I've worked with many talented people who have achieved great things, I have also coached many gifted individuals (especially athletes) who simply haven't had the drive, the attitude or the work ethic to maximise their gifts.  Sometimes, I think that being told by everybody how amazing they were and how incredible they would be when they grew up, was actually a disadvantage.

I don't know if I have a definitive answer to this one but I thought that it might be an interesting topic to explore... so let's explore.

I'm gonna throw my bit in and then you guys are gonna head down to the comments link at the bottom of this post, tell me what you think and why, and then hopefully, we'll have a whole bunch of different opinions ...and some fun. An argument perhaps!

Gotta love a little spirited debate.

We'll see if we can come up with some sort of group consensus on the issue.

If you're like me, you went to school with a super good looking, super talented, super athletic, super academic, super popular guy/girl who finished school and went on to do...... nothing much.

What's the deal with that?

All that talent and ..... donuts. Nothin'. What a waste.

Have you ever been to a school reunion? They're a whole bunch of fun... And how interesting it is to fast-forward 10, 15, 20 years and to see what became of the geek, the hottie, the jock, the in crowd and the socially invisible?

When I was at school, I was kind of average (in many ways). In fact, average was my ambition.

I was the kid picked last for every sporting team. Couldn't run to save myself, but could swim okay because I was incredibly buoyant. Kind of like a cork with hair on top.

Being fat certainly helps when you're bobbing up and down in the water. It's a pity all the school sports days weren't based in water...I could have been a champion.

Or not.

In a weird kind of way, I'm glad I was so mediocre because very early on (when I was about fourteen) I gained clarity, perspective and certainty about what I didn't want for my life. I didn't want to be fat. Or ridiculed. Or picked on. Or last. Or mediocre.

So when I was fourteen and weighing 90 kilograms (198lbs) I decided that I would change my body. One day, I just got to that point and from that moment on, there was never any doubt that it would happen (you know that old pleasure and pain thing). I lost 30 kilograms (66lbs) in five months and went through not only a huge physical change, but a complete emotional and psychological metamorphosis as well.

It was about then that I realised that, what I would become (and achieve) in my life had little to do with talent or potential, and plenty to do with attitude, commitment and effort.

Without being too melodramatic, the pain of (some of) my childhood experiences actually helped me create the momentum, the right attitude and the necessary determination and focus to be able to begin to create real (forever) change.

Being called Jumbo for ten years also helped.

Over the years I have found that when I'm struggling to gain clarity about my future and my goals, I start by identifying what I don't want.... and that helps me get clarity about what I do want.

So, I guess for me, not being gifted was an advantage. It gave me the desire to create an amazing life.

And while I've worked with many talented people who have achieved great things, I've also coached many gifted individuals (especially athletes) who simply haven't had the drive, the attitude or the work ethic to maximise their gifts. I sometimes think that being told by everybody how amazing they were and how incredible they would be when they grew up, was actually a disadvantage. It gave them a reason not to strive or sacrifice... because apparently it was all going to magically fall in their lap.

So I guess my opinion is that for some, being gifted is a gift, and for others it's a handicap. I guess it depends what we do, or don't do, with that talent.

"Love is the flower you've got to let grow." *-- John Lennon

"The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment."  *--Earl Nightingale

"Faith is a passionate intuition." *--William Wordsworth