Stanley was a famous footballer and striker. He was not the worst player; of course, he was hugely talented. But if there was a statistic that linked his cost to his club with commitment and his wages with his work rate, then he would be right at the bottom of the value-for-money table. Constantly, he was benched and wasn’t fielded for play for months. He was replaced by Brandon, who was better in terms of club loyalty, passion for the game, persistence to win, respect, team spirit, sportsmanship, dedication and hard work, even though he was more talented than Brandon.
Mr. Robson, his coach at then, in great disappointment said, “Stanley is failing because of his pride, attitude and ego, both on the pitch, in the dressing room and off the pitch; it’s really crazy. Seeing someone so gifted yet so lazy disgusts me. It wouldn’t matter if he played in the moon; right now, as it is, he wouldn’t be able to score a single goal if he tried. Honestly, I do not see a great future for him in football, he would fail. What a waste of talent, what a waste of money!”
Well, a few years down the line, Mr. Robson’s career prediction for Stanley wasn’t any different. Stanley didn’t listen to good advice or anyone. He partied hard, got more distracted, continued to play below average, got out of form, drifted from one club to another, in a slow downward spiral towards obscurity and finally he retired from football in his late twenties.
In his thirties, during an interview, he admitted his past mistakes. Looking back, he was full of regret. “I was very young and I didn’t have the character to deal with the fame or handle it. I could have done better and listened to the good advice that came my way. I was carried away with the money, the girls, the attention, the fast cars and other luxuries that came with fame, forgetting that talent alone is never enough. Yeah talent is important. . . but what is more important is hard work, mental toughness, character and the desire to win,” he lamented.
No wonder it is said, “People are like icebergs…..only about 15% visible. The visible part is talent; the rest below the surface is character. The greater the talent, the greater the need for a stronger character to sustain it.”
Talent is our natural gift, ability or power. It is how we are hard-wired or who we are at the core. With talent, there is a kind of instinctive reaction, that’s what sets it apart from knowledge and skill which are learned behaviours that have to do with our experience and education.
We all aspire to be great, that’s our motivation, the reason why we get an education, and that’s what our dreams are mostly about. Even the layman on the street wants to be great too. But just as John. C. Maxwell said, “Talent alone is never enough”. This is where character comes in.
Character is basically an attribute or a quality that defines a person. Our character is our behaviour. This means that we are defined by a certain set of habits, qualities, attitudes and attributes such as integrity, honesty, loyalty, trust, faithfulness, care, love, politeness, perseverance, hard work, patience, respectfulness etc.
The Fact
Often, the success we assume to be the result of pure talent is usually the combination of talent and character. It takes character to have a good work ethic, to work hard, practice and sweat it out so that our natural ability is honed to the greatest extent possible. This is why sometimes, people who are less naturally gifted end up excelling and doing better because they work harder or practice more. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
It is said that:
- Talented people are often a gift in the world, but character protects that gift.
- Talented people have the potential to be difference-makers, but character makes them difference-makers.
- Many of us have talents but our characters simply fail us; dimming the brightness of our star.
- Anyway is no way for a person of character. You mustn’t make it or be rich at all costs; why die trying to get rich?
The Need
It is more important now to harmonize our talent and character because the standards by which people have traditionally been valued in our society – their character, intellect or skills – are fast being eroded.
Who is to blame?
- We can blame bad role models and some media personalities and celebrities with weak and questionable characters, who say that how they live their lives is their business, forgetting that there are young people who look up to them and would copy and emulate almost everything they do.
- We can blame the media and entertainment industry because by relentlessly emphasizing sex, beauty, wealth, fame, being ‘sexy’, ‘rich’ and ‘famous’ has become the most important accolade young people can aspire to, outdoing intelligence, success at school and character. This fandom for talent over character has continued to fuel the get- get-rich-quick-syndrome and the impatience to make it at all cost, be famous and have perfect bodies and looks.
- We can also blame ourselves for succumbing to the pressure and not having enough discipline and strong will to resist and say ‘no’.
If you are still having doubts, compare the values we had years before and now.
As the society has changed, so too have role models. We have also learned to make excuses for our role models or heroes with questionable characters or behaviour. We say, “He’s a sharp guy or she‘s a smart woman.” or we blame others, circumstances or the woke culture for their bad character.
We now ridicule people with good character; ‘the little Miss Perfects and goody two shoes.’
Gradually, we are being programmed and forced into accepting certain ways of thinking, living and acting, simply because that is the new normal, regardless of the consequences, repercussions, costs or discomforts and detriment to our society and the future. The fact remains that until character joins talent as a coin in our society, we will continue to have morally stunted individuals as role models and leaders.
I hope these tips helped.
To learn more about good character, you can read my children’s books and novels, which are designed specially, to inspire, educate and entertain children, teenagers, young adults and youths. They are educative, inspiring, sweet and fun fiction and short stories; that teach life lessons, good morals and character. There’s always something important to learn.
