The document discusses how talent alone is never enough for success. It explains that talent must be combined with other factors like belief, passion, initiative, focus, preparation, practice, perseverance, courage, teachability, character, relationships, responsibility, and teamwork. Each of these factors lifts, energizes, activates, directs, positions, sharpens, sustains, tests, expands, protects, influences, strengthens, and multiplies talent. The document provides examples of successful people who combined their talent with these other factors and unsuccessful people who relied solely on talent. It emphasizes that talent plus the right choices is necessary to become a talented person.

1. TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH
Written by John C. Maxwell

2. JOHN CALVIN MAXWELL
Leadership expert, speaker, and
author
Founder of INJOY, EQUIP,
Maximum Leadership
The Inc. Magazine No. 1
Management and Leadership
Expert for 2014
A Dale Carnegie Course graduate
John C. Maxwell

3. Buckingham & Clifton, "Discover Your Strengths"
Talent:
Something that a person can do better than the next
10,000 people.

4. Joey Alexander (Jazz Pianist)
He taught himself to play jazz piano since he was 6.
When he was 12 he released his first album, for
which he was nominated for 2016 Grammy. He
became the first Indonesian to be on Billboard 200 c
hart, to be nominated for Grammy, and to perform
live on Grammy Awards ceremony.

5. Milli Vanilli (R&B Duo)
The German duo debuted with hit song “Girl You Know It’s True” in 1988. Inspite
their talent, their producer did not think it’s worth the time to develop them as
artists. Instead he made them lip-sync to a pre-recorded vocals and music and claimed
the work as theirs. This fraud was soon discovered and they lost everything.

6. Not all talented people are successful.
Some made it, some just wasted their talent.
That is why just talent is never enough.

7. Talent + Right Choices
=
Talent Plus Person

8. Talent
Plus
Belief
Passion
Initiative
Focus
Pre-
paration
Practice
Perse-
verance
Courage
Teach-
ability
Charac-
ter
Relati-
onship
Respon-
sibility
Team-
work

9. BELIEF LIFTS
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

10. Joe Namath (Football Coach)
His belief brought Jets, a team from
AFL, a smaller football league, to
beat Colts, an NFL team.
photo source:
ESPN.com

11. BELIEFS WORTH BUYING INTO
Believe in Your Potential
Believe in Yourself
Believe in Your Mission

12. PASSION
ENERGIZES
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

13. Rueben Martinez
(Businessman)
His passion for reading
got him to start a small
library in his barbershop,
which later became a chain
of book stores.
photo source:
macfound.com

14. FIRING UP YOUR PASSION
Prioritize Your Life According to Your Passion
Protect Your Passion
Pursue Your Passion with Everything You've Got

15. INITIATIVE
ACTIVATES
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

16. C. C. Myers
The company set a goal to complete a 140-
day government contract in 100 days.
Their bold initiatives enabled them to finish
in 66 days, which earned them $14.5
millions bonus for early completion.
photo source:
comstockmag.com

17. PUT INITIATIVE INTO ACTION
Accept Responsibility for Your Life
Examine Your Reasons for Not Initiating
Focus on the Benefits of Completing a Task
Share Your Goal with a Friend Who Will Help You
Break Large Tasks into Smaller Ones
Allocate Specific Times to Tasks You Might Procrastinate
Remember Preparation Includes Doing

18. FOCUS
DIRECTS YOUR
TALENT
Book Report

19. Argentina Dove Hunting
Although there are millions of doves in the
Buenos Aires area, hunting without focus
made John Maxwell and his colleague to
return with only three doves.
photo source:
cordobadovehunting.com

20. PUT FOCUS INTO ACTION
Be Intentional - Make Every Action Count
Challenge Your Excused
Don't Let Yesterday Hijack Your Attention
Focus on the Present
Stay Focused on Results
Develop and Follow Your Priorities
Focus on Your Strength, Not Your Weakness
Delay Reward Until the Job Is Done

21. PREPARATION
POSITIONS
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

22. Lewis & Clark Expedition
Lewis Merriwether was entrusted with the task of
surveying the Louisiana State. He and William
Clark were able to complete the mission in 3 years,
after doing a 3-year preparation.
photo source:
franceshunter.wordpress.com

23. PUT PREPARATION INTO
ACTION
Assess Your Situation
Where do I need to go?
How far is my goal?
What are the conditions?
What will it take to get there?
Alignment - Am I Lined Up Correctly?
Attitute - Am I Visualizing Correctly?

24. PRACTICE
SHARPENS
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

25. Charles Dickens (Author)
He left his job as a legal clerk to
pursue his interest in writing.
In the next three years he worked in
jobs that sharpened his writing
skills. He then started to publish
stories in installments, which
later became classic literature works.
photo source:
twitter.com

26. PUT PRACTICE INTO ACTION
A little extra effort
A little extra time
A little extra help
A little extra change

27. PERSEVERANCE
SUSTAINS
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

28. Vonetta Flowers
(Bobsled Athlete)
She aspired to compete in
athletic inthe Olympics for US
A. But after 17 years of trials, s
he never made the cut. She
later qualified for a bobsledding
team. Her skills and
perseverance led her to
become the first African-
American to win a gold
medal in a Winter
Olympics.
photo source:
history.com

29. PUT PERSEVERANCE INTO
ACTION
Purpose: Find One
Excuses: Eliminate Them
Stamina: Develop Some

30. COURAGE
TESTS YOUR
TALENT
Book Report

31. Winston Churchill
(UK Prime Minister,
1940-1945, 1951-1955)
In his youth he kept looking for
opportunities to do courageous
actions. He deliberately chose to
be stationed in dangerous
places during battles. His forged
courage proved to be valuable
for him as Prime Minister in
leading the British in the Second
World War, when the rest of
Europe was occupied by Nazis.
photo source:
albertmohler.com

32. PUT COURAGE INTO ACTION
Look for courage inside, not outside of yourself
Do the right thing instead of the expedient thing
Take small steps of courage to prepare for greater ones
Recognize courage can make you a leader
Watch your horizon expand with each courageous act

33. TEACHABILITY
EXPANDS
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

34. LeonardoDaVinci(Polymath)
Hewasaccomplishedindiversefields,
suchasinvention,science,mathematics,
music,sculpture,painting,anatomy,liter
atureandmusic.Hewasalwayslearning.
photo source:
leonardo-da-vinci.net

35. PUT TEACHABILITY INTO
ACTION
Learn to listen
Understand the learning process
Look for and plan for teachable moments
Make your teachable moments count

36. CHARACTER
PROTECTS
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

37. Hwang Woo Suk (Researcher)
He became famous for his research
into cloning that involved stem cells.
Later it was discovered that his
research was faked and he lost all
credibility despite his great talent as
a scientist.
photo source:
nytimes.com

38. PUT CHARACTER INTO ACTION
Don't give up or give in to Adversity
Do the right thing
Take control of your life

39. RELATIONSHIPS
INFLUENCE
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

40. Johnny Cash
(Musician)
He became addicted to
amphetamines and
barbiturates so much
that it affected his
performance.
Depression drove him
to attempt suicide. His
relationship with June
Carter saved him
from drug addiction
and helped him to
continue his career in
music.
photo source:
commons.wikimedia.org

41. PUT RELATIONSHIP INTO
ACTION
Identify the most important people in your life
Assess whether they are influencing you in the right direction
If your friends aren't friends, then make new friends

42. RESPONSIBILITY
STRENGTHENS
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

43. Dan Osman (Extreme Sport Practitioner)
Famous for free-style solo rock climbing.
Known for his recklessness and irresponsibility,
he fell to his death in 1998 when attempting a
world record of 1000 feet (±304 meter) jump
from rock to rock with improper preparation.
photo source:
vimeo.com

44. PUT RESPONSIBILITY INTO
ACTION
Start wherever you are
Choose your friends wisely
Stop blaming others
Learn responsibility's major lessons
Make tough decisions and stand by them
Live beyond yourself

45. TEAMWORK
MULTIPLIES
YOUR TALENT
Book Report

46. Flight Deck of USS Enterprise
Launching and fighter jets from a
carrier takes a complicated coordination
among different teams. Everyone must
know their duties and work together to
ensure successful launches and
landings.
photo source:
commons.wikimedia.org

47. PUT TEAMWORK INTO ACTION
Buy into the law of significance
Include a team in your dream
Develop your team
Give the credit for success to the team

48. BECOMING A TALENT-PLUS
Talent +
Belief
Passion
Initiative
Focus
Preparation
Practice
Perseverance
Courage
Teachability
Character
Relationship
Responsibility
Teamwork
Talent
Lifted
Energized
Activated
Directed
Positioned
Sharpened
Sustained
Tested
Expanded
Protected
Influenced
Strengthened
Multiplied
=

49. –John C. Maxwell
“As long as there are people in the world, there will be
plenty of talent. What's missing are people who have
made the choices necessary to maximize their talent.

50. Stephen Siregar
http://stephensiregar.com
Book cover photo: amazon.com
Text ©John C. Maxwell
Photographs ©Respective Owners