Talent Isn’t Enough

We all need talent in some form consistent with our goals in life, but we also need a positive mindset. Talent without optimism is just sloth; wasted. A positive mindset without talent represents high potential but not success.

W. Clement Stone, the wealthy financier who bailed out Napoleon Hill when he went bankrupt (he was a conman—don’t believe the hype about Hill) was the same guy who fired me in 1985 after hiring me to run a consulting firm he owned. He thought “positive mental attitude” was sufficient. I told him if everyone had $450 million as he did, then everyone would have a positive mental attitude. It’s motivational claptrap.

And it does nothing without skills and discipline—talent.

We can acquire both optimism and skills that enhance talent. Or we can sit around and procrastinate and make excuses. But there are no rewards for champion procrastinators or serious pessimists. As George Carlin pointed out, “If you’re reading a self-help book, then it’s not ‘self-help’!”