Naturally, talent is often seen as a competitive advantage. Because those that have a particular talent for a certain task can effortlessly do that task better than everyone else who doesn't have that talent.
Someone who's born with a wonderful voice will wow the audience anytime he/she decides to sing. Likewise, a person born with solid physical attributes will naturally excel at sports while others struggle to barely reach the standard.
Traditionally, a competitive advantage is defined as the ability of an entity to outperform its rivals in reaching a shared objective.
I think sports is a good example of that. When a league begins, every player/team starts from the bottom with a shared goal of finishing first at the top.
Although, we all have our talents, it's no secret that talent can only take us so far. Because it is merely one aspect of the whole process. If we want to become an achiever or realise our potential, then we will have to look and build beyond talent.
Now, this doesn't imply
that talent isn't important. Rather, we're looking at building on top of or around it(i.e talent).
Underrated Vs Overrated
When it comes to achieving anything worthwhile, passion and purpose is mostly underrated. People view it as a luxury that they can't afford, especially with passion.
Unless we're dealt with a good hand, what we are passionate about is often buried on the background of our mind as we bare with the monotony of life just to get by.
As an effect of that, there's no time or incentive to create or find a purpose that we can work towards fullfilling. So a situation arises where talent is not enough to sustain motivation and performance.
And the qualities that could serve as fuel to continue during those times, which are passion and purpose, are also non existent.
I'm quite sure that we have notice this in ourselves or on other people, which is having a natural talent for something, but lacking the interest or drive to pursue it.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are people who may not have a natural talent for something, but they have a strong passion and a clear purpose that makes them overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.
My mind goes to Kobe Bryant. It is said that one of his competitive advantages was his strong work ethic. While talented players like Shaq were partying during the summer, he spent that time working on developing his craft.
A competitive advantage can be built on passion and purpose. Not only will it enable one to keep going when talent feels like taking a break and going for a nap, but it also allows one to see through obstacles or challenges.
In the sense that hitting a wall is hardly seen as the end of the road when one has a clear purpose.
In Closing
Of course, passion and purpose is not the but a competition advantage to build on. Another one could be learning and development.
Considering that we live in a fast changing world and keeping up to date with everything that is happening is almost impossible, this can put one ahead of most people as a competitive advantage.
However, I think passion and purpose is a better foundation to built on. Purpose fosters a long term perspective and mountains(as in obstacles) will eventually crumble into dust with the fire of passion.
Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.