We talk of gifts as if they are handed out directly from the gods. Intelligence, strength, speed, singing, rhythm, comedy. That people are imbued and empowered with heavenly bounty.
What if I told you that it is all bullshit?
We all do have talent ceilings, how far we can push our skills, but they are all just skills and we can all improve.
A gift is just a skill that has been worked on and worked on and improved to a level that is uncommon. These people didn’t just have the gift, they had to nurture their skills for many years.
In New Zealand, small kids grow up dreaming of becoming an All Black, and what do you know, we have lots of good rugby players. In Brazil, it is football. In Jamaica, is it sprinting.
Your culture decides what is valuable, and “what gets rewarded, gets done” – Michael Leboeuf. It is no shock then that certain areas of the world are better at different things because they are given cultural weight.
What does this mean for you?
Disabuse yourself of the idea that you do or do not have gifts. Focus on what you enjoy, and hopefully have some natural affinity towards, and work your arse off, and then when you have gotten pretty good, keep going.
Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe 