Why It’s Time To Stop Caring Who’s Best
If you’re worried that there are people out there more talented than you, save yourself some stress. Most likely you’re right.
But, that doesn’t mean those people are more likely to succeed than you.
Being the best isn’t all you need be a winner.
You can have half of the talent as some others but be far more successful.
That’s possible because although others may have sharper skills, you may have more of what it takes to come out on top.
Like what, you ask.
GRIT
Grit is a combination of courage and resolve. It means you’re brave enough to do something and you’ve made a firm decision that you’re going to do it.
When you’re driven by grit, you aren’t standing back weighing his talent versus your talent and her tools versus your tools. You suit up and you go after whatever you’re after.
A lot of people who have a lot of talent aren’t using it because fear is holding them back.
A lot of people would like to be a writer, a photographer, or an influencer, and they have the skills. But they can’t make themselves commit to go through what it takes to get there.
More important than who’s best, is who has who has what it takes to be in the game.
STAMINA
Determination gets you to the door. It gets in the game.
Stamina determines whether you stay the course.
You need stamina to stay on the job until what needs to be done gets done.
You need stamina to get up day after day and put in the necessary work, even when that work is thankless and there aren’t immediate rewards.
A lot of the people who made it didn’t get there because they were the most talented. They made it because they kept showing up when others had gotten off track or quit.
It doesn’t matter how sharp a person’s skills are if they aren’t around to use them.
Stamina equals staying power, and a lot of talented people don’t have it.
STRATEGY
We’re all familiar with the storyline about the guy who is a star athlete but a moron.
He can’t develop the plays, negotiate endorsements or manage his money. If he isn’t surrounded by people with sense, he’ll go down fast. Skills will not save him.
That storyline also applies to creatives.
If a person has skills to crank out the work but she doesn’t have the rest of the package, there’s no need to worry about her.
Naked talent is not enough to succeed.
Winning takes strategy and the ingenuity to tweak that strategy as needed.
PROOF
A lot of talented people are sitting back with their arms crossed waiting for someone to make an offer. Once that happens, they plan to stand up and put on a show.
That’s an example of a strategy that needs revisiting.
Some talented people think all they need to do is toss out stats, experience and big names in their network or on their resume. They think those things are testimony of what they’re capable of doing.
Other talented people plow their effort into branding and marketing instead of performance and products. They believe all they need is the right image and a good pitch.
None of these people compare to the person who shows up with proof.
“No one is going to give a damn about your resume; they want to see what you have made with your own little fingers.” Austin Kleon ~ Show Your Work.
Newbies are always asking what’s the best way to break into a market or get freelance clients.
The answer: Create a strong body of work and show it.
Even if your work isn’t published or recognized by an authority in your field, it will speak much louder and get you much further than someone who only has a sales pitch with nothing to back it up.
Presence
Maya Angelou
“Pursue” is an active word. Before anyone you can captivate the crowd, you have to attract an audience.
A lot of extremely talented people are too quiet for their skills to matter.
They’re clinging to the belief that as long as they’re good enough they’ll eventually get noticed.
There’s too much vying for people’s attention for any of us to sit back and think we’ll be discovered without making an effort to be seen.
If you’re willing to call attention to yourself and to your work, chances are good that you’re going to find a crowd that appreciates it.
And if you keep grinding and pushing your name and work out there, chances are also good that crowd is going to grow–even if there are people more talented than you.
Don’t Forget: No Risk, No Empire
This is so motivating. I really enjoyed reading this.
Loved this. As someone who grew up being very competitive and struggled thereafter with self esteem because I’d constantly compare myself with people – this was a great read and if I’d read this a few years ago I probably would’ve learned some important life lessons whilst younger ! Great read.
Glad to hear you can relate. Thanks for reading.
Really eye opening post. I haven’t thought about it in this way so I found this post informative and insightful. Really good post.
Fantastic post Miche! I absolutely agree. And natural talent is often squandered by thinking it is enough to get you by without working for what you want. I worked with a lot of college athletes and saw that. Often times the people that were most successful were those with less natural talent but more work ethic and “grit” as you said. I also loved that quote by Maya Angelou, thank you!
Thank you for adding the example of college athletes. It’s a great way to illustrate what I’m talking about here, and it’s good to hear from someone who has seen this occurring firsthand.
This is so inspiring! I am personally a very shy person, so to put myself out there as well as put my work out there and call attention to it, is kind of difficult for me. But I am working on it and have started to put my work out there, however, I still have a long way to go and reading this just gave me a boost of motivation, so thank you! You reinforced the belief in me 🙂
I’m really glad to hear you’re getting out there. If you put your time and effort into it, you should believe your work is worth showing off. Keep it up.
So true! I don’t think about these things enough but it’s important to have these qualities if you want to succeed and get past the competition.
It sure is. Thanks for reading.