TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH - by John C Maxwell

When is talent alone enough?

• Talent is often overrated and frequently misunderstood.

• Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, said “There seems to be littlecorrelation between a man’s effectiveness and his intelligence, his imagination, o rhis knowledge… Intelligence, imagination and knowledge are essential resources but only effectiveness converts them into results. By themselves, they only set limits to what can be contained.”

• If talent were enough, then the most effective and influential people would alwaysbe the most talented ones. But often, that is not the case, consider this:

• More than 50% of the C.E.O.s of Fortune 500 companies had C or C- averages in college

• 65% of all United States senators came from the bottom half of their school classes

• 75% of United States presidents were in the Lower Half Club in school.

• More than 50% of millionaire entrepreneurs never finished college.

• All successful leaders understand the importance of talent. Lou Holtz said, “ I‘ve coached teams with good players and I’ve coached teams with bad players. There is no doubt that I’m a better coach when I have good players"

• “The toughest thing about success is that you’ve got to keep on being a success. Talent is only a starting point in business. You’ve got to keep working that talent.” Irving Berlin.

• Everyone Has Talent. Everyone is capable of doing something better than the next ten thousand people

• Develop the Talent You Have; Not The One You Want.

• Stop working exclusively on your weaknesses and focus on developing your strengths.

---People can increase their ability by only 2 points on a 1 to 10 scale.

---For example, if your natural ability in a specific area is 4 then you may increase it to 6 through hard work.

---However, if you are a 7 or 8 in a given area, then you can go to a 9 or 10 and become a 1 in a 100,000 versus 1 in a 10,000.

• Ohio State Football. Coach Tressel’s motto is “Today Matters.”

• Their ‘Winners Manual’ emphasizes the “focus on the things that do not require talent"

• The “Winners Manual” emphasizes characteristics such as punctuality, effort, patience, and unselfishness.

TALENT + RIGHT CHOICES = A TALENT PLUS PERSON.
Words of great wisdom from Dr Seuss.

Excerpt from “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”

• You have brains in your head
• You have feet in your shoes
• You can steer yourself
• Any direction you choose.
1. Belief Lifts Your Talent

• Believe in your potential. Thomas Edison, “If we did all of the things that we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves."
• Charles Schultz, “Life is a ten speed bike; most of us have gears we never use.” v
• Believe in yourself. Researchers assert that when it comes to academic achievement in school, there is a greater correlation between self-confidence and achievement then there is between IQ and achievement

• Believe in your mission.
• Belief Determines Expectations: Your beliefs control everything you do.
• A belief is a habit of mind in which confidence becomes a conviction that we embrace
. • Expectations Determine Actions: We cannot live in a way that is inconsistent with our expectations for ourselves
• Actions Determine Results: Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion
• It’s called the guarantee. When Joe Namath predicted that his team, the New York Jets would beat the Baltimore Colts in the Superbowl when they were huge underdogs
• At the time, people said it was just big talk. Not true.
• It was a mark of the confidence possessed by the person who uttered it.
• That strong sense of belief made him a legend and his team members’ champions. What could it do for you?
TALENT + BELIEF = A TALENT PLUS PERSON.

2. Passion Energizes Your Talent.
• Passion is more important than a plan. It creates fire. It provides fuel. I have yet to meet a passionate person who lacked energy
• Passion is The First Step to Achievement. It’s difficult to achieve anything when you don’t have the desire to do so
• Passion Increases Willpower. What we accomplish in life is based less on what we want and much more on how much we want it.
•Passion Produces Energy. There is no question that you have more energy when you are excited and enthusiastic about doing something
• Passion is the Foundation for Excellence. When you find purpose, you find passion.
• Passion is The Key to Success. It takes more than talent to create success. It takes passion
• Passion makes a Person Contagious.
People are instructed by reason, they are inspired by passion.

• Protect Your Passion. There are people in your personal and professional life who will throw cold water on the fire of your passions

- “It’s not in the budget.”
- “That’s not practical.”
- “We tried before and it did not work.”
- “We’ve never done that before.”
- “Yeah…but”
- “The boss won’t go for it.”
- “If it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.”
- “That’s not the way we do things around here.”
- “It’ll never work.”
- “But who will do all the extra work?”
- “You’re not ______ (smart, talented, young, old) enough.”
- “Who do you think you are?”
They focus on what is wrong versus what is right or can be right.
• Pursue Your Passion with Everything You Got.
Your passion has the potentialto provide you with energy far beyond the limitations of your talent.
TALENT + PASSION = A TALENT PLUS PERSON.

The first and greatest obstacle for most people is their belief in themselves. It’s lack of trust in themselves which is a self imposed limitation