Talent is Never Enough. Discover the Choices That Will Take You Beyond your Talent. By John C. Maxwell

This is a book full of nice-to-read, common-sense and highly-motivational arguments to trigger and reinforce your talents. A book from which you can extract many quotes (a tendency I have my reservations about). It is very obvious that John C. Maxwell is a great motivator.

Now that I have gone over some basic-level theory about Talent, I am seeking to establish the set of habits that can initiate and sustain great performance. This is not an easy task and it is unlikely that anyone will be able to uncover and roll out these habits overnight. Then, a map or a dictionary is needed to seek advice as we move along; a reference text that one may review for specific traits. There will be many sources for this task; but I think Dr. Maxwell has created a good one that can be used immediately as a starting point subject to further development.

From my perspective, the book provides two tracks to follow. The first one is a list of 13 traits or habits that in the eyes of the author, contribute to allow our talents to surface and grow. As the title suggests, Talent (alone) is never enough and actions behind Talent are absolutely required. I think everyone will concur with this line of thought. The book concentrates fully in these 13 traits.

The second is one that the author touches upon as a reference, but does not get developed any further in the book. I like it a lot and I consider it to be absolutely critical; it therefore deserves to be lifted and amplified to attract attention to it as a way to promote great performance. I will close this entry with this subject; so in total, I will report on 13+1 habits to establish as a starting point.

So, at a rate of one chapter per trait, the author identifies and describes the following 13 habits as essential to foster and sustain our Talent.

1. Belief lifts your Talent
2. Passion energizes your Talent
3. Initiative activates your Talent
4. Focus directs your Talent
5. Preparation positions your Talent
6. Practice sharpens your Talent
7. Perseverance sustains your Talent
8. Courage tests your Talent
9. Teachability expands your Talent
10. Character protects your Talent
11. Relationships influence your Talent
12. Responsibility strengthens your Talent
13. Teamwork multiplies your Talent

Of course, one may agree or not with each one of these traits. Furthermore, one can cross out the ones that are construed as not necessary and add the ones that are left out but considered essential; hey, each one of us is a different thinking machine and great performance may come in different forms and from different sources and actions.

It is interesting to note that some of these traits resemble some elements of the books that I have reviewed before such as myelin building (Talent Code) and deliberate practice (Talent is Overrated).

I mentioned at the beginning that the book provides two tracks to follow; I now turn my attention to the second one. Besides establishing these 13 traits, there is a second line of thought (only) referenced in the book. Since I am very convinced that it is critical in the definitions we seek, I will document it somewhat further to push it beyond a reference only; it should be something that sticks to our behavior on top of the 13 recommended traits.

As referenced by John C. Maxwell in the book, Coach Jim Tressel from Ohio State University (OSU) shared with him a manual (The Winner’s Manual) that supports OSU’s football program. It contains an article titled: “Things that do not require Talent”. It emphasizes things such as punctuality, effort, patience, unselfishness.

I am attracted by the simple and yet powerful nature of the title; it certainly constitutes an irresistible invitation to write our own list of things that we should excel at before any Talent-related considerations.

In getting started with my own list (but being sure that I will want to expand it as I continue to learn from others), I will write down the ones that I have held close to my beliefs:

A. Humbleness
B. Generosity
C. Courage (overlapping with the 13 traits described by the author)

Consider the type of person and the Talent-quality that you might be able to develop if you build on top of Talent-promoting traits as much as on Talent-independent habits.