill set that you are consistently improving at. That you do not enjoy doing because it is a challenge yet you still do it anyways because the result is greater than the pain it takes to get there.

"You are capable of more than you realize and in trying you learn something new as you push past the possibility." Geoff Goin

Practicing wrong means never becoming better. Try harder at this point and it becomes counter productive.

When your rejected it should make you want to do better, practice harder. In most cases this is actually the opposite effect. We fear rejection so we stay mediocre yet, we don't realize we actually fear success more because we worry about "getting our hopes up" as doctor Susan Babbel states in Psychology Today.

Yesterday I was paddle boarding and for most of the time I couldn't stand up on the paddle board. I was frustrated and disappointed. Worst of all I was rejecting the advice that my girlfriend wanted to give me. For both of us this was our first time paddle boarding.

The reasons for me resisting the advice was because of my closed mindedness, because I wanted to prove to myself and to her that I could figure it out on my own, being stubborn, because it was her first time so I didn't find the advice reliable.

Yet, she got up right away. Is she talented at paddle boarding? Maybe, or maybe she is well coordinated, has practiced gymnastics most of her life and does yoga three times a week.

Can talent be inherited or can it be learned? I think you are starting to see a clear picture now.

After numerous failed attempts I decided to welcome her advice. Guess what? I got up. I was ecstatic despite that I got the advice from her. I looked more like an idiot failing than taking on advice.

"People who become really talented, never do it alone."

So now you've got talent. Before the internet having talent meant that you needed to have one person believe in you. That person had to be a gatekeeper, with connections that could reveal your talent to the rest of the world.

The power of the internet, 'social media'. "Hone in on your talent/skill and people will come knocking on your door.". You no longer need that gatekeeper because the reach of the internet is infinite. The internet is your gatekeeper.

With a phone, camera, and the internet you have the power to choose your destiny. You don't even need someone holding the camera or publishing things for you. You can do it all yourself.

Look at Justin Bieber. A talent manager, who is actually the brother of Adam Braun the founder of Pencils of Promise, discovered him through his You Tube home made videos and got him signed onto a label to sell millions of copies of his hit 'Baby' while Justin Timberlake and Usher where having a bidding war to sign Bieber on.

Talent will have people fight over you.

I know you want to finish reading it, so join me here Karasin Group.