I've long been a proponent of the idea that talent is either overrated or non-existent but I'm finding it makes for a convenient way to frame something that I've been having a difficult time putting into words for a while now.

Frequently when people tell me I'm a talented poi spinner I balk at the idea. I worked my ass off to be able to spin the way I do. Recently I've gone through this process again by working to integrate dance into my spinning and it's a tremendously difficult process with many dead ends and plateaus.

What people see is the product of that work and it seems to appear as if from nowhere because so much of that work is conducted away from prying eyes.

But I've known many people in my life that have a gift for creative insight and problem-solving that I know I do not have. My friend Kate McCoy always had this innate ability to see possible poi tricks that blew my mind with their creativity and originality--but she still needed to put in the practice to have to skill to demonstrate them. My former partner Morgan once drew up a math proof on the fly for all the different arrangements of partner poi with participants of any number in the matter of an hour. We still spent countless hours drilling many of these arrangements--they didn't appear because the thought was there.

There are many other examples out there: people with an innate facility for these sorts of insights. But here's the thing: having those insights does not mean that they can execute them.

They have to do the work just like any one of us to be able to have the skill to demonstrate those skills. Any and all of us have to do the same work to realize those insights.

One point of comparison I have is Walter Isaacson's recent biography of Leonardo Da Vinci, someone I think we can all agree was an unparalleled genius. He had profound insights into how light behaved at great distance and transmits through a variety of different substances--a natural curiosity and desire to ask particularly insightful questions. We have so few of his works because it was rare that work derived from these questions made it to a finished project or piece of art.

I don't consider myself a very talented person. But I've worked hard to learn skills such as poi spinning, search optimization, video production, product development, and much more. And I'm gonna say that in my experience when it comes down to talent vs skill, skill brings it home every time.

Whether or not you have talent, investing in skill is going to be way more important anyhow. You'll be surprised at how far it can get you!