Talent has its limits, Skill doesn’t

We tend to celebrate those who have an abundance of what appears to be “natural talent”. That is, what appears to be a natural gift for performing some task well above the average. Chances are that what is actually being witnessed is a combination of talent and skill, with skill being far and away the greater component of the two.

Why is perceived raw “talent” so celebrated? The reason probably lies in the fact that it is easier for people to digest the belief that achievement is more the result of random genetic luck outside their control than consistent individual effort. Such a belief, therefore, alleviates a requirement for hard work because success only appears to be associated with randomly winning the genetic ‘’lottery”.

The reality is that talent is certainly a gift and some people have greater talent than others, but talent has its limits. One of these limits is that you can’t accumulate more talent, you receive your allotment at birth and that is the balance you retain throughout your life.

Skill on the other hand is limitless. The more effort you are prepared to invest the more skill you will accumulate, it really is that simple. Yet there’s the rub for most people, skill requires effort. What’s more, true skill requires continued effort but is something that you can constantly build every day of your life.

Optimal results are obtained when you marry your given talent with on going skill development. I hear many times how people “can’t” when really what they are saying is they “won’t” because they are not inclined to make the effort. That attitude is nothing more than a mental block preventing them from achieving more. The distance to move from “won’t” to “want” is small, yet for many it is a barrier that never gets overcome.

Life is not a Disney movie. There is no one coming to save you and roll out the red carpet before the credits roll. That is your job. You are equipped with the physical tools to achieve anything, what prevents you doing that is only your state of mind.

So many focus on just the physical, but like your physique, your mind needs to be trained as well if it is to remain healthy. Like unused muscles, if it is not exercised regularly it withers and dies.

The question to you is then what are YOU doing to exercise your mind? What are you doing to build your mental capacity and expand your horizons, achieve your goals and live an enjoyable life? That last question seems cliché right? But ask yourself, are you honestly living an enjoyable life? Every day? I don’t find many strongly affirmative answers to that question when it gets asked.

The choice is yours. You can live a life bounded by whatever talents you have been endowed with, or you can embark on a journey of never ending opportunity and potential by regularly exercising your mind and building your skills. Even if you start way behind the “talent-only” pack, the certainty is that one day you will surpass them. It is at that point you begin to truly appreciate that the “unfair” advantage of what many equate only as “natural talent” is in fact nothing more complex than effort.

If you change “can’t” and “won’t” to “want” nothing will ever stand in your way. You, and you alone control the key to an enjoyable life by focusing on skill rather than talent.

Back with Blogger

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I and a lot of people where having problems posting from Windows Live Writer to Blogger.

After successfully post my mega-article on AD Sync Services I am happy to report that everything is back up and running as it was. For that I’d like to thank both Microsoft and Google engineers who sorted the issue out. You have made a lot of people very, very happy.

My only concern now is what is the roadmap for Blogger and Windows Live Writer? Is this just a temporary fix or will we face the same issue down the track? Unsure whether we’ll get an answer there so something to keep in mind going forward.

Again, those who listened and resolved the issue, a HUGE amount of thanks.

Blogger we have a problem

It would seem that desktop tool that publish to Blogger are now not working! Google knows about the issue and is apparently looking to fix it but it’s now been three days and no resolution!

Here’s the post if want to see that status of the issue:

error “notfound: not found” posting from windows livewriter

I had a mega post on Azure AD sync lined up but until this is fixed not much I can really do.

Tally Ho Google. Please fix asap!

Karl’s on line conference

We are less than a month away from Karl Palachuk’s online conference at which I have been lucky enough to be given a speaking opportunity. You can find out more about the conference and sign up at:

http://www.smbonlineconference.com/

My presentation topic is:

You Need a New Business Model for Success in the Cloud

and I’ll warn you that I’m going to rather brutal in what I present here. My focus is on looking forward not back and looking for a business model that will be sustainable now and into the foreseeable future.

That, no doubt, will challenge a lot of conventional thinking but I really believe that is what is called for in the SMB technology reseller space these days. The game has changed which brings both threats and opportunities and understanding both is key.

If you want to get both barrels from my no holds bared presentation as well as some great insight for a score of other really smart and talented presenters then sign up for Karl’s conference today.

Revised bootcamp notes publication now available

As I detailed a while back I have now updated my Bootcamp products offering to include:

1. Latest version of my Office 365 bootcamp notes. This OneNote notebook is something I use everyday to capture information about Office 365. It is my reference ‘bible’ covering everything from Exchange to Sharepoint, Delve to Single Sign on as well as troubleshooting, best practices and a range of PowerShell scripts and third party solutions that work with Office 365.

2. Latest version of my Azure bootcamp notes. This OneNote notebook contains my daily brain dump about Azure. It contains links, information, tutorials and more. Again, this is something I use everyday and update constantly.

3. Exam cram notes for the Office 365 70-347 and 70-346 exam. It contains information and links to help you pass the exam. It also has a number of practice exam questions to give you an idea of what might be covered in an exam.

4. Five (5) supporting Office 365 checklists and templates that you can use for your Office 365 implementation. These documents are in various Office formats (Word, Excel, etc).

There are two ways to get access to this material:

1. You can join my Cloud Business Blueprint community via:

http://www.cloudbusinessblueprint.com/members-sign-up/

where you’ll get immediate access to the latest versions plus heaps of other unique on demand training, cheat sheets, re-brandable content, articles AND access to the members forums to converse with other cloud resellers.

2. You can purchase the existing Office 365 bootcamp notes via;

http://www.e-junkie.com/ciaops/product/488325.php

for AU $148. This purchase will also entitle you to a 12 monthly subscription for updates to these products (generally updated monthly).

Also, given that the 74-325 Office for SMB exam has been superseded I have made the OneNote exam cram notes I created for this available for free download with all my other free material at:

http://www.ciaops.com/downloads

If nothing else, those bootcamp notes are going to provide a centralised and searchable way to locate just about anything to do with Office 365 and Azure. This will save you inordinate amounts of time and easily pay for your outlay. You’ll also get free updates for to all of these for 12 months once you purchase. Like I said, I use these notebooks EVERY DAY.

If you want some testimonials about these bootcamps and information provided visit:

http://www.ciaops.com/bootcamp/

Please support this material so I can continue creating more.