Roger

Have you found your talent yet?

If I learned one thing (there were more lessons) from my fellow TED talk speaker Luk de Wulf, it would be that we all have a talent for something.

Luk’s point is that you can’t start early enough in life finding, building, and enjoying your talents.

Ideally, as a child already.

But perhaps you haven’t found your talent yet.

If you’re muddling through life, miserable in your job, struggling to make ends meet, and wishing it was Friday almost every working day of the week, you may not have found your talent yet.

Of course, you may well have found your talent, and the above applies.

You’re part of a minority and, as far as I’m concerned, an outlier.

Most people who’ve found their talent(s) and spend their lives working with their talents enjoy what they do. 

Because it’s simply rewarding when you get to do what you’re good at.

I’ve had a few occasions in my life I was not leveraging my talent, and those were miserable days.

I stopped as soon as I possibly could. This was not for me.

Life is really too short to keep doing the things we don’t enjoy. 

Even if your talents don’t make you the living you’re looking for, it’s a waste of your precious time to ignore them.

If anything, they will give you the joy in life you need to sacrifice other parts of your life.

But I also believe that if you’re able to leverage your talent optimally, it will influence other parts of your life.

Simply because the positive energy you will get from doing what you love and what you’re good at will positively impact other areas in your life.

Erikjan

I got to these reflections when I read about Roger Federer’s retirement from professional tennis.

He stated that “he was lucky to have found his talent and turned it into a successful career in professional tennis.”

Words of that nature.

A few reflections on these words and Roger’s career.

First, I don’t believe in luck just like that. 

Finding your talent is a deliberate choice; it’s not something that comes to you. 

Of course, you can discover you’re good at playing tennis, but you still need to do something with that discovery.

In other words: most people know they’re good at something but don’t take action. 

Most people are not willing to make the sacrifices Roger did. 

Practice every day. Work on your body. Eat healthily. Hardly any alcohol. Get good sleep.

Not for days or months but for years in a row. 

Fight yourself through injuries and setbacks, overcome the defeat by younger opponents, staying relentlessly focused on those goals you have set for yourself. 

That’s not luck. 

That’s the dedication to maximizing your talent. 

“Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.”

Thomas Edison

Most people fail. 

Most people don’t even start looking for their talent. They seem to be happy with what they have.

Some find their talent, but once they’ve discovered their talent, they’re not willing to sacrifice to exploit them to the maximum.

A few people remain. Those are the Rogers of this world. 

Your turn: Have you found your talent yet? 

Do more of what makes you happy!

Erikjan