Quote:
Originally posted by Taike:
What makes someone talented? Is it really "you either have it" or "you don't"? Can one become talented through sheer will and hard work? I'm not talking about being successful which is something different altogether.

Taike



You either have it or you don't in my opinion.

I may be a good student (in anything, be it mathematics, piano, painting, whatever), learn from my mistakes, make progress etc. One day I may become proficient enough, have top skills, be recognizable. But that doesn't make me Tesla, Mozart, Van Gogh.

I took pencil sketching lessons for 3-4 months. I was good enough (comparatively, when taking in mind the little time it took me to produce acceptable results). But I never was in the league of a friend of mine who became an architect. I simply didn't have it. He did.

One guy I know, was in a small basketball team in his teens. He and the others were good enough to be in the team, but there was one of them, same age group, who simply was ahead of them. They had the same coach, did the same practice, but this one individual was above all. The guy was to become one of the Basketball Euro champions in 1987 and served as as the National team coach. He had it and the others did not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panagiotis_Giannakis

Do you honestly think that Frank Sinatra or Elvis or Aretha Franklin or name anyone in this league were the results of simple hard work? I don't believe that. Maybe hard work KEPT them high, but they had talent to stand ON to begin with.