When we observe
excellence, we wish we could be talented like that. However, excellence does
not come from talent alone. In fact a major part of excellence has nothing to
do with talent. In course of time once you go beyond certain level (which is
not too high), ability and talent are two of the least used qualities that
matter. It is what you do with that talent which matters and here comes the
word ‘attitude’. Talent breeds ego and talent never solves problems beyond a
point while attitude does.
Sachin Tendulkar has
become synonym of Talent in the world of cricket. In mere age of 14 years, he played 55
days without a break. He practiced for long hours; played the game, slept on
the dining table and then played again. Fifty Five days in a row – that can’t
be talent rather it is attitude -attitude towards the game. In an interview
with a TV channel he said that he is a man of preparation and the match
for him begins much earlier than the real start on ground.
But we all think when
Sachin was born; nurse picked him up and said, ‘here is Mr Tendulkar and here
is his century of centuries’ – which is not the truth. Is it Tendulkar’s talent
that produced the greatest cricketer of the century? No, it is his work ethics,
attitude and more than anything his passion to perform which counts far more
than talent. Talent opens the first door, it might also open second for you but
it is never going to open the last.
As per Harsha Bhogle,
the famous Cricket Commentator, there are many young cricketers who are extremely
talented. But the moment they see roadblock, they don’t know how to proceed
because they never struggle for success, they always use their talent to
succeed. In his book ‘The Winning Way’ he writes that the victory or defeat of
cricket team is decided in the dressing room before the ground. Only by sensing
the attitude of the team in dressing room, it can be told if the team is going
to win or lose the match.
In army when they
build Elite Core team, they look at ones career track record. If one never failed
they won’t pick the person because if he did not face any failure earlier; he
may not know how to bounce and persevere until the goal is achieved. They pick
person who failed and bounced; that is where ones ‘attitude’ comes through.
As per study of
William James at Harvard University, “The greatest discovery of this generation
is: human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude.”
In another study it
was found that when a person gets a high profile job, 85% of the times it is
because of his attitude and only 15% of the times because of smartness or
knowledge of facts and figures. Surprisingly, almost 100% of our education
expenses and time go to learn facts and figures which account only for 15% in success
at work and life.
Truly, attitude
defines the altitude and attitude makes all the difference in pursuit of
excellence.
This article is contributed by my friend and fellow Toastmaster Mr Anurag Singh. If you are enriched by this, please take a moment to say thanks in the comments section below.
