"You shouldn't focus on why you can't do something, which is what most people do. You should focus on why perhaps you can, and be one of the exceptions." -- Steve Case
I love watching a few of those "Got Talent" type shows. Sometimes you watch it and can immediately tell who is going to make it through to the next round and who isn't. A few times you get surprised, but most of the time it's kind of obvious. Then there are those who take the stage and become an overnight success...except it wasn't "overnight" because they've been toiling away for years in obscurity to get to that stage.
Very few people are born truly gifted. Most of us have to find something we want to do and work through the kinks along the way to get to those next levels. I don't care if you want to be a writer, singer, musician, chef, golfer, or yes, a magician, it takes a lot of grit to get good at it. You'll have those days of success, and many days of failure before you finally start feeling good about what you're doing.
Unfortunately, many people will try something a time or two, and then give up on it simply because they don't feel good at it. A promotion is offered at work, but when you see the responsibility it will carry, you step away. A door of opportunity opens for you but you refuse to step through for fear of failure.
But a lot of leaders believe that tenacity is far more important than people realize. Someone at a level 3 of talent can develop it to a higher level if they are willing to hang in there and keep going even when opportunities arise to quit. Improvement comes with time if you are willing to put in the work.
Yet therein lies the problem: folks don't take those chances simply because they don't want that possibility of failure. In other words, they'd rather never try than to try and possibly fail--but there's no guarantee of failure. In fact, the more you try and learn from past mistakes, the more likely you are to succeed in the future!
So whatever you big personal goal may be, don't give up on it too soon. Be tenacious and keep improving!
You just might be delightfully surprised at what the rewards may be!
