Hard Work beats Talent, when Talent doesn't Work Hard

Start Unknown. Finish Unforgettable.

The hardest worker in the room is always going to be the most talented person. In the end, maybe not at every step, but in the end hard work always wins. Talent is like good education. It won’t get you anything in this world unless you work hard to apply it in life and to go after your goals. The world is full of smart people. But all smart people have not achieved something of significance. This world is full of talented individuals, who don’t work on themselves. (Just like India has abundant of engineers, but hardly a handful are employable. Mark that, I didn’t say employed, but employable). And at the same time we see high school drop outs ruling the world in various sectors and industries. Talent is nothing if you don’t have the courage, if you don’t have the guts to work and make your dream possible. The one who is hungrier to get at the top will always get there before the talented person. Maybe not immediately, but hard work definitely pays off. In the end courage wins. The one who is dedicated will always win.

How can you beat the guy who won’t ever give up and who will do whatever it takes?
You can’t. You just can’t.

Let me share my own story in this regard to prove that what I said isn’t just blunt motivation speech but an actual practice of mine.

I was an average student up till Std 10. But then I remember this one incident with my teacher. She told me that I wasn’t as smart as the other boy (a classmate and friend of mine who happens to have the same first name as mine). She said she didn’t doubt me. But that it was time I realised my strength. She made me realise I’m not as smart as the other person but I work hard. I put in the effort. And my dedication and persistence is enough to outwork and defeat him. I could have taken this very negatively but I am so thankful to my teacher, as she actually made me realise of my potential. I then started to work hard. But just to be clear this doesn’t mean I studied for long hours every day to outdo my competition. In fact, it was much rather the opposite of it. I hardly studied and mostly I went through my text books the day before the exams. And guess what, I beat that classmate of mine and bagged the honour of 3^rd overall school topper in 12^th board examination (ISC). All the way through Std 11 and 12, I was always one rank behind that very person. (And always means literally all 6 semesters in 2 years including the pre board exams).  Just by one rank. And the difference in marks was never more than 10. But in the end, I did beat him. And I beat many others along the way. So while my competition must have relaxed thinking that he always beat me with a narrow margin he forgot to take into consideration what I call ‘the margin of error’. And it is true; he consistently defeated me 6 times in a row. He thought he was talented and intelligent. And then he made the mistake of underestimating me and not working hard enough to maintain that position of his. 6 laps he was ahead of me, but the final lap turned the game.

Hard work always beats talent when talent thinks he is too good to work hard. Talent can be a blessing but it can also be a curse. It may make you think you don’t have to work as hard as the other guy or as hard as your competition. And that is a mistake my friend. Because the other guy knows that he isn’t talented enough and is thus, working day in and day out to defeat you. The hard worker fights. He fights to reach the top; he fights for his dream, his family and his legacy.

While you rest, they work. And usually battles are lost at night. The moves made at night, when your competition is resting while you keep on the hard work, the extra hours. That’s when the tables are really turned. And you won’t even realise it till it all burns down into ashes. While you rest, they work, they visualise, they strive and they HUSTLE. They don’t stop. If there is no way then just make one. 

Most people cry and give excuses for why they couldn’t make it. They didn’t get the right education, they aren’t as talented as the others, they don’t have the money, and they’re from a small town with fewer opportunities. Listen my friends, excuses are for the weak. With the amount of technology available to us one of the above is required to be successful. If you have an internet connection and are able to read this blog, then congratulations, you have every resource you need. Stop going on social media. Do your research. Improve your knowledge. Enhance your skills and then learn new ones. Hunt for opportunities and the right people. You need to take the initiative yourself and you need to WORK HARD to make it all happen.

Just have a relentless desire to succeed. This world is full of success stories of those who came literally from nothing. Do you think it was their luck or their hard work really that made it all possible? It is never too late to start your own story. Every set back, every failure is a part of your story. Embrace it. And don’t let these hurdles stop you from finishing the story in any lesser successful manner, than you have always desired it to be.

I don’t have any special talents. But I am only passionately curious. And I do whatever it takes. What motivates me is the fear of being average. The fear of someone else defeating me in one moment when I might lay my eyes off the battlefield thinking I am safe and unbeatable. This is what makes me work harder and harder, every single day. Skills are cheap. Passion, dedication and hard work are the things that are priceless.

PS. Now what I exactly did (if I didn’t study in a traditional manner, as I said above) to secure this victory is a whole new topic all together and will be sharing it with you in the very near future.