I’m intrigued by the notion of gifts and talents. If someone is said to be gifted I used to think they’ve been endowed with a magical power at birth. That may or may not be true. It’s a fascinating study in any case.

If some excel at artistic or athletic endeavors were they born immensely talented, or was it learned?

Recently, I came across a story that articulates a point of view you might find interesting.

Bertoldo de Giovanni is a name even the most enthusiastic lover of art is unlikely to recognize. He was the pupil of Donatello, the greatest sculptor of his time, and he was the teacher of Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor of all time. Michelangelo was only 14 years old when he came to Bertoldo, but it was already obvious that he was enormously gifted. Bertoldo was wise enough to realize that gifted people are often tempted to coast rather than to grow, and therefore he kept trying to pressure his young prodigy to work seriously at his art. One day he came into the studio to find Michelangelo toying with a piece of sculpture far beneath his abilities. Bertoldo grabbed a hammer, stomped across the room, and smashed the work into tiny pieces, shouting this unforgettable message, “Michelangelo, talent is cheap; dedication is costly!”  —- Gary Inrig, A Call to Excellence

What I like about this particular story was Bertoldo’s view of “gifted” people. They tend to coast on their natural ability. He would have none of that with Michaelangelo. Even though the young sculptor had natural abilities his skill would not grow unless challenged.

In Geoff Colvin’s book Talent is Overrated he makes a convincing case in favor of excellence by practice. Not that natural ability isn’t necessary; just that it doesn’t matter as much as you would think.

When a group of researchers went looking for natural talent they couldn’t find it. They looked for musical talent because it’s the kind of talent that most people think of in terms of “being gifted”.

The researchers probed, questioned and analyzed many factors and overall could find no evidence of natural-born talent. The one factor they did find that predicted how musically accomplished the students were, was how much they practiced.

Students typically achieve a grade 5 level after twelve hundred hours of practice.

Students who practice 2 hours a day will reach that level faster than the student who practices only 15 minutes a day.

Let’s do some math. After 2 years, one student will have had 182.5 hours of study compared to a whopping 1460 hours by the “gifted student”.

If the students start out at age 10, the “gifted” 12 year-old will indeed look “gifted” in contrast to the other who has “no talent”.

Is this clear evidence that excellence is probable through deliberate practice? Indeed, the separation between mediocre violinists and virtuosos was only a few hours practice every day!

What does that mean for the rest of us? We don’t have to accept mediocrity as the norm. Through diligent practice and dedication you can excel at your chosen pursuit.