Today, my boss ordered some food for me and Baker J! Since the food arrived after I finished my work at Wicked Cafe’s first location at Fairview, I sat down while Baker J was working on his stuff. I am sure you all noticed by now that Baker J is never a quiet type of person. That is especially the case when someone to talk to is around him. Hence, it was not a surprise that he brought up some random topics to talk about today as we waited for our food!
What caught my attention today was the topic of the relationship between talents and efforts. Baker J told me he was watching a short YouTube video that showed up on his algorithm another day. People tend to say that one can cover the differences in talents by putting in effort, so we must work hard to be good at something. I also heard that if we spend about 10,000 hours on something, we can be professionally good at it.
But that does not explain everything that is going on in the world! As I work at Wicked Cafe, I have plenty of chances to see many talented people in diverse fields, such as latte art, coffee roasting, baking, marketing and managing. At the same time, they are hardworking people. Then it makes me wonder–if so many talented people are also putting in a lot of effort, how do ordinary people ever catch up?
J told me that according to the video he watched, efforts are not the cure-all for everything. Everyone has talent, and much depends on what one inherits: physical characteristics, intelligence, wealth, education, environment, or even neighbours. It is because an individual inherits both genetic features and living conditions.
Then, does it mean that it is predestined whether I will be good at something or not? Well, that may be the case if I am trying to be the best of the best in the world. However, being good at something does not require me to have first place in the world. J said that what is most important is to find something I can like, even slightly. If I could enjoy something, I would suffer less from putting my efforts in and feel less pain when I try. If I try my best and work hard for a long time, it will make my path even smoother as I pile up the skills I acquired from my experiences.
I thought Baker J and the video he watched had some sound points. Perhaps, this story says something about Baker J himself. I would not say that I am sure that he is enjoying his job, but I am confident that his efforts are making his path a bit smoother. He seems to be working hard and piling up his experiences to gain skills. Will Baker J ever be the best baker in the world? I wonder, so I will need to see where his story goes!