Talent is a total myth.
Study after study has shown that aside from literal physical advantages that one person’s height and weight may have over another in a sport, practice—not inborn talent—leads to excellence.
As a society, we love the idea of talent, because it excuses us from putting in hard work to make our dreams happen. And the idea that with enough time we could be capable of nearly anything? That puts us in the driver’s seat a little more than we’d like to be.
But nobody just wakes up one day and decides to put 10,000 precious hours into their life of opera singing, swimming, or speaking French.
You have to have PASSION. Passion fuels practice; practice leads to excellence. And passion supersedes natural ability every single time.
The people who are passionate about their goals and aspirations are the people who ultimately achieve high levels of success—not the ones with the most aptitude.
On episode #26, as part of my Life at Performance Level series based on my keynote, I’m talking about passion and how you can get more of it in your own life. I really believe this is the most crucial element of a life lived at performance level.
You’ll also get to hear:
- The true definition of passion
- How a 19-year-old’s story exemplifies the amazing power of passion to supersede natural ability
- Why your brand or business is making minimal impact
- Simple practices that can infuse more passion into your work
You can find this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play.
And be sure to subscribe so that you never miss an episode!

As a speaker and author, Curtis Zimmerman has impacted over one million people with his life-changing messages and award-winning programs. Curtis is an expert at transforming organizations by inspiring individuals to live their lives at performance level.
Want to be inspired? Check out his podcast The Next 24 Hours.