Great bookreview in the Sunday NYT about ability and talent.
…Now here comes David Shenk with “The Genius in All of Us,” which argues that we have before us not a “talent scarcity” but a “latent talent abundance.” Our problem “isn’t our inadequate genetic assets,” but “our inability, so far, to tap into what we already have.” The truth is “that few of us know our true limits, that the vast majority of us have not even come close to tapping what scientists call our ‘unactualized potential.’ ”
At first it would seem that Shenk, the author of thoughtful books on information overload, memory loss and chess, has veered into guru territory. But he has assembled a large body of research to back up his claims.
MM: I know a lot of people who are very intelligent, but they don’t apply themselves or they have no ambition. This might be one of the reasons why people watch market porn on TV – for ideas to trade. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. You have to do your own work.
If you don’t believe that you can develop your own trading ethos, I will share with you that you’re not going to find one quick solution and be done in 3 months of reading. You may be inspired by certain material, that’s true. But that type of material is hard to come by and will just motivate you to work harder. There are no weekend seminars that will convert you into greatness.
To become a great trader, you need to work for years and years at it. Persistence and determination have paid me much larger dividends than any natural ability I may have had.