Talent is Overrated - Geoff Colvin's interview with Charlie Rose

Hey Guys,

I love to learn stuff. So it's not surprising that I regularly subscribe myself to whatever good information I can find over the net and ask a lot of questions so I can try my best to understand how things work.

The interview below is one of the videos I came across recently that I really want to share with you all. The interviewer is Charlie Rose, a famous talk show host that has interviewed many a great people (http://www.charlierose.com/). His guest is Geoff Colvin, the author of a book named "Talent is Overrated".

Here's the video:


Question. How many times have you heard someone say, "Oh that guy is just pure talent!", "He was born for that!", "She's such a natural!" yada yada yada. Sure, we all know that Tiger Woods is such a good swinger (in golf!), Michael Jordan was next to unstoppable on the basketball court, Jacky Chan makes dangerous stunts look like a trip to the playground, Luciano Pavarotti sings the opera like there's music box stored in his stomach and countless various stories of how somebody could do something like they were born to do it. However, what we often never hear about is the countless number of hours they put into practicing, the failures they had to endure and the criticism they had to bear in their relentless efforts to become good in the field they are at.

Let's forget about those people for awhile and look at our own lives. You could be picking up a new hobby, a different job or searching for that Eureka moment in your life. Someone's mother once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Here are some tips to help you discover what talent you have and how to harness it:

1. Don't be Afraid to Try New Things
- One very good forex trader I know was formerly working on large fishing boats before he captained his own boat. If you watch Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch", you'll probably have a rough idea of how adventurous his life was. As hard as it is to link forex trading AND large deep sea fishing boats together, IF he was afraid to try new things, he would never have become the successful forex trader that he is today.

2. It's Never Too Late
- A good buddy of mine picked up Bike Trials at the age of 44! If you've never heard of this sport and do not know how physically challenging it can be, I do suggest you visit his site and have a look (Bike Trials and a Fistful of Blisters). Colonel Sanders, who came up with the recipe for the now world famous Kentucky Fried Chicken only found success at the age of 65!

3. Find a Mentor/Partner/Coach
- A mentor/partner/coach is someone who guides you along in your journey through their knowledge and experience as well as hold you accountable for your actions. Professional sportspeople have coaches, singers have their vocal trainers etc. I myself have made it my mission to get someone to mentor me so I can become a much much better forex trader.

4. Hard Work
- I don't think I need to explain this, do I?

Here's to making the most of your talents,
Leo