No Need for Talent

People generally assume that the most successful athletes are those that are natively the most talented. Talent and skill are clearly visible to the viewer but, talent is not the differentiating factor between a player who has a one-year career and someone who becomes a member of the Hall of Fame. Desire, work ethic, and commitment are.

In high school football, athletes are rated by stars depending on a number of factors including high school stats, physical measurements, number and quality of scholarship offers, and overall potential. There are typically around thirty 5 Star recruits in the entire country each year. There are a couple hundred 4 star recruits, a little more than a thousand 3-star recruits, and a couple hundred thousand recruits that have no stars. 5-star recruits are given the most opportunity and have the best chance to make it to the NFL based on the ratio of 5 stars who get drafted. However, since each class features such a small amount of 5 stars, it is actually the lower-ranked players who make up most of the NFL.

One of my favorite graphics that is shown almost every year during the Super Bowl is the “star” rating of each player that is on one of the Super Bowl teams. The graphic is very interesting when it shows some of the stars of the teams and their high school ranking. For example, Aaron Donald, one of the best defensive players of all time, was a 3 star, Aaron Rodgers, one of the best quarterbacks of all time, had to go to junior college before receiving a division one scholarship. These players, and numerous players like them, did not let their perceived “lesser talent” or lower ranking hold them back from transitioning from high school athletics all the way to the professional world. They worked hard. They grinded. They created their opportunity and proved themselves right.

All professional athletes are talented but it is not only talent that leads to success. If that were the case, all of the most highly rated athletes would become the best. There would be no “busts” when a star in college fizzles out at the pro level. That is not the reality we live in. People who are perceived as super talented and the best at what they do, fail. All the time. Many times the reason they fail is because of their lack of work ethic and mental fortitude. They lose the drive to get better and do not work as hard as their peers. Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard. When hard work is combined with talent, greatness is found.

In all aspects of life, talent is great to have. Talent can bring you initial success. But talent alone will not bring you where you want to be. Talent must be combined with effort to really achieve. Talent is also not a requirement to succeed. If you have great desire and work ethic, you will be able to compound and improve on a granular level that will help put you on a trajectory to success. There is no need for talent when you know how to work hard and constantly chip away at a goal, talent is only the cherry on top. You can be “average” at something and still become great, you just need to work hard.