[The Dignity of Work] If You Want to Discover Talent, Try Various Approaches

Comedian Kim Min-kyung read the news that she became a national shooting team member. Kim Min-kyung, who first encountered shooting on the variety show "Undongddung," passed the qualification test hosted by the Korea Practical Shooting Federation just one year after starting shooting. Afterward, she went through the national team selection competition and made it to the final two in the women's division.

Actress Lee Si-young also became the runner-up in a boxing championship that selected national representatives a few years ago. Since there was a boxing scene in a movie, she casually learned boxing to shoot that scene, and in just two years of learning boxing, she achieved this amazing result. She became an amateur champion in one year. Before learning boxing, she said she never dreamed she had such talent.

I once read an article about a Cambodian woman who married into Korea. After marrying and farming in Korea, she happened to follow her Korean husband to a local billiard hall. There, she discovered her talent. Later, she became ranked third in the world.

Talent is an aptitude that allows one to advance far ahead of others even with the same effort. To become the best in any field, effort is of course important, but talent is also necessary.

There are two ways to discover talent. One is to meet a good mentor, colleague, teacher, senior, or boss who can identify your talent or strengths. When you meet someone who can recognize the talent or strengths hidden inside you that you cannot see yourself, your life can change. I once heard the story of baseball star Lee Dae-ho starting baseball. Interestingly, Choo Shin-soo, who was already a baseball player, happened to be in the same class and told him he seemed good at baseball and encouraged him to play. Choo Shin-soo discovered a talent in Lee Dae-ho that even Lee himself did not know, and through him, we met another star named Lee Dae-ho.

The other way is to try various things. Joel Gottler said, "See more, read more, and learn more. The more you know about yourself, the more likely you are to find what you can really do well." By trying various things, you are more likely to discover the field where you have talent.

Do you feel you have no talent in your current work? Try various things. Learn various things. Who knows? You might realize late that you have tremendous talent in art, piano, negotiation, marketing, business, or social influence... If you don't try, you will never discover your talent. If you try and find out you have no talent, you can still develop a good hobby.

Trying various things is more advantageous when you are young. Nevertheless, Moses, famous as America's national painter, discovered his talent when he started painting at the age of 76. Therefore, it is never too late to take on a new challenge.

Shin Su-jeong, Head of KT Enterprise Division