Luck and Consistency- Talent vs. Hardwork
Is there such a thing as luck? Is genius or success a product of pure talent or hard work or a combined effort of both? These are some of the questions I’ve asked myself and attempt to answer this post.
Most people tend to think of success as a sheer business of luck, favourable background, etc. but it’s not so simple. In all of my research, here’s what I found, most successful people do not attribute their success to luck or chance happenings, some to divine help and favour from men but not luck.
Granted, talent plays a huge role as a determining factor of what direction your success may come from however when talent fails to work hard, hard work beats it. In essence, whatever you are a natural at, if you fail to put in the necessary effort to become even better at it, your chances of success are slim.
An example of a successful man whose success didn’t come overnight is Bill Gates. He had been opportune from a young age to spend an enormous amount of time with computers. So that by the time he dropped out of Harvard to try his hand at his own software company, he’d been programming practically nonstop for seven consecutive years! That’s an incredible display of consistency. It’s no wonder about his imminent success.
The story of Bill Gates is just one out of the throng of several successful individuals or groups of individuals and stars we admire today. Their stories are similar, mainly a combination of talent, hard work, and consistency.
What is that thing you are good at and can get done with eyes closed and a snap of the fingers? You might be exceptional and probably better than everyone else but here’s the truth, unless you put in hard work and extra efforts, you might just as well settle for average. Because someone with absolutely no talent at the same, can put in more effort and become very successful. So talent alone is not enough. An opportunity they say comes but once, I say, even if the opportunity were to come a dozen times, if you lack consistency, rest assured it retraces its steps back to meet better-prepared people.
That said, how then can one be consistent at what they do? Here are 5 proven ways:
1. Develop a work ethic
You want to start seeing your talent as a job because, why not? Admittedly, not everyone desires to earn money from their talents as I’ve heard some people say things like “I just do it for fun” or “it’s therapeutic” etc. The idea of developing a work ethic around your passion is for those who want something more out of it. You move from just seeing it as a mere hobby to a responsibility. That way, you can no longer be complacent, you begin to set strategic goals and achieve them through discipline and diligence.
2. Practice the 10,000-hour rule
The 10,000-hour rule is a phenomenon that Malcolm Gladwell talked about in his book, Outliers. Basically, the rule surrounds the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practise at something to become a master at it. These may sound unattainable at first, but with a breakdown of plans, to consistently and intentionally spend more hours in the practice of that thing, it will only take a matter of time to gain mastery at it.
3. Set goals
Setting realistic, time-bound goals is very important if you want to be consistent. When you set goals, especially in written form, you become accountable to them. This helps prevent procrastination and complacency. This brings me to the next point, Procrastination.
4. Avoid Procrastination, better still procrastinate smartly
Because we really can’t help but procrastinate sometimes, how about we try something else? We could use procrastination to our advantage.
Yes, there’s such a thing as productive procrastination. Do something else, or nothing else for a while, then get back to work. Sometimes, you could get the best ideas while procrastinating.
5. Social circle
This idea that we are the average of the 5 people we surround ourselves with cannot be more true. Having friends who are like-minded allows for growth and eventual success. There is a reason they are called support systems. What support systems do apart from the occasional annoyance is they see you better, they know what you’re good at and they encourage you to be better at it. Every one of us needs such people in our lives.
There.
You do not need luck or talent to become a success, what you need more are adequate preparation and hard work. Luck they say is what happens when preparation (through consistency) meets opportunity. Quit wishing and hoping to be lucky and start taking responsibility. I’ll reiterate- success and opportunities are not for ‘lucky people’ but for those who are consistent and hard working.
