To this day my mom's unsinkable spirit is an inspiration to me. For nearly thirty years she's worked at the Library of Congress. Everyone knows Sameha simply as 'Sami.' Along with 500 miles of shelved books her closest friendships are cataloged in that library. They are as much the value of work to my mom as is the work itself.
The real issue is not talent as an independent element but talent in relationship to will desire and persistence. Talent without these things vanishes and even modest talent with those characteristics grows.