"Skill, Drive and Motivation for Success" - Prof.M.S.Rao

“Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.” - Denis Waitley


People often confuse between skill and talent and between drive and motivation. While there is a thick line between skill and talent, there is a thin line between drive and motivation. Let us see both the thick and thin line.


Talent and Skill:

Talent is an inborn quality. It is an inborn trait acquired through parents. In contrast, skill is a learned one. You can learn by training, practice, reading, experience and observation. It is an irony that people run in search of skill without focusing on their inborn talents. Success can be easily acquired by focusing on where you are strong at. You need to discover your inner talents and passions to achieve success. However, you cannot downplay the importance of skill. When you emphasize on your talents and acquire skills related to your area of interest, you can taste success easily.


Drive and Motivation:

There is a thin line separates drive and motivation. Motivation is the initial action to start any work while drive takes you forward to complete the task. Drive lies within while motivation comes from outside. When you are passionate about something you get motivated to start off as well as drive yourself with pleasure in pursuing. You need to break the big task into small chunks to get motivated. You need to be driven to complete each small chunk. Thus both motivation and drive are essential to achieving success.


Paul, Steven and Ken:

“Enthusiasm releases the drive to carry you over obstacles and adds significance to all you do” - Norman Vincent Peale

When we look at three individuals – Paul, Steven and Ken, they have unique qualities. Paul has a great skill for writing. He can write any topic at ease. But he is a poor starter and finisher as he lacks motivation and drive. Steven also has skill for writing and has motivation to start off easily but fails to complete the total topic as he lacks drive. Steven starts with a bang and ends with a whimper. When we look at Ken, he is far ahead of both Paul and Steven. He has great skill to write anything and everything. He has motivation to break the big topic into small pieces and completes the task with drive. Therefore, Ken is successful most of the times as he has skill, motivation and drive.


To conclude, talent is innate, skill is honed, and motivation gives you momentum and finally drive takes you forward till end.

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” - Jack Welch


The End