Know thyself

I have always been a firm believer in hard work over natural talent. True those who have natural talent always have a head start but if they do not work on it, their talent goes to waste. I am sure we have seen many examples around us where we have said "he is such a waste of good talent" and "here is one hard-working guy". Of the two which is more desirable? To me the answer is clear; nothing is more precious than a great work ethic. There are people who have used hard work in conjuction with their talents to end up with amazing results but then there are those who seem to exploit their innate abilities where they do the work just a few moments before it is finally needed. I have seen many examples of people who just sit at their books on the last day before a test and whiz it whilst me who has been toiling away for the past few days and I am still nowhere near the level of the wunderkind. I do envy people with such an ability and wish I had it myself but then again life has never been kind and tests people to varying degrees. Is it unfair then that these people do not put their talent to good use and waste it by doing things at the last moment? As much as I would like to say yes I still feel otherwise. They are not doing anything wrong they are playing the game within the rules and I do not think that procrastinating and then acing the following morning's paper is wrong. The thing these people have realised is that they understand their limitations and capabilities very well. Had they not they too would have been studying for days, like I had, but the scenario changes since they understand what they can and can not do. Kudos to these people for realising their potential and I say rock on! In the end I still feel hard work is the key to success no matter how much talent you have but hard work coupled with a knowledge of one's abilities is absolutely astounding !