‘YOU ARE TALENTED YES BUT WORK YOU MUST’ By Mwangi Ndegwa

"Hard work beats talent if talent does not work hard.~ Tim Notke "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99%perspiration....


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“Hard work beats talent if talent does not work hard.~ Tim Notke

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99%perspiration. ~ Thomas Edison.

I start my post with words from these two renowned gentlemen who despite their incredible genius, emphasised the importance of hardwork.
I would like to mostly address the young people who happen to constitute the greater percentage of the world population. A human mind is most active until the age of thirty five and this is where the majority of the populace is. I have seen many young and talented people do something related to their talent exceptionally well, especially music or the performing arts. It takes them from obscurity to celebrity status. They bask in this short lived glory for too long and forget that, that was just a stage (of their journey), not the destination. They lie to themselves that things will remain good, but this (shortlived) only lasts until a brighter star arises and theirs pale in comparison.

When the attention moves away from to someone else,they start complaining that they being ignored and how they are not getting support from the media and the general populace. Now imagine this: an upcoming musician releases a single track, the media takes it up and markets it. This young musician doesn’t think about producing an album because s/he believe they are the ” in thing”. Soon,  the media hype dies and because of their laziness, s/he is unable to capitalize on this moment in the spotlight. On the other side of town, an unknown musician labours to compose a whole album. It may take him/her a long but once out, it’s picked up by the media and within no time, their music is ruling the airwaves. Soon they are among the top selling artists because they have something tangible to sell. Our (original) young musician on the other hand, is out of the limelight and forgotten. S/he is thrown into the dustbin of the “one hit wonder.”

These two scenarios are about two talented people but while one is lazy, the other one is working hard to develop and promote their talent. Can our one single track musician blame anybody? Can s/he justify their whining that the media or society is ignoring them? I believe the answer to the above question is No. Yes, talent itself may introduce you to the world, it can take you to dizzying heights but only hard work will sustain you there. There is no shortcut to success and never at any one time, think or imagine that the world owes you anything. It is your hard work that will make the world stop and take notice. You have to prove to the world that you are worthy of its recognition and this will be through your hard work. Allow me to conclude with this quote from my mentor Dr Wale “Money follows value so if you want people to buy you or your products, give them value.” To read more posts by Mwangi, click HERE

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