Work as if you have no talent.

The other day I came across a wonderful statement from a talented boxer and an incredibly strong man, Roy Jones . He said: "You need to work as if you have no talent at all." These words are incredibly deep into my soul. I re-read the phrase twenty times, and with each new reading I understood more and more - “Yes! For sure! This is exactly what I missed. ”

This statement is probably suitable for any professional activity, ranging from sportsmen to any representatives of near-creative professions, where talent is required in one form or another. For me, programming is a skillful craft that requires an incredible sharpness of mind, talent and hard work from the author. I would like to speculate about the talented component in programming.


Is this talent important in programming? This is a question with a very clear answer. Certainly important. I am familiar with a large number of truly talented programmers who are able to build stunning things in their heads and then easily translate them into working code. Will the programmer not be able to do the same? I believe that I can and may it take more time. I am also deeply convinced that there are no talented programmers. Exactly as well as absolutely (100%, if talent could be measured) talented. There is not a small amount of research where it is stated that each person is born with a full set of undeveloped talents. These are talents in art, science, sports, etc. The only difference is that some people during life are able to develop (through hard work) one or another of their talents. The situation is similar with programmers. We are all born with a talent for programming, but someone develops this talent more, and someone weaker.
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Then, what's wrong with working when we remember our talent? Bad - a lot. Relying on talent, we relax, gain the illusion of excessive self-confidence and it constantly plays against us, occasionally knocking us down. Just like for example, it happens to me. When I cannot solve a simple puzzle, I cannot understand the description of any algorithm, I read about a brilliant super-duper project, some enthusiast, I ask myself “Well, how is that !? You are talented! Why couldn't you think of it? ”. And there is a feeling of a certain self-deception and disappointment. You start to believe that your “talent” is not worth a penny, and it would be better for you to stop programming altogether and not slander a glorious society of talented and intelligent people. Thanks to such reasoning and lowered hands, you can get stuck badly on the spot and already really start wasting your most valuable resource - talent.

So, forgetting the talent, we will be ready for failure? Exactly! Moreover, due to the fact that we are a priori set on “impotentness” - we work harder and without any indulgence to ourselves. We are attentive to the little things. We should not miss the details. Talented - you can. We are not. We are not afraid of failure. We knew in the beginning that it would not be easy. All that we have - our mind, hard work and incredible thirst to prove to ourselves - that we will not be lost without talent and we can.

We wish you a hard working week, colleagues!