“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

Tim Notke, a high school basketball coach, once said during a motivational speech to his players that “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” This couldn’t be more true. Talent alone gets us nowhere without hard work. A person can be one of the most talented people in the world. However, if they don’t use their talent, it’s wasted and doesn’t get them very far. They could be exceptionally gifted intellectually or physically. Yet they only achieve a fraction of what they’re capable of. Meanwhile, someone with much less talent (that’s applied) has a greater potential to go further.

This quote reminds us to use the gifts we’re given so we achieve the things we’re capable of. At the same time, it also reminds us that even if we’re not particularly talented at something, we can still do them well through hard work.