Juan José Mojica

PC 101L Life Skills

09 November 2022

Hard Work Trumps Talent

While doing advanced math homework with my classmate, I asked her why she chose to

major in math when she had interests in Biology as well. Her answer was that she wasn’t as good

at math, so studying it would help her learn more than studying biology would have. Rarely do

we pursue a course of study or a skill that we don’t feel comes naturally because we feel that

talent is what breeds success. Sometimes we don’t even try to improve at something when we

feel we are already behind, but with passion and perseverance, any skill can be cultivated in any

person, no matter their starting level. Although talent can be a large contributing factor in what

skills a person chooses to pursue, hard work is more important when it comes to finding success.

First, every person will have opportunities in life, probably many of them, to do

something they aren’t already good at. If, up to that point, a person has only relied on talents and

has not practiced working hard, when these times in life come, they won’t find success in

relying on their talents. An example of one of the first times this happened to me was in school.

We all have generals that we have to take that may or may not be in our desired field of study –

my weakness was always social sciences. In high school, I signed up for AP Government

because my friends were taking the class and it would bypass a similar required credit in college.

I failed every test in that class because I did not naturally understand the subject and I did not

have the drive to study because classroom learning had always been a talent of mine. My lack of

hard work had become a habit in the classroom, and it was in that class that I realized that not
everything was going to come easily. I had to learn to work hard and not just rely on my

talents because there would be times, and more came, when my talents wouldn’t be enough to

help me have the success I desired.

Additionally, even those incredible talents that seem to come effortlessly take work to

share. In Doctrine and Covenants section 46, Jesus says, “To some is given one, and to some is

given another, that all may be profited thereby.” Here we are commanded to share our talents so

that all can be blessed by the gifts that God has given us. Even a prodigy pianist must work to

find opportunities to bless others with their gift. Finding ways to use our talents to bless the lives

of others can take work, so, to find success, we need more than just the talent, but the willingness

to put forth the work necessary to share that talent.

It’s true that there are things in life that we are not as naturally good at – whether it be

singing or mathematics – but in the things we are naturally good at, we would not find success

without hard work. When I was 8 years old, my mom had me begin piano lessons. When I

started excelling through the lessons faster than average, my mom and my teacher both

recognized the talent in me, but I still felt that the work of practicing was difficult and not very

fun. I often wanted to quit. By the time I was 16, I was very skilled at the piano, but if I had quit

instead of working hard when I faced challenges in practicing, I would not have succeeded in

developing my talent. As President Uchtdorf said in the October 2009 General Conference, “If

we simply keep at it – steady and constant – things certainly will improve.” The same can be

said for any talent or skill, with steady and constant work, we will find success. While we or

others might have talent in any number of fields, without working to improve upon that talent, no

success can be found.

 Clearly, hard work will lead to the most success, even if talent starts the path. Knowing

this will empower us to not only work through challenges we face, but seek opportunities to

learn, as my friend did when she chose to study math. Whether it’s a course in school, a talent

we’re pursuing, or a talent we’re trying to share, hard work will be the greatest factor in creating

success.