My mom always said "Being gifted and fifty cents buys you a cup of coffee." Obviously you can no longer buy a cup of coffee for fifty cents, but the point remains. No matter how talented or smart you are, if you are unwilling to do any work it's all for naught. We all like to think we're talented, but it doesn't matter how much natural ability you have if you're a lazy ass.
I've seen students with third grade reading levels learn to tell great stories because they try and listen and learn. I've seen brilliant kids drop out of high school and end up in prison because they thought their brains would do all the heavy lifting without any effort from their bodies.
Did you know Kurosawa's teachers thought he was slow? They never thought he'd amount to anything, and of course he amounted to Kurosawa. Know how? He studied, listened, learned. He worked every job available on set and paid attention to the rules of the trade. He wasn't a prodigy, but he did turn out to be one of the best directors ever to work in the business.
Talent can grow if you're not lazy, but you'll never get anywhere if you don't make the effort.
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