Concerning talent

Everyone has seen several times in TV (nowadays YouTube) people with special and extraordinary abilities in a particular subject. They are simply brilliant and they stand out over the others. This type of people has the outstanding property of making something to look easy although it is actually difficult. No matters if it is science, sports, music or art, they motivate the others to follow their path and to want to be like them. 

Sir Richard Branson started with nothing when he was 16

Reaching a high level in any subject is only a matter of balance between talent, training, passion and experience.

Usually, someone with great talent requires less training and/or experience in order to reach the same level that someone else with less talent. Additionally, if a talented person with passion and will has a good training he/she will have what it takes to become one of the bests in his/her area. Probably some people have hidden talents that have not been discovered and they go on with their lives without knowing that they could be really great at something. Personally, I am sure that the best Formula 1 race driver is not in the Formula 1; probably he/she does not even know that he/she could be a race driver.

Nevertheless, I find necessary that everyone should know their limits in each subject and we have to know how to learn from those people who are more experienced than oneself. As an example, the physicists made a great step forward when they realized that their equations did not describe the real world but an approach to the reality. Similarly, sometimes we insist in the fact that all the people are equal and I fear that we are not. That is something that we should assume. As I said before we have to know our limits, what we can really do with our maximum effort in a certain subject, if you don’t know your limit probably you have not reached it yet. If you know where your limit is, then you could manage your effort or change your plan if you see that you can’t reach the desired level you wanted. 

In my opinion the passion is above the talent since this can be replaced, not fully, by the training, experience and dedication; however to reach the highest level successfully and become one of the bests the talent is a requirement. There are lots of people who reached success but don’t have any particular extraordinary talent, anyway they have a huge passion that leads them to learn and to train constantly. The world is full of people who did outstanding things that they had not even thought they could do.

Passion can be especially intense in young people who, due to their age, have enough time to train their abilities and make them grow to reach their ambitions. Having a goal is of vital importance even if it is unlikely to be reached at the beginning since this give us a reason to go on and keep improving if we have enough passion. Although we had not reached the goal we will be much nearer than if we had not set it. 

I would like to introduce you this girl. Her name is Taylor, a girl from the United States who was impressed by a violinist when she was a child and she has been training for years. Although she decided not to be a professional violinist and follow a safer path, she’s is clearly an example of passion. Just look her face when she plays.

From her personal blog (http://www.violintay.com/):

"I only hope that those of you who are truly passionate about something are able to experience, or are already experiencing, this kind of happiness through doing what you love."

She's so right.