The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up

Consider that, yes, there are those born, seemingly, with natural talents. Some are skilled athletically. Some are born with charming personalities. But are those things really genetic? Let's ask the question differently. Is it all genetic?

While there is plenty of evidence that some are predisposed to certain things from birth, it is also equally evident that pretty much everything in life is based on learned habits and behaviors, and that people uniquely have the ability to choose, and to change. Those two things are uniquely human, and they are key to your success.

I recently saw Michael Jordan talking about his basketball career in his early days. You might be surprised to learn the letters "NBA" were not in his DNA. There were certain innate qualities he possessed, but reaching the amazing heights to which he attained had less to do with DNA, and everything to do with his determination to overcome his limitations.

Here's what that means on the street for you and I. We are each equipped with certain talents and abilities - enough to allow us to waddle through a mediocre life. But within each of us lies the ability to choose to move beyond mediocrity and then to act on that choice. Now, personally, I will never be a major NBA player. Too old, too short, and too disinterested. But in that at which I am naturally talented, I can be among the best, and you can do the same.