Have you ever wondered why people are so good at certain things? How did Jimi Hendrix get so good at guitar? Why was Steve Jobs so good at business? How was J.K. Rowling able to write so many well-loved Harry Potter books? How could Leonardo Da Vinci reach such high levels in art, mathematics, and engineering?

The answer is talent. But there is another component as well, and that is investment. The reason why both talent and investment are so important is that if Michael Phelps never tried swimming he would never have known his potential for greatness in the sport, and if he tried it but never invested time in developing his ability he wouldn’t have strengthened his talent to the level of Olympic champion with over 20 gold medals.

The point is we all have talent, but many of us don’t know what areas we are most talented in. Without understanding what our actual talents are we would be lucky to stumble upon something in a vast world that we have the potential for greatness in. Also, once we realize we are talented in an area we still won’t reach levels of greatness unless we invest time in strengthening those areas, a lot of time. But here’s the good news. Talents are deeply connected to what we enjoy doing most. One of the reasons talented people are able to invest so much of their time practicing and learning in certain areas is that they enjoy doing so. Micheal Phelps may have enjoyed every second of hard training he spent in the pool, but even if he didn’t, he would have enjoyed knowing that the hard work will pay off and he may be able to win #1 place in multiple events and experience being an Olympic champion again and again.

Not everyone will become or even want to become world famous, but everyone who discovers their talents and invests in strengthening them will discover the confidence and exhilaration of using their strengths for the enjoyment and benefit of themselves and others.

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