Quoting Dr. Julie Gurner: "Talent is a high-risk gift."

Talent is a high-risk gift.

On the positive side, it gives you a head start in your area to clearly have ability beyond those around you—it’s noticeable and makes you feel incredible. Chances are, others notice it too…business owners want to hire people like this, and if you’re an owner yourself, you’ll see the ability to run differently than your peers in the space.

On the negative side, talent can make you take a lot of things for granted and sometimes—dare I say—leave you a bit lax. People often stop actively “working” in the areas of their gift and instead focus on other areas where they seem less capable. While there’s nothing wrong with working on areas of challenge, dropping the development on their own gift starts to make them…average. Surpassable on the very thing that they started the game with a clear advantage in.

The way humans navigate their talent is often setting them up to be mediocre, not exceptional…even when they start off with all the potential in the world.