The Seduction of Talent

by | Last updated Feb 12, 2025

His walk is a swagger because he knows he’s got it. He doesn’t try hard because he doesn’t need to. He can make your efforts look like child’s play, that’s how good he’s at it. People say he’s the best, people say he will be the best, people say he knows his craft.

She walks with a ton of humility on her shoulders. She tries hard to be the best. She knows that soon, her efforts will outshine someone else’s mere talent. People say she’s not good at it, people say she should do something else, people say she is a joke.

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Talent is overrated, although it is there. Your innate abilities are probably drowned in years of conformity, scripted living and unquestioned authority.

All I’ve got are my aspirations, my dreams, my interests. If God so wills, if the universe so conspires, then my talent will be found through my hard work. If not, then so be it. I can not claim to have control over much. I can not claim to know my talents. But I must – I must – find my interests, find plans within my dreams.

Talent is confusing. Therefore, seductive. You walk a slippery slope when you rely on your talent. Too many talented people die dejected. Forget about it. Find your interests. What do you love to do? How much are you willing to sacrifice for it? How much hard work can you put in?

Your skills are synonyms of your interests. Essentially, they are one and the same.

When I listen to what people say, I get valuable feedback. But people are not always right. Walt Disney was fired from his newspaper job because “he did not display enough imagination”. The book Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected more than 140 times by publishers, but when it did see the light of print, it has to date sold more than 40 million copies in at least 20 different languages. What do people know?

But I too, belong to people. I too can be wrong. Therefore, will you please pass me a ton or two of humility so I too can weight my shoulders down.

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He works a tired job. He has stories to tell. Everyone respects him, they know he had potential, had talent. He whines that the world is cruel. He claims that everyone was out to get him. He complains his life away, because he was talented.

She sits softly with a family she has nurtured. She has stories to tell. Everyone respects her, they know she had worked smart, had worked hard. She is grateful to her God, her family and friends, for the support in times that were tough. She has lived a life that was interesting, she has lived a life that was demanding, she has lived a life that was worth living.


How much talent is needed for success? I recorded a video on that topic that you can watch as well. (Updated 12 February 2025)

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About Mohammad Khan

About Mohammad Khan

He is the founder of Momekh.com and publish the award-winning blog Just Add Venture. Google awarded him the best business blogger in Pakistan. Some of the largest corporations in Pakistan hire his services to “unlock their true potential”. His writings, courses and coaching sessions have helped upwards of a million people over the last decade.