Firstly, let's talk about the concept of success so that this topic becomes clearer and more understandable for us.
Definition of Success
What is success? Each person may have a different definition of success. For example, one person may see success as becoming wealthy, while another may see success as achieving a high rank in sports, and thousands of other examples are clear to all of us. But what is the exact definition of success? How do we see someone as successful? How can we define success for ourselves? Success has a very simple definition; we call reaching a level of excellence and ranking in something as success, and success has different forms. As mentioned above, for each person, we can define different successes based on their field of activity, each of which can be infinitely valuable and beautiful for that person because they have overcome a very difficult and challenging path. Now that the concept of success has become somewhat clear to us, and we have found a perspective on it, let's examine the misconceptions that have formed in our society.
Incorrect Thinking
The wrong thinking that has taken root in the world, especially in our society, is that talent is considered the main and most important characteristic of successful individuals. It is believed that the God-given talents of a person are what lead to their success, and there is no other reason for their success and progress, requiring a miracle to succeed! However, this perspective is fundamentally wrong and mistaken because such thinking leads to disappointment and failure for many old and young people who were trying and putting their lives at stake. This thinking poisons the minds of our children and youth, preventing them from having big dreams and aspirations because they think that since they have little talent, they are not deserving of success and progress. This is one of the reasons why our society does not grow and remains a third-world country. To eliminate this misconception from our minds, we need to first understand the concept of talent well and have all its aspects clear to us. In the following paragraphs, I will explain more about talent.
What is Talent?
Certainly, we are all familiar with the meaning and concept of talent. The simple definition of talent is that we perform better than others in certain activities, and without much practice and effort, we can defeat another person. However, the more accurate definition of talent, according to the book "Talent Wars," is that talent is the sum of an individual's abilities; innate gifts, knowledge, experience, intelligence, decision-making, perspective, personality, motivation, growth, and learning ability. Talent, in my opinion, is something universal; meaning that it is not only defined for specific individuals but has a special meaning for all people worldwide. Each person may have specific talents based on their interests, and many people may have talents in certain areas but have not discovered and developed their talents. For this reason, it cannot be said that talent is defined for a specific group of people, but it can be said that each person's talents are different from another person's. Talent is another reason for the differentiation of human beings from each other. The concept of talent has become somewhat clear to us, and we have been able to think about it. Now we need to examine the most important concept of this article together: "perseverance."
What is Perseverance?
Perseverance and hard work mean continuing and persisting in the activity you are engaged in, and it is one of the fundamental factors in the success of every individual. If a person is talented but does not have perseverance and effort in their life, their success and progress in life will be very faint, and hardworking individuals will take their place in that field. This situation leads to disappointment and discouragement for that person and limits the paths of progress for them. One example in this regard is the United States Military Academy at West Point. Every year, over fourteen thousand high school juniors embark on the acceptance process for West Point. From this impressive pool, only four thousand applicants are chosen, each armed with a vital recommendation letter. And out of those, only twelve hundred applicants are chosen, most of whom are top athletes and talented students in their high schools. But despite their talent, at least one out of every five of them drops out before graduation because they did not have perseverance and were not hardworking. The United States Military Academy, known as West Point, is the most prestigious and oldest officer training academy in the United States.
Conclusion
Based on the above discussions, it can be concluded that talent is not the sole factor for individuals' success. A misconception prevailing in society hinders people's minds, especially children and teenagers, from achieving success. To solve this problem, instead of focusing on talents, we should concentrate on our efforts and perseverance and strive to always work harder than before.