Natural Talent Vs Will power

[mike99]

I'll leave this in the words of one of America's greatest inventors:

1. Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.

2. Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
.............................Thomas A. Edison

There are a few, very few, that succeed on talent. The rest of us meet or exceed them by hard work, Edison was known for spending days and nights in his lab, sleeping in short naps and working...always working.

[Atrixdog]

Originally Posted by mike99

I'll leave this in the words of one of America's greatest inventors:

1. Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.

2. Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
.............................Thomas A. Edison

There are a few, very few, that succeed on talent. The rest of us meet or exceed them by hard work, Edison was known for spending days and nights in his lab, sleeping in short naps and working...always working.

Edison was also known for stealing inventions from other people and patenting them as his.
He also used to hire thugs to destroy the equipment of people using competing technology.

[Godless]

Originally Posted by Atrixdog

Edison was also known for stealing inventions from other people and patenting them as his.
He also used to hire thugs to destroy the equipment of people using competing technology.

Didn't he also electrecute animals to prove Tesla wrong? xD

[Atrixdog]

Originally Posted by Godless

Didn't he also electrecute animals to prove Tesla wrong? xD

No, much worse.

He used to kidnap pets and strays, then electrocute them to death to make it seem like Tesla's inventions were dangerous.

[hotaru251]

both are needed for "greatness"
a will to do something may not be enough, but natural talent is useless if there is no drive behind it.

but just wiht willpower you can accomplish things to be proud of.

[winterweird]

There is no such thing as natural touch. Touch is something you create by hitting millions of golf balls.
- Lee Trevino

Talent and luck might take you a long way. Hard work and dedication are more reliable, in my opinion. And it's something anyone can manage.

For greatness? You probably need at least a little talent. However, "talent" doesn't mean automatically being good in something. That's not how it works. A talented person, however, will achieve results much faster and more easily than someone who's just relying on willpower alone. It's like having a booster rocket on your back. Among all the people who shoot for the moon, those are the ones most likely to reach it. But they won't if they don't try.

[Tomboy]

If you ask me Will Power > Natural Talent, if you ask me i would be more thrilled to find out that i could play the piano after hours of practice and perseverance than knowing that it's all thanks to my genes. But in most cases having both can significantly boost your outlook in society but screw that. Even thought i was born without perfect pitch, i slaved day and night during summer to identify 2 simple notes and today i feel proud as a lion and that tells me that i can achieve my dream goal of getting close to a perfect pitch without having being born with it. Heroes are born, they're made in my opinion.

[SeaFoamDaisies]

I think it's all will power and that no one is born great. Lucky maybe, but most skills need practice and determination. Even if you were "born great" with some ability, it would eventually rust if you don't use it or exercise it enough.

Personally, I believe that saying something is a "natural talent" is a way of making one feel better when compared to a person with greater skill.

By disposing the more talented person's skill to "nature", we put them on a pedestal and thus feel better as we can't be compared to them anymore.Even though that does mean we turn a blind eye to the person's hard work.

[Godless]

I appreciate all the answers.

Both go hand in hand, however i was expecting you guys to know this and pick the one you think is more important.

I agree Will power is important but i think Natural talent is more important.

I say this cause a naturally talented person can apply himself but a person with a stronger will power as much as he practices won't be a visionary like the naturally talented person.

Mind you there is always an exception to this rule, but i see it as Creativity Vs work ethic.
Both are important sure, but at the end of the day i gotta give it to creativity because that's where innovation lies in my opinion.
ofc you need a good work ethic, but without that extra spark of creativity all you are is a hard worker.

Sure you they can get things done but they lack the creative vision to break the mold.

[winterweird]

I think creativity, more or less, can be learned. Talent is just a booster, not something entirely new and forever untouchable by those who weren't born lucky. On the other hand, if you don't need to sweat your butt off to be decent at something, maybe you'll have more time to think about innovation. But talent is not innovation, not in my book.