Is Talent Enough?

I recently read an article about professional baseball player, Tim Lincecum. The San Francisco Giants pitcher is coming off his first full season in the majors, one that saw him win the Cy Young Award as well as lead the league in strikeouts.

This is phenomenal success for a young player but I was surprised that the article included several quotes where Lincecum talks about not doing much to warm up his arm, hardly stretches, and doesn't ice his arm after games. These are all time honored practices for pitchers. Perhaps the 24 year old is a true physical freak who can pitch more than 100 mph without any of the usual wear and tear on his arm.

But will he be the exception. This may be a case of a someone who relies too much on talent. I've heard countless older athletes (by older I mean late 30s), who talk of relying too much on physical skills when they were younger, instead of learning the mental side of the game. They admit had they combined the two at an earlier age, they would have been more successful.

Very often I've see people who have a talent but never look to develop beyond it. Talent only takes you so far. The desire to improve ultimately trumps talent in that there is a ceiling in terms of how good you can be with just your natural abilities. The same principle applies in the office as it does the athletic field.

Take some time to think what you naturally do well. Now imagine if that talent magically disappeared, what would you do? Perhaps the true greats see talent as a starting point for a never ending journey of self improvement.

The Change of a Few Degrees

Recently I spent some time with family in Ohio. For me this was a bit of shock as I left near 80 degree highs for single digit temperatures. Another thing I noticed was how gray the frozen landscape was. Between cloudy skies and frozen earth, it looked as if the area had been bleached of color.

But after a few days, temperatures warmed up, hitting highs in the 40s. Almost magically, the landscape became more colorful. It was as if someone had taken out a box of crayons overnight and touched up the area. The grass was greener and even leaves seemed a little brighter.

Once again this was a reminder of the power of small changes. Very often it's hard to make a change in our lives because it seems that it will take too much time and too much energy. Instead focus on a little thing you can do today to put you a little closer to your goal. You might be surprised at what happens.