My experience (in working with clients and sport, in particular) has been that hard work is very important. Such that even if there is a lack of talent it can be compensated for with hard work and teamwork, but there is never really a substitute for hard work. Talent gives you a straight up theoretical advantage but means nothing if it is not put to best use through hard work.
Through hard work and doing your best, you develop a sense of satisfaction that you put enough effort in to get a result. Life isn’t always fair, so although the result may not be exactly what we had in mind at the outset, a result will be achieved nonetheless. This can be a tricky proposition because it involves rolling up our sleeves now for a result that will be future-dated and somewhat uncertain in terms of how it may ultimately look.
So often in life (as clichéd as this may be) it’s not always about the destination but more about the journey itself. This often involves learning about ourselves and learning about others around us, and more often than not, also the process of having to be disciplined and work away at something over time.
You can become self-disciplined, and being self-disciplined is a quality that normally leads to you being self-motivated. This enables you to do what is necessary without needing to be urged by somebody else.
In an age where we have everything we can think of at the ready and at our finger tips, essentially mocking the concept of delayed gratification, hard work is an attribute we cannot afford to be without in our society.