The Talent Illusion
October 4th, 2026
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Early in my career, after five years on a trading floor, I started again at the bottom. I landed a graduate role at a major global advertising company. It was a huge opportunity, and it was terrifying, because I had no marketing degree and some of the people managing me were five years younger than me.
In my first week, I sat in meetings where people talked about CPMs, cost per lead and impressions, and the language flew right over my head. I didn't even know what an impression meant. Did it mean someone had actually seen the ad? I felt completely clueless.
So I did the only thing that made sense to me. I looked things up constantly, and I asked endless questions to anyone who would answer them. Being the beginner in the room turned out to be a gift, because it forced me to work out how to learn fast.
Nine months later, I was promoted. From the outside, that might look like a natural talent for marketing. I knew I'd spent those nine months being a sponge.
For years I didn't have a word for what I'd been doing. Then I read Adam Grant's book Hidden Potential, and he had a name for it. He also had a few other ideas I wish I'd known much earlier.
Last month I promised you a book review video on it. It's out now, and this issue covers the ideas from the book that changed how I learn.
In partnership with Kit
I grew from 0 to 15,000 email subscribers in a year.
And this happened because I stopped trying to do it alone.
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I always believed in collaboration over competition, and this is why I've been using Kit to grow my audience online.
The Talent Illusion
Grant's big argument is that how far we go depends less on where we start and more on how much we grow. The people who look naturally gifted usually have what he calls character skills, which are ways of learning that anyone can build.
In July I wrote about his chapter on discomfort, and in September about borrowing belief from the people who believe in you. Here are three more ideas from the book, and how I use them.
1. Be a sponge, and ask for advice instead of feedback
Grant calls the fastest learners "human sponges." They absorb more than everyone else because they go looking for input, instead of waiting for inspiration.
Asking for feedback mostly gets you a verdict on what you did. Asking for advice gets you ideas for next time.
In one set of studies, people who were asked for advice offered 56% more ways to improve than people asked for feedback.
Feedback still matters, but I think advice is underrated, especially from people a few years ahead of you. They have years of experience you don't, and one good conversation can save you months of figuring it out alone.
Takeaway: Find someone a few steps ahead of you this week. Skip "any feedback?" and ask "what would you do differently in my position?"
2. Make practice feel like play
Most of us think getting better has to feel like a grind. Grant points to something he calls deliberate play, which means turning practice into a game so you want to come back to it.
Burnout usually ends a new skill long before talent does. If practice feels like punishment, we stop, and we tell ourselves we weren't cut out for it. Sound familiar?
Takeaway: Pick one skill you're working on and add a game to it. Set a timer, keep a streak, or race your last attempt.
3. Become an imperfectionist
This was the chapter that hit closest to home. Grant explains that perfectionism tends to slow us down, because we avoid the very attempts that would teach us the most.
I put off my first YouTube video for years because I wanted it to be good. When I finally hit publish, I still felt awkward on camera. That awkward first video taught me more than all the years of waiting did, and the channel has since grown past 200,000 subscribers.
Grant's suggestion is to aim for excellence in the things that matter most and accept imperfection everywhere else. Your standards stay high where they count, and they stop keeping you off the field everywhere else.
Takeaway: Choose one thing you've been polishing for too long. Share it this week at "good enough to learn from."
This Week's Challenge
Think of one skill you decided you weren't "naturally good at." Public speaking, writing, AI, numbers, whatever comes to mind first.
For the next seven days, try all three ideas on that one skill. Ask one person for advice, turn one practice session into a game, and share one imperfect attempt with someone.
What's one skill you once decided you weren't cut out for? I'd love to hear it. Just hit reply, I read every single one.
To your growth,
Laurie 🙌
This is the book review I promised you last month. I walk through Hidden Potential and share my own story, plus the two ideas I didn't have room for here: choosing discomfort and borrowing belief.
If you've ever watched someone pick up a skill in half the time and assumed they were born with it, this video is for you.
You can watch the full video here.
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