Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

One of the constant things I harp on, and in all honesty can't stand, is when managers, leaders, and employees are called "talent."

Fortune has a great article emphasizing and stating this very fact concerning the illusion of natural talent. The secret to success? - The same as its always been: "Painful and demanding practice and hard work." Oops, just lost a bunch of you. Sorry, it's true.

The article states: "You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that's demanding and painful."

Quoting researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda, they added, "The evidence we have surveyed ... does not support the [notion that] excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts."

There are numerous studies over the last decade that support the same conclusions. So why do we have such a hard time believing it? 

First, many people who have worked hard to succeed, when they get to the top, like to then think that it was something unique and innate to their own nature. In other words they like to think they're special. And once people reach the top, there is a myth that the media always create around them so that their story takes on a life of its own.

If there is someone that has talent, it's because they have narrow focus and specific goal that they spend their life working on and preparing for. They're willing to do all they can until they reach it. What happens when you really dig into the reason for someone's expertise, we always find that they are the hardest working person behind the scenes; that's the truly talented person.