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Kelcie Moffett
Mrs. Cramer
Comp. Pd. 2
7 Dec. 2018
Talent Will Only Carry One So Far
Michael Jordan once said, “I always believed that if you put in the work, the results will
come later on” (Middleton 2). Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. There are
many people who although talented, have wasted their gifts and just not worked hard enough to
support themselves. These types of people might be famous and well known, but in the long
term, fade into the background when skillful, hard-working people come onto the scene. Talent
and hard-work are both important skills to ensure success. Natural talent is something a person is
born with. Because of that, there will be skills that come easier for some people that others
would have to work hard for. Hard work is what a person delivers; what effort they offer above
and beyond the usual expectation and the only thing that will push performers to the furthest of
their ability. What makes hard work truly difficult isn’t even the performance itself. It becomes
everything else that must be endured when someone makes the decision to work hard to achieve
their goals. Hard work takes discipline, like perseverance, mental toughness, physical endurance,
and endless desire. While on the other hand, natural talent is a gift that only few people are
granted with. Hard work is the key to success, and triumph is the outcome of this working hard.
Because of that, hard work is a more important quality to have.
To begin, hard work outweighs talent in the case of obtaining it. In other words, to ensure
the talent won't fade away, hard work is the key to prevent that from happening. It is clear to see
that if a person enjoys doing something, they will put in more effort than if they were doing
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something that they dread. People must have passion for what they’re doing. Individuals will see
a famous person pursue their profession such as play football, or sing and automatically think,
“Wow, they are truly gifted”. That might be true, but how did they get there? How did they
perfect their skill to the point they're at a professional level? They had to practice getting to
where they are, just like any goal to be achieved. People can be born with a “natural gift”, but to
maintain it, develop it, and advance, working hard is imperative. Four out of five coaches say,
“Hard work beats talent until talent decides to work hard”, (Johnson 2). 1 He says that achieving
top performances is a result of hours of training and hard work. He also states that hard work and
natural talent is the perfect combination to success. Although some may be born with the natural
talent, everyone must work hard to show it off. Determination and perseverance are two
important attributes that can help one reach goals.
Conversely, it can be argued that people with talent have a higher success rate of
someone who “works hard.” Natural talent isn’t a requirement to be advanced. For example,
grant-winning performing artists are as skilled, as individuals who must prevail in business; just
in a different field of work. People think this because media is not occupied with diligent work,
or how much effort is granted. Instead, our general public now passes judgment on somebody
based on their achievements, rather than the efforts put in to get to where the person is. (Batool).
A good example of someone who was born with no talent but made big things for himself would
be Walt Disney (Roderick 2). At a young age, he was informed that he had “no unique thoughts”
and needed “creative energy” by the daily paper that let him go. Today, he’s famous for all his
“unique thoughts” and “creative energy”. That didn’t come easy to him. He had to work and put
1This is an example of Ethos by saying that four out of five coaches agree that hard work beats talent until talent
decides to work hard.
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tremendous effort. This story outlines that very select few individuals find quick achievement
and acknowledgment. Talent will only get one so far, but hard work will give you a wider range
of opportunity. Being a hard worker will also give you a positive reputation. People will
recognize dedication and effort, even if someone isn’t as talented as another performer. It’s
diligence and persistence that eventually pays off.
To continue, talent is a result, whereas hard work is the process that leads up to it. One
cannot reach talent without hard work. Every day, every night, in every way, hard work will always
outweigh talent.2 Talent is useless unless it is mastered. One should never sit on a couch and
expect for a good result. It is shameful to sit around; to compete is fulfilling. 3 Just because you
have talent, doesn’t mean you are more special than surrounding peers or should expect higher
success. Whereas hard work is more important than talent, because talent will only carry one so
far. If the athlete is not willing to put in the work to cultivate their talent, then the talent itself is
essentially pointless. Hard work and diligence will beat pure talent any day. Ultimately, if talent
and hard work go hand in hand it provides better results. The people who are lucky to be born with
the brains and a unique talent, will go a lot farther than someone with little to no motivation.
Anyone can have an idea, vision, or dream, but it takes that 99% working hard to make it closer to
becoming a reality. Melissa Roderick states, “Talent gives you a head start, but hard work makes
you finish the race” (Roderick 4). The phrase “hard work is the key to success”, is a true statement
that should be lived by.
2 This is an example of Anaphora by repeating the word every to inform strongly that hard work will outweigh
talent in any situation.
3 This is an example of chiasmus; a repetition of ideas in an inverted order by saying that much more will come out
of working hard, than just sitting around.
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On the other hand, with talent; one can achieve more things in today's society than you can by
working hard. This is usually where people see that if you have natural talent, it is easier to make
it through life rather than it would be to work hard. This is false because in order to maintain the
talent or ability he or she has, they must put time into it to improve their skill. With hard work,
children with little to no talent would become more useful adults with natural talents. This is
supported by Albert Einstein, when he said that "without hard work, talent means nothing",
(Mercer 3). A psychologist at Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin says, “By recognizing
our implicit preference for naturals, we can become better equipped to identify and hire the people
who actually possess the achievements we value and who are more likely to help us attain greater
success in the long run,” (Tsay 3).
In conclusion, hard work is the key to success in life whereas natural talent is just a bonus.
Michael Jordan a former NBA superstar, was born with a natural talent for basketball. Michael
Jordan went out to try for his high school team, but he was cut off. He didn’t work hard enough
the coach said. Michael was destroyed, and he never wanted to show his face again after not
making the team. He could've given up, but he didn’t. The next year he made it and many college
recruiters came to watch him; leading to his pro career. He put hours and hours into training and
doing anything it would take to ensure that he would make the team the next season. Always strive
to make a conscious effort to use all talent- and hard work in a systematic manner to get better
results. In fact, hard work is a more important than any type of God-given talent.
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Works Cited
Batool, Sidra. "Why Hard Work Is Better Than Talent." Bornrealist.com, Born Realist, 16 Mar.
2018, bornrealist.com/talent-or-hard-work/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
Chris, Joseph. "Natural Talent Vs. Hard Work." Josephchris.com, Joseph Chris Partners
Executive Recruiting Search Firm, 13 Oct. 2015, www.josephchris.com/natural-talent-vs-
hard-work. Accessed 9 Sept. 2018.
Johnson, Michael B., et al. "International Journal Of Sports Science & Coaching." “Hard Work
Beats Talent until Talent Decides to Work Hard”: Coaches' Perspectives regarding
Differentiating Elite and Non-Elite Swimmers, 1 Sept. 2008,
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1260/174795408786238579. Accessed 18 Sept. 2018.
Mercer, Sarah. "A mindset for EFL: learners’ beliefs about the role of natural talent." Oup.com,
Oxford University Press, 1 Oct. 2010, academic.oup.com/eltj/article-
abstract/64/4/436/388495. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.
Middleton, Yale. "75 Motivational Michael Jordan Quotes. Addictedtosuccess.com, 14 Jan.
2016, addicted2success.com/quotes/
75-motivational-michael-jordan-quotes/. Accessed 13 Nov. 2018.
Roderick, Melissa, and Vanessa Coca. "From High School To The Future: Making Hard Work
Pay Off." Memberclicks.net, Consortium for Chicago School Research, Apr. 2009,
npeac.memberclicks.net/assets/roderick%20brief.pdf. Accessed 21 Sept. 2018.
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"What Is More Important- Talent Or Hard Work?" Inspiria.edu.in, Inspiria, 23 Feb. 2015,
inspiria.edu.in/important-talent-hardwork/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.
Tsay, Chia-Jung. "The Problem With Favoring Natural Talent Over Hard Work."
Huffingtonpost.com, 1 Jan. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/
natural-talent-bias_us_568d22d3e4b0cad15e62bb33. Accessed 4 Dec. 2018.
