Skip to main content

Ten Things that Require Zero Talent


Whether we’re talking about college, work, or being on an athletic team, anyone can do these, and they often make the difference between success and failure. Raw talent is never enough; in fact, most teachers can name several smart, talented students who failed because they just couldn’t follow through on these traits.

I got this list from this website; the discussion there is more complete and worth looking at.

  1. Being on time
  2. Work ethic
  3. Effort
  4. Body language
  5. Energy
  6. Attitude
  7. Passion
  8. Being coachable
  9. Doing extra
  10. Being prepared

I would go so far as to say that these ten will later make the difference between people who get hired and people who don’t.

Ten more

Here are another ten from the same author. Within this list, there are a few that have a special impact on college students. The student who sees the academic task as mainly being a matter of memorizing facts to regurgitate on tests will probably be very bored (and boring) and will not do nearly as well as the student who has a sense of curiosity, humility, and resourcefulness.

  1. Curiosity
  2. Confidentiality
  3. Empathy
  4. Flexibility
  5. Honesty
  6. Humility
  7. Kindness
  8. Listening
  9. Resourcefulness
  10. Sincerity
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Your Computer Ready for School

Back when I was a student, everyone packed up their portable typewriter for the move to campus. Lots of people got a new typewriter as a graduation gift, but I didn’t. I ended up using one we bought when I was in high school. The story is probably the same for you, except that it’s a computer, not a mechanical typewriter. Whether you just bought a new one or kept your old faithful companion with all of its stickers, you need to do a few things to get the machine ready for college. Getting Old Faithful ready for college Is Old Faithful sick? If the machine crashes a lot, has trouble (and takes a long time) doing things, or pops up weird ads to play poker or look at porn, you probably have a virus. (You just had to download that fancy screensaver, didn’t you?) Take a deep breath—bite the bullet—pay the computer repair shop to clean it up for you. Now that Old Faithful is feeling better … Back u...
1 comment
Read more

The Writing Teacher in Summer

It has been a long time since I had the self-discipline to simply stop for the summer. There were always summer courses to teach, curricula to rewrite, etc. I promised myself, however, that this summer would be different. Yes, I’m spending a lot of effort on this blog, and I’ll put in big time preparing for fall classes, but this will be a more relaxed summer than most, time to do some other things: I started the summer running sound effects for Mid-Ohio Opera. When the phone rang on stage, I was pushing the button. When lightning flashed and thunder rolled, I was pushing the button. I spent a week at Disney in Florida with grandkids, my first trip there. I get the idea that I’m one of the last people in Ohio to get there for the first time (probably not true). The highlight of July will be a bike trip on the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, about 45 miles of riding a day. Fun stuff! ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Adulting

Business people talk about “hard skills” and “soft skills.” Hard skills can be taught with books of instructions—things such as driving a standard shift, using Microsoft Word, or analyzing a blood sample. Soft skills are such things as showing up on time for work, giving the boss the proper respect, wearing appropriate clothing for the task, and keeping your work area tidy. Many college students figure that the hard skills are all they need, but the hard skills are relatively easy to teach; if you lack soft skills, you will struggle in college and have a lot of trouble finding and keeping a job. Somewhere in the middle area between these are the adulting skills. People who lack these skills might be able to pass courses, but their time in college will be very difficult. Here are a few you will need—and now is a good time to begin working on them. Doing laundry. Surprised that I put it first? The ...
Post a Comment
Read more