Talent vs. Skill

I love Will Smith, he is such a funny guy. There aren't too many people who I actually can say that give great life advice but he awesome. Will uses his free time to be a motivational speaker, the below is a conversation Will had describing his success and developing his talents.

“The separation of talent and skill is one of the greatest misunderstood concepts for people who are trying to excel, who have dreams, who want to do things. Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft.I’ve never really viewed myself as particularly talented. Where I excel is ridiculous, sickening work ethic. You know, while the other guy’s sleeping, I’m working. While the other guys’ eating, I’m working. There’s no easy way around it. No matter how talented you are, your talent is going to fail you if you’re not skilled. If you don’t study, if you don’t work really hard and dedicate yourself to being better every single day, you’ll never be able to communicate with people - with your artistry - the way that you want…."

As Will clearly stated, I believe we all have talents but how many of us let our talents fall away because we aren't skilled, we lack dedication? I know I have. Maybe you're a singer, a writer, a musician, a speaker, an athlete.. are you giving your all? I heard a while back a statement that encouraged me to always try harder. He said "If you really want it, you better give your ALL, because someone out there is less talented than you, but they want it more...and they will get it." I encourage you today to give your all and work hard for your dreams, never let anyone make them small for you.