Talent is a Gift; Squandered Talent is a Tragedy

"Everyone has a talent for something."
Marian Anderson

"I think everybody has talent within. It’s just a matter of getting the time and the opportunity to develop it."
Keith Richards

"Talent is a sacred trust."
Paul Robeson

"We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. As we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."
Nelson Mandela

"Each man has his own vocation; his talent is his call. There is one direction in which all space is open to him."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"One well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth one hundred shallow faculties."
William Matthews

Talents Are Meant to Be Discovered and Used

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.
Marie Curie

"Ability is useless unless it’s used."
Robert Half

"All of us attain the greatest success and happiness possible in this life whenever we use our native capacities to their fullest extent."
Smiley Blanton

"Discover the talent that God has given you. Then, go out and make the most of it."
Steve Spurrier

It Takes Work to Transform Talent into Excellence

"Natural abilities are like natural plants; they need pruning by study."
Francis Bacon

"Talent is only the starting point. You’ve got to keep working that talent."
Irving Berlin

"Ability may take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."
John Wooden

"Use your gifts faithfully, and they shall be enlarged; practice what you know, and you shall attain to higher knowledge."
Matthew Arnold

"There is no such thing as a great talent without great willpower."
Honoré de Balzac

And Finally

"We all have ability. The difference is how we use it."
Stevie Wonder

"Success is what you do with your ability. It’s how you use your talent."
George Allen

This page was written and compiled by Criswell Freeman, Psy.D.