Talent Doesn’t Beget Success, Perseverance Does
Growing up, I wasn’t the most talented kid. Sure I had talent, but I wasn’t the MOST talented. I made the dance team but I wasn’t the star, I landed a part in the school musical but I wasn’t the lead, I got good grades but I wasn’t the smartest. I can continue for a long time.
Growing up we are put under so much pressure to be the “best”. Pressure from our parents, our peers, and the media. As we get older there’s even more pressure from trying to get into the top college of our choice to landing the job of our dreams.
We think we have to be the most talented in our field in order to accomplish the things we want.
I’m here to tell you that you don’t.
You don’t have to be the most talented programmer to get hired at Google or the most talented singer to get on The Voice or the most talented fashion designer to showcase at New York Fashion Week.
You can be the most talented person in the world but hard work always beats talent when talent does not work hard.
Your dreams don’t just come true because you’re the most talented, they come true after you work your ass off to make them come true.
In high school I was really passionate about fashion design but I sucked at it. I didn’t care though, I knew that someway I was going to work in the fashion industry at some point in my life.
A few weeks before senior year of high school started I was shopping at the mall. I spotted a graphic tee that really stood out to me. It was a graphic of a hand holding up a peace sign but the palm of the hand was shaped as the continent Africa.
When I held the shirt in my hand I immediately looked at the tag and on it described the mission behind this shirt: End poverty in Africa by 2025. Now this was a pretty big goal but i’m a pretty big dreamer so right away I felt inspired to help this company reach this goal. I bought the shirt, went home, and ran right upstairs to the computer. I looked up the company, OmniPeace. On their website I saw celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, and Zac Efron all wearing the shirt I just bought!
Whoa I thought, now I really have to get involved!
The ideas began to pour through my head as I was looking through their website. One thing stood out to me in particular. They had no jewelry in their shop, only graphic tees, a chocolate bar, and a bag. I had my winning idea. I would create bracelets for them and donate a percentage of the profits to their cause.
Did I think I was the best jewelry designer for this celebrity-backed fashion brand? Heck no! But did I care? Hell no!
I went for it.
I emailed my idea to every contact I could find that was linked to OmniPeace somehow. Day after day I would check my email. Nothing. One month later… still nothing.
Three months later… I received an email from the Founder’s assistant! She told me that Mary Fanaro, the Founder, would like to set up a conference call with me to discuss! What the what I thought?!?!
I prepared my notes before my call with her. I went over every possible question she may ask and I knew all the ins and outs about my strategy on how I was going to create the bracelets.
The call was a success! She was handing over the license to me to become the sole jewelry designer for OmniPeace. A senior, in high school, now is the only person who has the license to design jewelry for this celebrity-backed social fashion brand!
I was beside myself with joy. Now, I had to figure out how to execute on my strategy. I designed the bracelets using pen and paper, researched the right materials that would be cost efficient and of high quality, found a manufacturer, used my savings to pay for the molding and first-run, designed the packaging, and created my own logo as the designer. Seven months later and a whole lot of hustle later, I was ready to begin selling.
I started selling to my friends and family. Then began selling to my entire high school through word of mouth. After graduation I moved to Gainesville to start college at the University of Florida. This is when I knew I had to create a website to sell my bracelets to more people. I created my first website on the free Mac application iWeb and began selling online. I also got OmniPeace to post my bracelets on their website which linked to my sales page.
Within a few weeks I started receiving orders from all over the world! China, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, United Kingdom, and France among others. The first contract I signed stated my territory as the United States, it then changed to the world! I got written up in my school newspaper and was running a full business out of my freshman dorm room.
I didn’t land this opportunity because I was the most talented jewelry designer (I mean do you see the bracelets? They’re not super original). I landed it because I believed in myself and had perseverance. I never gave up and I continued to fight for my dream of working in the fashion industry.
This opportunity actually introduced me to the right people helping me land my first internship in New York City which later helped me get a job working for InStyle Magazine.
If you want something, you have to fight for it and not let anything get in your way. Don’t let others talent intimidate you, don’t let others opinions get in your head, and certainly don’t let your own doubts limit you. You are great, just the way you are. Focus on your strengths and use them to your advantage. And if you feel you are at a slight disadvantage to others who may be more talented than you are, then work harder and smarter.
Let no one out hustle you.
Dream big, believe in yourself and never give up.
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