Watching the Paralympics made me consider the old chestnut about talent – nature or nurture.
Many of these participants have become disabled later in life with no previous interest in elite sport, but here they are displaying breathtaking performances. So for them, becoming skilled enough to compete at Olympic level has meant a training schedule few of us would like to contemplate. Does it just make us feel better to think “well they’re just gifted…” Or is there really a talent myth?
The Talent Myth?
Ex-champion table tennis player and Times journalist Matthew Syed in his book ‘Bounce’ talks about how we should never underestimate the importance of practice over talent. In his fascinating talk for the BBC and RSA he considers where excellence comes from. He maintains that we over estimate talent and underestimate the amount of hard work required to achieve excellence – and suggests these attitudes have wider implications,for instance, in schools and work.
Listen to his Four Thought here.
And if you want some ideas on how to become more excellent – best selling author of The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle says, “If you thought that geniuses were born not bred, you’d be wrong.” He visited centres of excellence across the world and discovered that, if we all just followed a few key rules, success could be ours for the taking…
Read his 8 ways to maximise your potential here
Inspiring potential is at the heart of all our coaching and training. If you or the people in your business would benefit from maximising their potential through improved spoken and behavioural communication see Our Services