"Those who are blessed with the most talent don't necessarily outperform everyone else. It's the people with follow-through who excel."

-- Mary Kay Ash

This morning, as I posted the information about an upcoming talent show on the reader board at my daughter's school, I got cheers.

The secretary with which I have been coordinating these messages was driving into the school parking lot and cheered me on with a wave and a couple toots on the horn. Even though I was just posting a note on the reader board, she was honking as though I had completed a virtuoso performance.

The irony wasn't lost on me. It takes absolutely no talent to put letters up on a reader board. It just takes a little persistence to keep updating the board every week and a little desire to save a school employee some time.

A lot of life is like that. Talent helps, but those who truly excel have learned desire and persistence. Keyword - 'learned'. Those skills come with practice.

And a great way to practice is to give your time again and again. Along the way, you'll learn how to succeed because you're not doing it for a paycheck, you're doing it for your community, your neighbors, your family, your friends and yourself.

Talent helps. But those who excel rely on desire and persistence.

With no talent at all, I updated the reader board at my daughter's school.