4 Reasons Hard Work DOES NOT Beat Talent

Summary

In this video, Dr. Justin Sung challenges the common belief that 'hard work beats talent.' He argues that while hard work is crucial, it often has diminishing returns and can even be futile without the right methods. Sung, a former medical doctor and learning coach, shares his experiences and insights, explaining why talent alone isn't enough and why optimizing one's learning process is essential for success. He offers two key strategies to make hard work more effective: taking time to learn smarter methods and broadening one's knowledge base to enhance efficiency and ultimately achieve better results.

Takeaways

• 💪 The belief that hard work always beats talent is challenged, suggesting that success is more complex and involves other factors.
• 📚 The speaker's personal experiences in education highlight the limitations of hard work without efficient methods, even leading to poor health and low efficiency.
• 🔍 The difference between individuals who achieve success with less effort and those who work harder but achieve less is emphasized, indicating the importance of talent and other factors.
• 🏆 The speaker's achievements in education, despite studying less than others, demonstrate that efficiency and effective learning strategies are crucial for success.
• 🔧 The idea that hard work can be futile without the right methods is presented, suggesting that effort alone is not enough to guarantee success.
• ⛔ The diminishing returns of hard work are discussed, explaining that excessive hours can lead to decreased cognitive ability and worse performance.
• 🚫 The potential negative effects of an overemphasis on hard work, such as stress, anxiety, and a belief in one's own inadequacy, are highlighted.
• 🛠 The importance of working smarter, not just harder, is stressed, using the analogy of sharpening an ax to improve efficiency in work.
• 💡 The concept of building 'assets' in one's personal skill set is introduced as a way to improve results without necessarily increasing effort.
• 📈 The script argues that success is not a simple multiplication of hard work and talent, but rather involves a combination of factors including processes and methods.
• 📚 Two strategies for turning effort into results are suggested: pulling back to learn and improve methods, and gaining more knowledge to work smarter.

Q & A

What is the main argument presented by Dr. Justin Sung in the video?

Dr. Justin Sung argues that hard work alone is not sufficient to beat talent, and there are additional factors and ingredients needed to make hard work effective.

What personal experience does Dr. Justin Sung share to illustrate his point about hard work and talent?

Dr. Justin Sung shares his experience of studying excessively for medical school and later studying efficiently for his Master of Education, contrasting his outcomes with those of his peers to highlight the limitations of hard work without effective methods.

What does Dr. Justin Sung identify as the 'missing ingredient' that allows hard work to beat talent?

The 'missing ingredient' is the use of effective and optimized methods or processes in conjunction with hard work.

Why does Dr. Justin Sung believe hard work can sometimes be futile?

He believes hard work can be futile because it can lead to stress and poor results if the methods used are not effective or efficient, despite the effort put in.

What are the diminishing returns of hard work mentioned by Dr. Justin Sung?

Diminishing returns refer to the decreased effectiveness of additional effort beyond a certain point, where more hours of work lead to less improvement and can even result in worse performance due to factors like sleep deprivation.

What is the relationship between effort and efficiency according to Dr. Justin Sung?

Effort is likened to fuel, where simply adding more effort (fuel) to inefficient methods (a poorly performing machine) does not improve results. Efficient methods are needed to make the best use of effort.

How does Dr. Justin Sung illustrate the importance of using optimal processes in hard work?

He uses the example of two lumberjacks, one who spends time sharpening their ax and one who does not, to show that investing time in improving methods (sharpening the ax) leads to better efficiency and outcomes.

What advice does Dr. Justin Sung give for students who are not seeing results despite hard work?

He advises that if students are not seeing consistent or desirable results with a reasonable amount of effort, they should look to optimize their methods rather than simply working harder.

What are the two steps Dr. Justin Sung suggests for turning effort into better results?

The two steps are: 1) Pull back and create time to learn how to work smarter, accepting short-term losses for long-term gains, and 2) Gain more knowledge about effective methods to improve efficiency.

How does Dr. Justin Sung's perspective challenge the common saying 'hard work beats talent'?

He challenges the saying by emphasizing that hard work alone is not enough and that the effectiveness of hard work depends on the use of proper methods and processes. Without these, hard work can lead to burnout and poor results.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 The Myth of Hard Work Overcoming Talent

Dr. Justin Sung, a former medical doctor turned learning coach, challenges the popular belief that hard work always beats talent. He shares his journey from medical school to achieving top academic honors with less study time than his peers, suggesting that there's more to success than just hard work. He introduces the concept that hard work can be futile without the right methods and sets the stage for discussing why hard work alone is rarely enough to overcome talent.

05:00

🔍 Diminishing Returns of Hard Work

This paragraph delves into the concept of diminishing returns on hard work, illustrating that while initial efforts yield significant results, excessive hours can lead to decreased cognitive function and worse performance. Sung emphasizes that in higher levels of competition, where everyone is working hard, mere hard work is insufficient. He also points out the potential for talented individuals to increase their efforts when needed, leaving those relying solely on hard work at a disadvantage.

10:00

🛠️ The Importance of Working Smart, Not Just Hard

Dr. Sung argues that hard work is necessary but not sufficient for success. He likens hard work to fuel in a machine; without the right methods, even more effort can lead to worse outcomes. He warns against over-reliance on inefficient study techniques like flashcards and stresses the importance of optimizing methods for better results. The paragraph highlights the need for a strategic approach to hard work, rather than just increasing effort.

15:02

💎 Building Assets Through Smart Work

In this paragraph, Sung introduces the financial analogy of building assets to explain the value of smart work. He suggests that investing time in sharpening skills can lead to long-term efficiency and success, much like a diamond that appreciates in value. He emphasizes the need to work smarter and then harder, becoming unstoppable by combining efficient methods with effort. The paragraph concludes with advice on accepting short-term losses for long-term gains and the importance of learning to work smarter.

🌟 Embracing the Full Equation of Success

The final paragraph wraps up the video's message by stating that success is not a simple equation of hard work times talent. Sung proposes a more comprehensive formula that includes hard work, talent, and processes. He encourages viewers to invest time in learning and improving their methods, offering resources for those interested in enhancing their study efficiency. The summary ends with a call to action for viewers to support the video if they found it useful.

Keywords

💡Hard work

Hard work is the concept of putting in significant effort and dedication towards a task or goal. In the video's theme, it is initially presented as a counter to talent, suggesting that sheer effort can lead to success. However, the video challenges this notion by arguing that hard work alone is not enough to overcome talent. Examples from the script include the speaker's own experiences studying for medical school and later, his master's degree, where he contrasts his own efficient study methods with those of his peers who worked longer hours but achieved less.

💡Talent

Talent refers to a natural aptitude or skill in a particular area. The video discusses talent as a factor that can give an individual an advantage, even when others may work harder. The script contrasts hard work with talent, suggesting that while hard work is important, talent can often provide a natural edge, as illustrated by the speaker's friends who studied less but achieved better grades.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency in the context of the video pertains to the effectiveness of one's efforts in achieving a goal or completing a task. The speaker argues that working hard is not as important as working efficiently, which means using the right methods and strategies to maximize productivity. The video emphasizes that the speaker's success in his master's program was due to efficient study methods rather than just the amount of time spent studying.

💡Diminishing returns

Diminishing returns is an economic concept that suggests that after a certain point, additional inputs yield less and less in terms of output. In the video, this concept is applied to hard work, suggesting that beyond a certain point, more hours of work lead to less improvement in performance. The script uses the idea to argue that there is a limit to how much hard work can compensate for a lack of talent or the right methods.

💡Asset

An asset in the video is described as something that can generate value or income without the need for additional work from the owner. The speaker uses the concept of an asset to illustrate the importance of investing in skills or methods that can make one's work more efficient and effective over time. The example given is of two lumberjacks, where one spends time sharpening his ax, thus becoming more efficient in the long run.

💡Encoding

Encoding in the context of learning and memory refers to the process of converting information into a form that can be stored and retrieved from memory. The video suggests that understanding and applying the concept of encoding can lead to more efficient learning and better retention of information. The speaker mentions a video on encoding as a resource for viewers interested in improving their study efficiency.

💡Optimal processes

Optimal processes are the most effective methods or strategies for achieving a goal or task. The video argues that success is not just about hard work or talent, but also about using optimal processes. The speaker suggests that talent can be seen as an intuitive ability to use these processes, and that anyone can learn to work smarter by understanding and applying these processes.

💡Cognitive ability

Cognitive ability refers to the mental capacity to process information, think, and reason. In the video, the speaker mentions that excessive studying to the point of sleep deprivation can severely impair cognitive ability, making it less effective to study for long hours without rest. This concept is used to argue against the idea that more hours of hard work always lead to better results.

💡Flashcards

Flashcards are a study tool often used for memorization and review of facts and details. The video points out that while flashcards are useful for certain types of learning, over-reliance on them can be detrimental to deeper learning and understanding. The speaker warns against using flashcards as the sole study method, as it may not be the most effective way to improve learning efficiency.

💡Strategic learning

Strategic learning involves using specific techniques and methods to enhance the learning process and achieve better results. The video encourages viewers to look beyond just hard work and to consider how they can learn more strategically. This includes understanding concepts like encoding and applying optimal processes to make one's efforts more productive.

💡Short-term pain for long-term gain

This phrase means accepting temporary discomfort or sacrifice in order to achieve a greater benefit in the future. In the video, the speaker uses this concept to encourage viewers to take the time to learn and implement more effective study methods, even if it means accepting short-term setbacks in performance. The idea is to invest in long-term improvements that will lead to better outcomes.

Highlights

Hard work is often believed to beat talent, but the speaker argues that this is rarely the case.

The speaker shares personal experiences of studying hard to get into medical school, but realizing that some friends achieved better grades with less effort.

Efficiency in studying is highlighted as more important than just the number of hours spent studying.

The speaker achieved top grades in his Master of Education with significantly less time spent studying compared to others.

Hard work can be futile if not combined with effective methods, leading to stress, anxiety, and a belief of inadequacy.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of teaching students from underprivileged backgrounds how to use their effort more effectively.

Hard work has diminishing returns, and can even lead to worse performance if overdone.

Effort without the right methods can be counterproductive, similar to putting more fuel in a poorly performing machine.

The speaker warns against over-relying on flashcards for learning, as they are not suitable for all types of cognitive tasks.

The importance of using the right methods to achieve consistent and predictable results is underscored.

The story of Kobe Bryant is used to illustrate the importance of hard work, but also the necessity of using effective practices.

Hard work should be about building assets, or skills that improve efficiency and effectiveness over time.

The concept of working smarter before working harder is introduced, emphasizing the need to optimize processes.

The speaker suggests that success is not just about hard work and talent, but also about the processes used.

Two strategies are offered to help hard work beat talent: pulling back to learn how to work smarter, and gaining more knowledge.

The importance of accepting short-term losses for long-term gains in efficiency and skill development is discussed.

The video concludes with an encouragement to learn and apply smarter methods to turn effort into consistent results.

Transcripts

hard work beats talent I don't believe

in Talent I'm here because I worked hard

my whole life hard work

Talent

[Music]

okay but

what if what if

it doesn't what if hard work does not

beat talent in this video I'm going to

be telling you four reasons why hard

work in reality very rarely beats Talent

at least in the way that most people

think about that statement and then at

the end of this video I'm going to give

you two ways that you can find the

missing ingredient that does allow hard

work to beat Talent the missing

ingredient that if you were to miss

would mean that your hard work will

probably be very likely to not beat

talent for those of you that are new I'm

Dr Justin sung I'm a former medical

doctor and full-time learning coach and

for the last decade I have worked with

thousands of Learners around the world

to teach them to learn more efficiently

so here's the thing about hard work and

talent when I was 18 trying to enter

into medical school I studied a lot I

tell the story all the time I was

studying 15 20 hours a day very very

very little sleep yes it is very

unhealthy uh no it is not a good way to

live I was not having a good time my

efficiency was terrible but at the time

18 year old me I really didn't know

anything about efficient study methods

at all I had you know like writing lots

and lots and lots and lots of notes just

a lot of time reading through textbooks

and writing notes and doing my flash

cards so when I was entering to medical

school I managed to get good grades good

enough grades to get into medical school

but I also had friends that were

studying like half the amount of time

while studying and they were getting in

some cases even better grades so you

could say that they were more talented

than I was but my hard work allowed me

to overcome that having said that I also

had a lot of other people around me that

were studying more than these friends

and they weren't able to overcome it so

what's the difference fast forward a few

years well several years I'm doing my

master of education I made some videos

about that as well and I spent about 15

of the amount of time studying for my

master of education compared to the

other people in my cohort I was doing a

full-time master of education and

actually putting in less hours than the

part-time requirement significantly less

time and at the end I graduated top of

my cohort I got the dean's award for

academic Excellence I was a top

graduating student my grades were

essentially perfect which is while I was

invited back to Monash to actually

lecture people on the skills that I use

and I continue to do that today but one

of my peers in the master of education

group I know that she quit her job to do

this full-time she was studying 60 hours

a week for this Masters and she was

still struggling and she did not manage

to get really even close to the grades

that I got so in her instance if she had

just studied even more instead of 60

hours maybe if she did a hundred hours

would she have caught up or beaten me

probably not because even as it is she

was putting in like 10 times the amount

of hard work compared to me and so

clearly the formula for success is not

simply hard work times Talent there's a

missing ingredient here in fact eight

years ago when I first started getting

into the education space I set up my

first company it was a non-profit social

Enterprise and the whole premise was can

we teach younger students in high school

especially from underprivileged

backgrounds some of the skills on how to

use their effort more effectively and

the reason I said that company up was

because I started noticing so many

students from these lower socioeconomic

positions that went to these less

academic schools coming into uni and

they were really really struggling and

it was certainly not because of a lack

of effort that they weren't doing very

well it actually felt from my

perspective that their hard work seemed

to be futile and the thing is that I now

know that this is true hard work can be

futile you can work hard and still do

poorly and what that causes is a lot of

stress and a lot of anxiety and a lot of

pressure and over time it makes people

believe that they are simply incapable

or not smart enough or not good enough

and that is just not true we like to say

that hard work beats talent because it

is a message of hope I get that but it

is oversimplified or at least people see

it in a way that is oversimplified

especially young people putting in a lot

of work they think the answer if they're

not doing well is to Simply work harder

and this is especially true in a lot of

Asian countries it's just part of the

culture so let me tell you the problems

with that approach reason number one is

that hard work has diminishing returns

when you put in a little bit of work if

you start from having nowhere to doing a

decent amount of work you're getting

really good returns however if you go

from having high amounts of work to even

more work you're gonna get less bang for

your buck every extra hour you're

putting in is giving you less results

and at a certain point it actually

starts being worse more hours actually

makes you perform worse so for example

if you were to study 180 hours a week is

that even possible let me just think

about this

if you were to study 140 hours a week

then you would be so so sleep deprived

that your cognitive ability is probably

in like 10 20 of what it would be at its

peak and so really at that point you may

as well have only studied like 10 hours

a week and you'd probably do just the

same now here's the thing in the low

levels of competition especially like

Junior High School it's enough just to

have some hard work because most people

around you are just not working hard so

if you're the person that's putting in

seven or eight out of ten effort well

everyone around you is putting in two or

three out of ten effort then you're

probably gonna do better than them but

this is not the case usually later in

life a lot of people feel this in their

seniors of high school going to College

University with things a little bit more

challenging certainly in you know the

professional world just putting in more

time and more effort is not really

enough to change things enough and part

of this is because usually for things

that are difficult and competitive

people with Talent are not doing two or

three out of ten effort they are also

putting in five or six out of ten effort

so if the difference in Talent between

you and this other person is too much

you just cannot compensate for it there

is not enough time to give and the other

side is that the person with Talent has

stuff left in reserve if they notice

that they're starting to fall behind

they can go from a 5 out of 10 to a 7

out of 10 and then beat the competition

again they have stuff left in the tank

whereas if you are at 9 out of 10 just

to keep up that's not going to be

sustainable and so far if this is making

sense to you then I would appreciate if

you leave a like because it helps this

video reach more people reason number

two is that effort is fuel hard work is

important but it's more of a

prerequisite for example if a machine

doesn't perform very well and it

produces low quality products with half

a tank of gas does it get better just

because you add more fuel to it so for

something like studying and learning

spending more time and effort on using

methods that aren't Well Suited and

optimized can actually make things worse

the classic example that I often give is

Flash card over Alliance we know that

flashcards are an excellent tool for its

purpose you can root memorize lower

order facts and details especially in

the short term but beyond that

relational thinking conceptual thinking

complex problem solving deeper

application or having better long-term

memory we know that this is not a good

tool but lots of students over rely on

this and actually in some cases that's

the only technique that they have in

their Arsenal and this means that we can

easily become overwhelmed because the

brain's ability to just prune out

unnecessary of relevant information

which is what the brain thinks about

stuff that you're just repeatedly

cramming in through flashcards your

brain's ability to do that is much much

more efficient and faster than your

ability to just do and repeat more of

the same flashcards you're never gonna

win against your brain in fact research

on forgetting curves shows that

irrelevant information can be pruned

from the brain within seconds to minutes

at most which is why it can feel like

you're constantly fighting against your

memory because you actually are but then

Justin isn't that better than nothing

well yes it's better than nothing but

it's not better than the alternative see

if we commit all of this time to using

that strategy and we're taking time away

from using other strategies that might

be more beneficial for different

purposes and so you can easily see how

just thinking harder work is the

solution can be problematic we can use a

method that's not giving us good results

and therefore we think the reason is

because we're not using that enough so

we just put more time and more effort

into it and so here's a rule of thumb

that I follow for myself and for any

students that I work with if the amount

of effort you're putting in is

reasonable for example if you're in high

school I'd say 10 to 20 hours a week of

studying is pretty reasonable and you're

not getting consistent or predictable or

desirable results then your methods can

probably be optimized in fact for most

things in life you should be able to get

pretty predictable and consistent

results with only a decent amount of

effort if you have the right method and

then once you know that this entire

system works and as well tuned then you

can start pumping more fuel into it more

time time and more energy and this is

actually kind of intuitive we probably

already know this a famous example is

the late great Kobe Bryant you know one

of the greatest NBA basketball players

of all time I guess some people would

debate that I'm not really a basketball

guy but that's what I hear but the thing

about Kobe is that he was always always

practicing he was like famous to be a

hard worker in fact there's actually the

story that I saw like a clip of before

where another NBA player decided to come

in early to training and then he got

there at like 4 or 5 a.m and he found

that Kobe was already there practicing

and then he you know trained all day and

then when it was time to go home Kobe

was still there training and then when

he asked him why did you train so late

that night Kobe is said to have replied

because I want you to know that I will

always work harder than you so after the

news I'm like hey cob like why why were

you in the gym for so long he's like

because I saw you come in

and I I don't want you to know that it

doesn't matter how hard you work that

I'm willing to work harder than you and

let's just take a moment to appreciate

that that is a badass statement and Kobe

is a beast of a man however what's also

implicit there is that Kobe one of the

best basketball players in the world

using one of the best facilities in the

world being coached by a world-class you

know coaching team is probably

practicing using methods that are pretty

good which is why Talent aside just

because you practice as much as he did

it doesn't mean that you're gonna be an

NBA player which brings me to reason

number three which is that hard work is

also about the type of work that you do

and the way that I like to explain this

is using the term asset when we work

hard we want to build an asset in

financial terms you can consider an

asset as something that allows you to

improve the amount of cash that you can

earn without needing to do more work so

for example example if you buy a very

rare and precious Jewel like a diamond

and that diamond increases in value when

you sell it you've made a profit that

diamond has by just the value of it

existing made money for you so it's an

asset so we should also think about

spending time to invest in our own

personal skill assets imagine two

Lumberjacks that are trying to cut down

some trees one may spend all of their

time and effort on just cutting down the

trees while another may spend half of

their time and effort on sharpening

their ax over time the person with a

sharper X is going to be more efficient

and they're going to win if these two

Lumberjacks are competing but both

Lumberjacks worked very hard in fact

some might even say that the one that

spent all of their time just swinging

their blunt acts around was working

harder which is why we often say work

smarter not harder I believe it actually

should be work smarter and then once

you've figured out how to work smarter

then feel free if you want to to work

hard as well well and then you become

Unstoppable and so even though hard work

can beat talent and even though the

statement hard work beats Talent can

give people hope in reality it can

actually do the opposite it can rob

people of Hope if you only see hard work

and talent as a two parts of the

equation to success whatever success

means to you because really the equation

should be success equals hard work times

Talent times your processes in fact you

could even say that Talent is simply

just the natural ability for someone to

intuitively use more optimal processes

think about that

and so here are two things that you can

do to help turn your effort more

consistently into results and give

yourself the chance for your hard work

to beat Talent first one is to pull back

if you're already at a hundred percent

capacity you do not have the time to

invest to learn how to work smarter to

sharpen your ex you need time to sharpen

your racks and what that means is that

sometimes you actually have to accept

the short-term loss you have to accept

that maybe right now in the short term

you may not perform as well as you want

to and I know that can be really really

difficult for some people but if you

don't spend the time to improve your

skills and learn how to work smarter

then you're going to be stuck in the

spiral forever there's going to be no

hope for you because you're never

improving the future version of you is

always stuck with the same problems with

the current version of your hairs plus

the new problems the future version of

you has inherited if right now you feel

like you're not able to stay on top of

things and that means that you are

giving the future version of you the

things that you weren't able to deal

with today to deal with later the future

version of you has all those same things

to deal with plus the stuff that you

weren't able to deal with before but if

your ability to deal with it is not

improving that backlog just build and

builds and builds and that's why we can

get overwhelmed and so this is what

short-term pain long-term gain really

means it doesn't mean just put your head

down and work hard right now so that you

can get a good result later it means

accept defeat now lose the game so that

you can win the championship which

brings us to number two which is to know

more things a lot of people will say

that I don't know how to work smarter so

I can't I don't know what to do but it

doesn't stop you from taking the next

step which is to learn what to do to

gain more information about that if the

reason that you can't work smarter is

you don't know how your next step is to

know how so maybe you're not taking time

to sharpen your ex maybe that time is

spent on learning how to shop an ax

which would lead to you being able to

sharpen your ex taking action is rarely

about changing your action immediately

most of the time especially for things

that are difficult or complicated taking

action means making the decision to

learn what action you should take so if

you want to learn how to improve your

learning or studying efficiency and work

smarter in that way then you might be

interested in checking out my video on

encoding or if you want to see me apply

some of these techniques in real life

for example like I did with my master's

program I actually documented that and

you can check out that video here as

well as always if you found this useful

leave a thumbs up share it with your

friends I appreciate your support thanks

for watching and I'll see you next time

[Music]

foreign

[Music]