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Natural talent is something that exists in all of us, but as John C. Maxwell once said, “talent is never enough.” There’s really no such thing as a “natural.” People can have more ability than others in something but there is one thing that makes them better than all.

LeBron James, for example, appears to have a natural talent for basketball. He comes out on to the court and dazzles the crowd with spectacular dunks and entertaining wins. But what you don’t see is what happens off the court.

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J.K Rowling, as another example, is a wizard with words (pun intended lol). She has an incredible ability to capture the imagination of any audience regardless of how young or old they are. But what you may not know is that she wrote a novel before Harry Potter that got tossed out.

These are example of two modern greats who have revolutionized their fields and there are a few things that set them apart from others… Do you want to have an amazing career like J.K or LeBron? Of course you do. So do I. Here are a few things I want to share that I have learned from studying people who are great at what they do.

Do What You Love

Why is it that so many people are afraid to do what they love? I know a brilliant artist who is so creative in her projects and always gets tons of complements. Yet she goes on to College to choose a major that has nothing to do with art and wonders why she still feels empty and lost… Maybe her parents have gotten in her ear and said something like, “oh you can’t make any money doing art.” Yeah tell that to Mary GrandPre, who does all the illustrations for Harry Potter. I’m sure she’s not struggling for cash and she is doing something that she loves. What do you love? What is something that you enjoy doing so much that you do it for free or you even pay to do it?

Practice All The Time

To be great at anything you must practice. No amount of natural talent can make your dreams come true. I once had an interesting conversation with some associates who believed that people could be great without practice. I asked them who is great that hasn’t practiced? They could not come up with an answer and were quiet for about five minutes. It doesn’t matter what your passion is, there is always some way that you can practice. You must must must must practice regularly to have a shot at being great. Why are some people great at public speaking and others aren’t? They practice and they learn, which brings me to my next point.

Study Your Craft Deeply

This is what separates the good from the great. The good do something or complete a task and then they are done. The great do something then study what went well and how they could improve next time. The great are always reading, meeting people, going to workshops, and studying. This is called “investing in your self.” You should always be spending more money on what goes in you than what goes on you.

Embrace Failure and Learn From It

People love to say failure is not an option. For me, I say it is inevitable. The only thing that matters is that you learn from it. Some people are so afraid to fail that they won’t even start on their dreams. This kid stood up at a conference and said that he had a dream but didn’t want to start because he was afraid he would fail. I just shook my head. What’s so scary about failing? If you’re not going to die then what’s the big deal? Are you afraid people are going to laugh at you or talk about you behind your back? Wake the hell up, they are already doing that now. Why not give them something that can envy you for? They’ll definitely shut up then.

Take On Bigger Challenges

The strength of a win is only as good as the strength of your opponent. Set your goals high, go after the big fish, and take risks that others might not.

These are only a few components of the formula, but it’s a good start. There are tons of more things to talk about so be on the look out for our upcoming third book project. Coming soon…

Thrive or Die!

Aaron A. Madonna