Greatness is Created (from scratch, after much hard work)

I don’t normally include whole posts from other folks, but when I do, it’s generally from Seth Godin (Steve Chandler being the other common exception) (and this one is short… ).

The below reminds me of Carol Dweck‘s amazing work on Mindset.

According to Dweck there are some who believe that the gifts and talents you are born with are all you have (Fixed mindset) and that others say that we can grow our skills, abilities and capacity through intelligent and focused hard work (Growth mindset).

Thankfully, there is significant and compelling evidence for the latter.

But back to Seth’s post…

Take a minute, or 20, to really consider Seth’s brilliant and succinct words:

Actually, it goes the other way

Wouldn’t it be great to be gifted? In fact…

It turns out that choices lead to habits.

Habits become talents.

Talents are labeled gifts.

You’re not born this way, you get this way.

(Keep in mind, the “you-get-this-way” works both ways… if you practice not developing your gifts and continue to not-go-for-it you get more of that.)

Similar Posts

  • A Word on Motivation

    It just occurred to me that maybe I’ve never really understood “motivation.” Oh sure, I’ve learned that it’s better to be inspired than motivated and better to motivated than coerced. But what is motivation, really? Motivation isn’t something real or actual. It’s a word that describes what happens when one puts a motive into action….

  • Being Alive (and the Meaning-of-Life ‘as’ Unicorn)

    “I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.” – Joseph Campbell Rather self-explanatory, isn’t it? (And in my opinion, the “meaning-of-life” something unlikely to be satisfyingly found (if at all . . . ), while the experience of being of…

  • About Habits

    “Do you have habits, or do your habits have you?” – Brian Tracy I heard that  this morning while listening to his audio program “Focal Point” (one of my favorite programs of his) in the car. It hit me particularly hard as I know, deep-down, that many of my habits don’t serve me, and they…

  • I Don’t Know

    To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge. – Benjamin Disraeli Those three words can be some of the most powerful. As important is what we follow those words with. “I don’t know, and I’m going to learn.” “I don’t know, and that’s okay.” “I don’t know,…

  • What Is Defeat, Really?

    No one can defeat us unless we first defeat ourselves. – Dwight Eisenhower Many people think “defeat” is losing, or being beaten. It’s really not. Defeat is when you stop working. When you stay down when you can get back up. Defeat is not trying because it seems too hard, or it didn’t work out…

  • How To Not Be Stuck

    The world is full of people who want to change, who say they need to change, but remain stuck.* I look at one of those people in the mirror every day.                   The above chart illustrates someone who says his Ideal Weight is one number and, yet,…