1) TALENTS - These are the competencies we are hard-wired for; our inborn, native strengths. From an early age, most children display areas of relative strength and weakness. Sometimes there is a very high degree of early talent, as in the recent case of Kodi Lee, the blind, autistic singer/musician on America's Got Talent. As a young child, I devoured books on Greek and Roman myths and then became engrossed in books about human potential. Even now, it's what I gravitate to when I have free time.
2) SKILLS - Skills are the competencies we develop as the result of experience. Through ongoing deliberate practice, we can correct errors and build on successes to hone our performance. Skills are what we drill on the tennis court or football field during practice; they're also what we naturally develop when we systematically pursue areas associated with our talents.
3) MINDSET - Our psychology cannot substitute for talents and skills but very much can enhance or hinder our access to these. I outline how this happens in the recent Forbes article, noting that life experience leads us to emotionally encode both patterns of conflict and success. When the relevant emotions are triggered, this can either hamper or facilitate performance.
A very important principle is that we are most likely to maintain optimal mindsets for performance if we are truly aligned with our talents and doing what we do best. Elite talent fuses all three factors, so that our mindset energizes our skill development and that makes the greatest use of our talents. This is why our passions often point the way to our purpose.
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