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What it takes to be great |
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Written by Administrator
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Sunday, 21 January 2007 16:00 |
" Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant
to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and
hard work (Fortune Magazine) -- What makes Tiger Woods great? What
made Berkshire Hathaway (Charts) Chairman Warren Buffett the
world's premier investor? We think we know: Each was a natural who
came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up
doing. As Buffett told Fortune not long ago, he was "wired at birth
to allocate capital." It's a one-in-a-million thing. You've got
it - or you don't.
Well, folks, it's not so simple. For one thing, you do not possess
a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts
don't exist. (Sorry, Warren.) You are not a born CEO or investor
or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an
enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard
work, but work of a particular type that's demanding and painful.
Buffett, for instance, is famed for his discipline and the hours he
spends studying financial statements of potential investment
targets. The good news is that your lack of a natural gift is
irrelevant - talent has little or nothing to do with greatness. You
can make yourself into any number of things, and you can even make
yourself great.
Scientific experts are producing remarkably consistent findings
across a wide array of fields. Understand that talent doesn't mean
intelligence, motivation or personality traits. It's an innate
ability to do some specific activity especially well. British-based
researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda
conclude in an extensive study, "The evidence we have surveyed ...
does not support the [notion that] excelling is a consequence of
possessing innate gifts." "
.... Read the rest of this article
From "CNN.com"at:www.Money.CNN.com
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