Talent can be a curse

Talent can be a curse.

In my 20s and 30s, I owned an event promotions business.

There were…

Concerts with Grammy awarding winning artists.

A-list nightclubs in Chicago, Miami, and Las Vegas.

Parties with athletes and movie and TV celebrities.

One of our success secrets was our team of ambassadors.

Our ambassadors were responsible for attracting the beautiful, wealthy, and well-connected.

Our ambassadors helped boost attendance, increase revenue, and raise awareness.

Our ambassadors were “influencers” before influencers were a thing.

After working with hundreds of ambassadors, I could divide them into two categories:

Natural talent and grit.

Those with natural talent had charm, model-like looks, and deep networks.

Those with grit possessed persistence, discipline, and initiative.

Who performed better?

Grit.

Every. Single. Time.

From my observations, things came too easy for the talented.

They never needed to develop the same persistence, discipline, and initiative as those with grit.

As a result, their talent only got them so far.

It’s 10-20 years later now.

The party promotion days are over.

Most of those with talent have bounced from one opportunity to the next, never reaching their career potential.

Those with grit have gone on to be brand managers at spirits companies, tops in IT and software sales, and are excelling in their fields.

And those rare individuals with talent and grit have launched successful businesses and are captains of industry.

Lacking natural talent?

Never let that hold you back.

Hard work can be your superpower.

Blessed with talent?

Don’t rely on it.

Work hard—really hard—and embrace your potential.

Know that people with less talent but more grit are coming for you.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard