This is always a great topic. I have been on a championship-winning basketball team and I've been on a baseball team that lost every game we played. Isolated, hard work with no talent results in wasted energy. Talent isolated from hard work results in wasted possibilities. For greatness, you need at least a little of one and a lot of the other.
If you were to create a spectrum of greatness with a mixture of hard work and talent where there were 5 boxes, let's say, something like this:
| One | Two | Three | Four | Five |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% hard work | 75% hard work | 50% hard work | 25% hard work | 0% hard work |
| 0% talent | 25% talent | 50% talent | 75% talent | 100% talent |
Column 1: You might be able to accomplish some things, but for the most part, you suck, you lose, no matter how hard you try.
Column 2: You can achieve good things. You've got enough talent and tons of hard work that you could be anywhere between mediocre and great.
Column 3: You probably have the greatest chance of success here. You come to whatever it is naturally in a large degree and you are willing to put in work enough to be great. You'll most likely succeed.
Column 4: You're really great, but you don't have the work ethic. Even then, because you're so talented, you may still be great and people will hate how easy it is for you.
Column 5: You're the best in the world, but you don't have any work ethic or you've never been exposed to what your talent is. It's hidden in inexperience and no one, including yourself, will ever see what comes of it. Every single one of us is super talented in something that we have no idea we're talented in...I didn't know I could teach until I did...and it turns out I'm pretty talented at it!
Of course, this table is flawed. You could build another one where hard work is in line with talent. 0% talent and 0% hard work means there's no luck for you. You suck! Whereas, 100% talent and 100% hard work means you are a superstar at whatever it is you're doing and most likely everyone knows about you because with hard work, you get noticed, especially when coupled with extreme talent.
I have said many times that I love watching someone who is an expert at their craft. It could be most anything and the way one works with precision, leaving no waste in their efforts or actions, it becomes entrancing to watch.
So which is more important? It is more important to have some of both than to have none of either or neither. It is even better when you can have a great amount of talent and a work ethic to match.
So get out there and find out what you're talented at and do it...over and over and over and....