I recently saw someone assert that you need three things to be successful in your career:
1. Talent
– This is pretty simple and clear cut. If you have talent you will succeed in what you are going after. Even though some talent is God-given, having talent is an entry point to get to another level however without the next point of hard work you cannot get anywhere.2. Hard Work
– You have to work hard to get where you want to. As Meek Mill, would say there is levels to this! Personally, I put in work before and after the 9-5 grind because I know that is where the magic happens.3. Strategy
– You have to have a strategy on how you are going to succeed. When you look at great leaders in history they had a strategy on how they were going to win.
This is a nice framework to consider. However, I think they miss an important point about talent. Certainly, there are some people that are born with specific talents. However, talents can also be developed. Ironically, to develop your talents you just have to be strategic about which talents to develop and then you need to put in the hard work to develop them.
When talking about success, many people like to say that some people were successful because they were lucky. There are certainly cases where luck plays a role in someone’s success. However, luck also favors those who are strategic, hard working and talented. Far too often what looks like luck from the outside was preceded by years of hard work to strategically develop your talents.
Do you think this is a good framework for creating a successful career?