Photo by Ivan Makarov
You’re Really Talented
You’re really talented.
…but you aren’t really successful. Why?
In fact, forget I just asked that. It’s irrelevant. Doesn’t matter why you’re not successful.
Would you rather understand your problems or not have them?
What really matters is how you can change that, how you’re going to become successful and make things happen.
I Don’t Believe in Talent
I don’t believe in talent. Or the idea of “clever” for that matter.
See, thing is, I used to be “stupid”, fat, useless, poor, unsuccessful, no friends and pretty much hopeless. Then I turned it all around. Long story short, I worked and worked and started doing well academically. Then I figured, “well, I thought I was stupid and would never excel at school, maybe I can improve the other things I thought I can’t do” and I completely improved all those aspects of my life – complete identity renovation.
Funniest part was that when I started to do well academically, I realized that I didn’t even need to work that hard. Realizing that I could do well – realizing that it was possible and that the people I looked up to weren’t magically endowed but just like me – that realization was all it took to do well. I didn’t actually need to work that hard.
Knowing that I can do well academically – not just a belief or a thought but actually knowing – not only made me do well academically but made it effortless.
And so?
Well, the same way I did well academically, you can do well at anything.
Cheesy and self-helpy as it sounds, knowing deep down that you can do well is all it takes. Reason it’s so key is that you stop resisting life, you stop procrastinating in an effort to avoid doing something you think you can’t do, and you make things happen. You become successful.
And the ease comes in because all that resistance dissolves when you know you can do something.
You know you can do something so you just do it.
Well That’s Splendid, But How?
This is a two part thing.
First part is showing yourself that you can do something that you think you can’t. Take a belief that you have where you think you can’t do something – and barrel through it to get it done. Work hard, google hard and barrel through to get it done. Learn something. Doesn’t even have to be something you “don’t believe you can do”, can even be something that’s just really challenging. Even something common like give up an addiction or compulsion for a few days or learn something that you’ve always wanted to do. I’m sure you’ll find something, we’re experts at telling ourselves we can’t do things. Take something you can’t do and do it. This will emulsify your pattern of limiting yourself by your beliefs that you can’t do things.
As an aside, all these beliefs are often really sneaky and well-hidden. It’s not like you actually think to yourself “I can’t do this”. Nope. You do think that, if you didn’t you’d have done what you want to do and be successful by now. The sneakiness is that it manifests in things like procrastination, dislikes and stupid beliefs.
So, the second part?
The second part is actually doing something. No matter what it is you’re trying to get done, be it more money, better health, freedom, personal development related stuff, learning,… no matter what it is – nothing will happen if you don’t do something. And I mean action, actually DO something – endless reading and studying is an easy trap to fall into.
Stop reading right here and do something. Get up and make a start. Don’t get caught up in making a plan or strategy, that’s an easy way to procrastinate. Start a plan and as soon as you’re finished the first step, get up and do it. Get it done. Build momentum. This is key, momentum is super key when it comes to getting things done and becoming successful.
When All is Said and Done
In the end, it all comes down to you.
You’re talented. You can do this. You can do anything.
But you don’t need to convince me. You need to convince yourself.
Show yourself it’s possible.
…and then do it. Get up and make something happen.
Go make something happen.
Unleash Reality
Alex
Here are two of my favourite quotes to inspire you to get up right now and go create the legend…
“nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent, leave the house before you find something worth staying in for” – Banksy
“The only thing worse than starting something and failing… is not starting something.” – Seth Godin
Alex is an insightful and creative personal development blogger. Check out his blog at Unleash Reality
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great guest post! Thanks for sharing your insights here, Alex.
Failure is inevitable. Even the most successful people in the world have failed and will continue to fail.
I liked this article a lot and I will reread it tomorrow! I think that the failure is not the opposite of success, but integrant part of the process, so don’t be afraid of fail.
Very true, you just have to go out there and do it. Make things happen, if you just sit there thinking about all the if’s and but’s…everything will stay the same. Another very important thing is that you have to realize it is ok to fail…I mean, what is the worse thing that can happen if you fail? Have you not already failed if you didn’t try?
@positively present
Thanks Dani, means a lot given the inexplicable awesomeness that is positivelypresent.com
@Shamelle – TheEnhancedLife
i agree that it’s enevitable. definitely. but that’s a different kind of failure. i’m not really talking about that. i’m more talking about the self-imposed failure.
the “i’m a failure and i don’t know why even though i never do anything kinda failure
i’m usually pretty touchy about the word failure but thought it would encourage an emotional reaction so decided to go with it… it’s just that the word “failure” is so loaded with self-given meaning.
i don’t think it’s a bad thing to fail in the sense you’re talking about. i think it’s a good thing in fact. to me, it’s “lesson learned”.
…and i think fear of failure is just a lack of what i’m talking about in this article – belief that it’s possible to make it happen.
hope that clears some things up oscar, and thanks for your input
@John Traveler
completely agree that it’s okay to fail. but, like i said to oscar above, failure once you’ve started as the result of an externality or even fault of your own after you’re on the path to making something happen – that’s okay. but sulking and wondering why you’re a failure when you haven’t done anything to make it happen or touchy about your own self-imposed limitations – that kind of failure isn’t okay. it just leads to self-imposed suffering and a “why me, i was so talented i should have made it” attitude.
“have you not already failed if you dont’ try?” – i like that. a lot
that sums up my point 
thanks for the comments everyone, appreciate it
keep well and in touch
alex – unleash reality
@John, “Have you not already failed if you didn’t try?” this is a very powerful question!
Alex, that was the prolly my favourite article from you. cause it just cuts out all the BS.
“procrastinating in an effort to avoid doing something you think you can’t do” dude that is such an important observation.- Thanks.
So, a fear of failure in other words? We are told by other people we can’t do things, that we are going to fail, and so we avoid trying at all.
It is basically a coping mechanism. A very good one. It keeps us safe.
But those who are into this ’self help stuff’ prolly are not really interested in being safe.
They want the edge, the ’spice of life’, they wanna live, free… So they try to create awarness for themselves. They try to ‘get a clue’. This is good. Getting a clue is good…
…
But DOING is way better.
Michael
Uncoverthejourney
PS: just began a 21 day challenge where I have to do these specific things that I usually avoid doing or am uncomforatble doing.The idea is not to do big things. But little things.For now anyway…