Quotes on Talent

I've been studying the idea of talent recently and what I've learned is that we spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on our weaknesses. We take our innate strengths for granted, but it is time that we stop. Here are some quotes to get you thinking about the nature of talent.

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930), (Sherlock Holmes) Valley of Fear, 1915

Literature is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none.
Jules Renard (1864 - 1910)

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)

If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don't hoard it. Don't dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.
Brendan Francis

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.
Erica Jong