Daily Inspiration #87
Edward Derek Jeter
Work Hard

Derek Sanderson Jeter (born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and the incoming CEO and part owner of the Miami Marlins. Jeter played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter is regarded as a central figure of the Yankees' success of the late 1990s and early 2000s for his hitting, baserunning, fielding, and leadership. He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,465), doubles (544), games played (2,747), stolen bases (358), times on base (4,716), plate appearances (12,602) and at bats (11,195).[1] His accolades include 14 All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and a Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter was the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits and finished his career ranked sixth in MLB history in career hits and first among shortstops. In 2017, the Yankees retired his uniform number 2.
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He's given us a great quote for today.

"There may be people that have more talent than you,
but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.”

I was taught at a young age that no matter how good I got at something there would always be someone else that was better than me at it.

I can remember, as a kid, pondering that statement for quite some time.

Eventually I realized that I really was not meant to compete to be the best at something but to be the best I could be at something.

I also noticed that there were many people that seemed to have natural talent at things, while others simply worked hard.

I was in fact on of these people that had natural talent with certain things.

For me, it made me think that practice wasn't as necessary.

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Thing is that talent only gets you so far.

Here is what I have come to learn about this issue:

Talent is inside you, it is not something you can teach, it is simply part of you.

Skill is something that you grow through practice and hard work.

A person with no real talent for something can, through enough hard work and practice, display what seems to be immense talent.

A person with natural talent will seem to be great at something at first, but without hard work and practice, will fall far behind others in his desired area of expertise.

A person with natural talent that also practices and works hard can become one of the best in his field.

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It's easy to be intimidated by people with talent but I would beg you to consider a couple things.

First and foremost, you are not in competition with them.

You are in competition only with yourself.

Next would be how hard are they working at advancing that talent, are they practicing regularly or relying on their talent to get them by?

Lastly I would ask, how hard are you working at it and how much practice are you putting in?

We can't view talent or talented people as an end all be all.

Let them be talented.

If you are working hard and practicing hard then nothing can really stand in your way.

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If you lose something to someone with more talent then practice and work harder.

Eventually the skill you've gained from all your hard work will show you to be the talented one.

Eventually you will be doing these things so easily that you will not remember life when you couldn't.

So if you are concerned about those around you with more talent, remember that time can change all of that if you are practicing and working harder than they are.

Remember,

"There may be people that have more talent than you,
but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.”

Thanks for reading,
Michael David
@michaeldavid

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