Nolan Norcross

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd.9

29 November 2018

Hard work VS Natural Talent

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”-Kevin Durant1; NBA all-star

and league champion. Coming from Kevin Durant, world famous NBA all-star, this statement is

very meaningful considering he became arguably the best player in the league when he came up

from nothing. Durant was born in a rough area where he lived with his mother and they did not

have much while he was growing up 2. Due to him working hard, he became one of the best

players to ever play the game. It is a well talked about debate about whether hard work or natural

talent is most important when it comes to attaining success. Although talent can be good for

success, it is not what will guarantee someone success in the long run like working hard will do.

Hard work is more valuable than talent because hard work can develop talent in an area, natural

talent is often wasted in the long run, and working hard will allow for guaranteed long-term

success.

First, hard work is more important when it comes to attaining access in something

because working hard can develop a talent in a specific area. For example, Chris Joseph;

Business Connections journalist explains, “With hard work, talent can be built and grown, but

still it is usually the natural sort of inclination towards a particular thing that gets the job done

1 Ethos- the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations.
2 Pathos- the appeal to emotion
more easily.” This is an example why working hard will grant success because he explains that

success is only granted when somebody wants something and is determined to achieve it.

Another example to support why hard work is more valuable than natural talent is Chris Joseph

also stated that in most cases, hard-working individuals can develop a certain talent or skill

which can imply that “natural talent’, is just the result of long and hard work. There are a few

particular cases where someone will be naturally given the gift of talent in a specific area, but for

the most part, talent is achieved by working hard at one thing over a period of time. Therefore,

hard work is more important than talent alone because talent is mostly only granted as a result of

working hard.

On the other hand, it is also an argument by some people that if someone has natural

talent in an area, there is no need for hard work. Some individuals believe that if someone is

talented at something naturally, hard work is not needed because they think that they would be

successful just because they are skilled at a certain thing. This statement is irrational for multiple

reasons. For example, every player in the NHL (National Hockey League) is talented at the sport,

but it is the certain players who work the hardest and put in the most time and effort that it takes

to be more successful than the majority of the league 3. To add on, this applies for every career or

situation where people are competing to be successful in one area. To wrap things up, many

people can be talented at a certain position or area, but it is the ones who want it the most and

work the hardest who will end up the most successful.

Unlike hard work, natural talent is often times wasted. “Let's face it, there are a lot of

people who have talent that just wasted their gifts and did not work hard to support themselves.”-

3 anecdote- interesting or amusing short story that concerns real people

Chris Joseph. What he is saying is that many people who are acquired natural talent in something

let the idea of them being talented get to their head and this causes them to not reach success due

to the lack of hard work these individuals put in. Having natural talent will help anyone who is

trying to be successful, but they still need to put in the hard work it takes to support that talent.

Another point Chris Joseph made was he said people who work hard without the talent can

succeed more than talented people who just stick to the mediocre. This is an exceptionable point

because people who have talent often lack success because they feel that they will be able to

succeed just because they have a natural talent, and these people usually stick to the mediocre

and fail to put in the hard work. On that note, it is clear that hardworking people will reach

success and their goal more efficiently than people who stick to the mediocre in result of being

skilled in a certain area.

Conversely, it can be argued that people who are gifted with natural talent in a specific

region have a large advantage over people without the same amount of talent. This argument to

whereas why talent is more important for success than hard work can seem like it is true, is

completely inaccurate. This statement is inaccurate because although at first people with talent

may have an advantage over individuals without the same amount of skill, having dedication and

working hard will guarantee anyone long term success unlike talent alone. “A person who is told

over and over that he has talent would tend to decide that he does not have to work hard to attain

success.” (Chris Joseph). This quote from Chris shows how naturally talented people are given

the idea that they do not have to work hard in order to succeed because they are being told

repetitively that they are talented. As a result of this, individuals grow a sense of over-confidence

that can end up giving them the wrong idea in the long run. Having self-confidence is

undoubtedly a key attribute to have when it comes to being successful, but having too much
confidence can get in the way of people working hard because it can give people the idea that

they will be able to achieve anything just because they are talented at something. In the end,

these points made by Chris show why people with just talent who do not put the hard work and

dedication in will not attain success as well as people who put in the work it takes to achieve

what they want.

In conclusion, to be able to guarantee success, hard work is more valuable than raw talent

alone because working hard can develop a talent in a specific area, talent alone is often wasted

and taken advantage of, and working harder than most people will give you an advantage over

anybody else. Hard work and determination will always allow somebody to attain long term

success unlike having natural talent and not working hard to support that gift. Working hard can

allow someone to grow a talent at whatever they are working hard for, and it can give people an

advantage over people who feel like they do not need to work hard in order to have success. To

add on, people with talent alone are common and easily found, but not a lot of people work hard

for what they want or have. The general population often times settle for the “mediocre”, and are

content with where they are at because they are not willing to put in the hard work it takes to be

more successful than most people. The bottom line is, nothing beats hard work and determination

when it comes to attaining long term success.

 Works Cited

Chris, Joseph. “Natural Talent vs Hard Work.” Joseph Chris Partners, Joseph Chris
Http://Www.josephchris.com/Wp-Content/Uploads/2018/04/JCPLogo.png, 13 Oct. 2015,
www.josephchris.com/natural-talent-vs-hard-work.
Gregoire, Carolyn. “The Problem With Favoring Natural Talent Over Hard Work.” The
Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Jan. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/natural-
talent-bias_us_568d22d3e4b0cad15e62bb33.
Steel, Piers. “Hard Work Beats Talent (but Only If Talent Doesn't Work Hard.” Psychology
Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-procrastination-
equation/201110/hard-work-beats-talent-only-if-talent-doesn-t-work-hard.
“What Is More Important Talent or Hardwork?” Inspiria Knowledge Campus, 3 Oct. 2018,
inspiria.edu.in/important-talent-hardwork/.