Recently the NYTimes Magazine ran a piece written by the Freakonomics guys, Dubner and Levitt. The article was titled, A Star Is Born. Get it and read it. It provides a wonderful look into the traits of high achievers. No reason to go into a lot of detail here–only to say that everything in the piece applies to you and I in business–and is more profound than most ‘how to’ books.

As sales coaches, we are constantly on the lookout for information that helps propel the high achievers–and at the same time–watching for data that suggests what might get in the way.

My lesson from the article is that talent is not all it appears to be–something a person is born with naturally. Jordan isn’t Jordan and Gretzky isn’t Gretzky without a lot of grueling work. They might have been on the team without hard work–but they wouldn’t be icons without it. A lot of pratice. A lot of coaching. And a lot of goal setting. All the things we teach everyday.

If your results aren’t where you think they could be, then maybe you aren’t committed. (I ask myself that everyday since I believe that what shows up in our life is exactly what we are committed to). Dubner and Levitt will tell you that you haven’t practiced enough, haven’t worked hard enough, haven’t set the right goals, haven’t gotten enough coaching and feedback.

Read the article and give me some feedback. Anxious to hear what your perspective was.