"What is called 'talent' is simply a set of resources that have been combined, sequenced & practiced until they become an automatic skill. Each of us has the opportunity to develop our inner resources into talents to excel at what we love in the world." ~ Andreas & Faulkner
Have you ever noticed when someone new comes on the scene, they're always asked questions like
"Who inspired you?" and
"Who was it you saw that made you think 'I want to do that?'" For today's star athletes, it was the star athletes they watched when they were children. For musicians at the top of the charts today, it was those who were at the top of the charts when they were children (and some of those artists remain at the top of the charts today). Look at it like this ... might there have been a Shaquille O'Neal if he didn't have Julius "Dr. J" Irving to look up to? Might Michael Jackson have been the dancer and entertainer he was were there no James Brown?
Check this timeline out ... There would have never been groups like Boyz II Men, the Backstreet Boys, and 98 Degrees if it were not New Edition; and there would be no New Edition if it were not for groups like the Jackson 5 and the Temptations. There would never be a Justin Beiber if there was no Justin Timberlake; no Chris Brown or Ne-Yo were there no Usher. As a matter of fact, there would be no Justin Timberlake if there were no Usher, and I doubt any of them would be who they are if there was no Michael Jackson. Would Hip Hop stars & business moguls like Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Dana "Queen Latifah" Owens be where they are if there was no Russell Simmons? Would Hip Hop even be what it is were it not for Russell Simmons? Would Simmons have accomplished all he has in business had he not alligned himself with and followed the likes of Donald Trump and Warren Buffet?
In his book
"The Success Principles," Jack Canfield says repeatedly that "success leaves clues." What this means is, you don't have to reinvent the wheel to get to where you want to go. Like the people mentioned above, you can look up to someone and learn from them. Between magazine interviews, autobiographies, "official" biographies, and even Facebook ... you can meet some of these people and not only learn how they became the successes they are, you can also learn about the mistakes they made along the way. It's like someone giving you a map to a treasure with all or most of the pitfalls and landmines marked out.
No one succeeds on his or her own. There's someone or something they look up to. No one just comes out of the womb making up their own thing. There are basics to be learned. As human beings, we learn on different levels and thus are capable of producing results anywhere from acceptable proficiency to sheer genius. The results are based on the level of application applied to learning how to produce those particular results. In other words, anyone is capable of duplicating another person's results but they have to be willing to duplicate the degree of work and effort applied to produce those results. Now there are two reasons why this is not an absolute lock towards to success:
1. People tend to want the extraordinary results they want, but they don't want to put forth the the extraordinary work required to pull off those results.
2. We all have different circumstances, so it's not like we're following the exact same path of the person we're looking up to.
Sadly, little to nothing can be done about "#1" ... that's an individual choice. As for "#2," what you must understand is that it's not about following the exact same path as the person you're looking up to. For example, I set a goal to buy a particular car. Getting this car required me to move my money in certain directions in order to make it happen. This doesn't mean I have to tell you
exactly where and exactly how I moved my money. The lesson would be in saving, investing and shifting resources in a safe and responsible manner in order to produce the desired result.
Here's a secret to success: Whatever it is that you want to do, find someone who has done it or is doing it and doing it well. If you can actually
"Find A Way" to meet him or her, go for it. If not, see if there is some literature out about how they got to where they are. If they are successful, this should not be too difficult a task. Study them. As best you can, do what they did - make the moves they made. If they stayed up late at night studying a particular subject, then you stay up late studying that subject. If they invested their money in certain areas,
(first do your research and due-diligence) and invest your money in areas that could produce good returns for you (remember you're not on an
"exact" path).
Look ... If you want to play ball as well as LeBron James, remember he modeled Michael Jordan, so you'll have to work & practice as hard as they did. Something my mother always said was,
"You play like you practice," so if you want to play like an all-star you have to practice like one. You don't have to reinvent the wheel ...
Find a wheel and roll with it! I believe in something I first heard said by Les Brown (paraphrased),
"I don't want to follow the path. I wish to go where there is no path and leave behind me a trail." I truly believe this; however, I also believe in working smarter not harder, so I realize (as should you) that before you can go where there is no path and leave behind you a trail, you have to learn something about where it is you're trying to go. You cannot go into the unknown totally ignorant. Would you go deep sea diving in the ocean if you don't even know how to swim with a snorkel? Would you jump off of a 20ft. diving board if you don't even know how to swim? However, if after first learning the basics of swimming, you stepped your game up and learned how the best deep sea or high divers did their thing, in time, you could become as good as them and then add your own spice to it and become even better.
Success can be duplicated!
Get to work!
There's a book that I just finished reading that I highly recommend to anyone looking to step up their networking game ... Especially for my African American and Latino brothers and sisters. The name of the book is "Success Runs in Our Race" by George C. Fraser. (right)
