What really is a talent? Is it a gift which came when we were born? Can it not also be the result of hard work? It is often said that talent will always beat hard work. The following essay consider both sides of the argument. It will argue that while some people are born with talent or certain natural traits which make them become successful, success is also possible to people born without any skills, through efforts and perseverance. Thus, a person born without any skills can attain the same level as a person with natural skills through hard work, or even more when a talented person does not work hard.
First, in some cases, if you have talent, you have more opportunities and advantages than others; you don’t really need to work hard, it comes easily. For instance, you need to have a beautiful face if you want to model, or in music, some people clearly have more talent than others like rhythm or the ease of learning to play an instrument. It also applies to every field. When people have a talent, it is rare to have the fear of failing, because they know that they can believe in themselves. They want to be better than others and that energy might be helpful for their success. Sometimes when a person is very talented, there’s also a feeling of superiority between talented and untalented people. In fact, some natural talents often put down or reject others.
Secondly, we will see if hard work can beat talent. To begin with, we will analyse one of Aesop’s fables titled « The Tortoise and the Hare ». The fable talks about a tortoise who wanted to compete against a Hare in a race. Everybody assumed that the tortoise had no chance to win it because it was too slow, unlike the Hare, which was very fast. Then, when the race started, the Hare, very confident, didn’t even think about the race and just rested, while the tortoise walked. When it came near the finishing line, the Hare ran, but it was too late: the tortoise won.
This story tells us that hard work can win; we certainly do not need to have an innate aptitude. As long as we do not give up and believe in ourselves, everything is possible. However, it also denounces that talent is unworthy if we have over-confidence. In fact, we can have a talent but we cannot be talented if we don’t improve it, as Tim Notke said “Hard Work Beats Talent When Talent Doesn't Work Hard" : while the tortoise kept its eyes on its goals, the Hare was taking a rest, believing that it would win the race.
Furthermore, we can also name many celebrities who did not lose their motivation to reach their goals like Walt Disney, who was told that a « mouse » wouldn’t work but became one of the most famous producers of the 20th century.
In addition, untalented people can learn from their mistakes, while talented people can be surprised or shocked when they make one, because that might be unusual for them.
Weighing up both sides of the argument, we can see that talent can be something natural, which even comes when we are born, by chance. However, we don’t need to have a talent when we are born, we can have one by perseverance and efforts, by hard work. My own view on the matter is that if we want to be a « talented » person, it depends on the aptitude we have. In fact, many people do not do anything to improve their talent, some are inactive or lazy or some do not even know they have talent. To have a talent, you need the will and the motivation, and you can achieve it by hard work.