Develop your skills and refine your talents.

∞

There are so many talented people in this world. When we experience more of life, we learn what our talents are. We discover what we are naturally good at. It’s the reason why some people can do things that others can’t. It’s the reason why some people can easily separate from the competition. Talent alone will not keep you ahead though. We must learn to use our talents to optimize performance so that we can continue to push past limits. And to push others past their limits. This is where skill comes in. We must learn and develop the skills in our life that allow us to optimize our talents. The skill to discover talents will also be created during this time. In today’s society, skill and talent are often interchanged. They are not the same. They are very different things. Even though they are different, the relationship between them is quite incredible. But before we get to this relationship between them, let’s look at the two concepts individually first.

Let’s first start with skills.

As mentioned earlier. Skills are learned and developed. We must work to obtain these skills. We must practice in order to obtain these skills. Skill development is a slow process, built on the foundational principles of discipline and consistency. Often times we forget that this is a process. Expecting skills to come easily rather than viewing them as an investment of our time and efforts. This plays right into the culture that currently exists in society. People expect easy results when additional work is still needed. For some reason we feel entitled to the results. This is one of the major reasons that separation will occur in life. Separation will occur in this waiting game that is filled with expectations. Where others wait and expect things to happen, others work and make things happen. There is nothing wrong with either situation as both can simultaneously exist in this world. Some truly have no desire to go deeper. To work harder. To show up consistently. It all comes down to how bad you want whatever it is you seek. Skills are to be acquired, iterated, and improved to achieve the sought after changes or goals that we have in life. Skills can even prevent stagnation if we have the desire to continually pursue them over time. Skills are one thing that we can continuously pursue in life. Developing skills will always require work and there is no way around this. But, skills will always add value to life so it make the even more worth it. If you are willing to put in the work and want to improve your life, always make sure to place emphasis on developing your skills.

Enough about skills for now, let’s move on to talent.

We all have talent. Talent is a form of the potential that is inside of us as humans. Unfortunately, not everyone gets to witness their own talent. Nor does everyone get the opportunity to discover their own talent. Discovering what your talents are is actually a skill in itself. If you don’t put in the work to look into what you are good at, you never realize the potential talents you have. Some talents are very obvious. Others are much more subtle and difficult to discover. Most of the time this revolves around the experiences we have and the skills we develop. Talents also create another possible lane of separation in life. If one can find their talents, the potential for an advancement in life becomes that much more possible. It then comes down to how much of your talent relates and aligns with your goals. If there is little correlation with the goal, then there is less potential for advancement based on talent. If there is a large correlation with the goal, there is more potential for advancement based on talent. Pure talent will only take you so far though. Talent will fade if we are unable to acknowledge it and use it. We are the ones who determine what we get from talent. We are the ones who determine how we use it. Train for talent.

Refining your talents is a skill.

This is where most people struggle to go further. They have developed the skills. They have discovered the talent. Direction becomes very important at this point. If there is no direction that aligns with your talent, you are stuck to developing skills. Talent is amazing because it can also be used to assist in skill development. But the talent that we often find is unrefined. It needs to be controlled, understood, and optimized. Only then, is that next level a possibility. That transition from good to great and great to elite. There is large separation between good and elite, and it is heavily influenced by the skill to refine talent. It’s the pursuit to deepen the understanding of talent and what you can accomplish with it. Another iterative process. The more we refine our talent, the more capable we become of using our talent. The more ways that we can apply the talent. We can then pinpoint where talent is needed. Where it is not needed. Where we can rely on it. Where we cannot. The refinement of our talent influences the relationship between skills and talent.

I believe that this relationship or the ability to understand this relationship is where our concept of mastery originates. Mastery of our skills and our talent relies on the balance and optimization of the two. Reaching the point of ability that can maximize the effects from both. Reaching this point is a long and tedious process. It requires going deep into experiences, then learning and applying the skills necessary to utilize talent. Then it is about refining the talent to further develop our skills. All while hopefully remaining in alignment with our goals during this process. Mastery does not occur without an alignment of our talent to our goals. Our goals can ultimately set us up to discover talent. All of this shows the relationship between skills and talent. Mastery of skills requires talent. Mastery of talent requires skill. Mastery of anything requires both.

And if there is one thing to try and become a master of in this life, it’s this.

Become a master of being true to yourself, skills and talent included.