Is "Talent" Overrated?

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work". - Stephen King

Yesterday I started this post on "talent" and then I abandoned it because writing is not one of my natural talents. Today I decided what the heck, if the post is about talent being overrated then why not throw caution to the wind and toss this out there.

Sometimes I think talent is overrated. I am fortunate in that I have been told all my life that I am talented, and I have always had the ability to tap into my artistic talents to create and achieve things. I have heard "your so talented" since I was about 5 years of age and so I have always been a bit cavalier in my mind about talent as a commodity. I have never seen it as something that you can run out of someday, nor is it something to hoard or to dole out with a teaspoon. Talent "is", it just "is". I have it, and so do millions of other people I see on the web and in the world.

When it comes to talent and earning a living it is my opinion that talent is only a thing of value if you also have a kick-ass work ethic to go along with it. Talent will serve you well only if you have faith in yourself as a well rounded person with brains and skills beyond your obvious "god given" talents. I believe talent will always take a backseat to passion and that the most talented artist on the planet will never earn a dime with their artwork if they are not passionate about their work. So yea, I would have to say that in general talent is overrated. You should value your talents and nurture them, however never work under the false assumption that your unique talent is going to make you special or make you stand out. Your unique talents are only one tiny piece of who you are are and what you have to give to the world.