[lbblack]

Hard work is the essence of what produces so-called talent. It seems to my understanding that talent is more so the culmination of a chain of clever thinking which ultimately derives more understanding and natural association with XYZ, than a deterministic natural born trait. Albeit, there are most definitely physical strengths tied to DNA, it wouldn't be entirely far-fetched to claim that different people have different mental strengths.

However, hard work doesn't always produce greatness. It would be misleading to say that hard work is equivalent to all other hard work. It's not. It's synonymous with the phrase, "practice makes perfect." Yet the phrase should really be amended to "perfect practice makes perfect." Aimless, bad practice will led to aimless, bad results.

Mental focus and barricades are huge components as well. The greats are just as human as the rest of us. Comparison is mentally debilitating for everyone, especially if "talented" individuals have a higher rate of growth than the average. Yet I have to wonder, does the individual who "desires greatness" aspire to achieve validation for ego-boosting fictional accomplishments or truly wish to push the edge of their capabilities to their respective human limits? The former have no chance at putting their energy into prospective efforts. The latter may continue to develop and create something the world hasn't seen before, and or realize that they can do things they had believed they couldn't before.

[red_admiral]

I agree - there's a huge different between wall-clock time spent on a task, and amount of actual progress made.

Perhaps a talent in an area is simply the ability to use your practice time on those things that actually take you further.