I'm pretty good at what I do, and when people tell me they're jealous of my talent, and kind of hint that it's innate, I get a bit insulted. I had to work a shitton to get where I am, and comments like that makes it sound like I had it easy.

> I had to work a shitton to get where I am, and comments like that makes it sound like I had it easy.

Not at all, but you had it possible. There are plenty of people who are just not equipped to do whatever you do and will never be halfway competent, let alone pretty good at it, no matter how much training they receive.

We're all good at different stuff in different amounts. There's probably some stuff they can do which you can't, too. That's OK.

It's not that you don't have to work hard if you have talent. It's that if you don't have the talent, no amount of hard work is going to make up for it.

There are so many people in the world, so much competition. That to be "top" performer in whatever field you have to 1) have innate talent, 2) work your ass off 3) get lucky.

There are people who could work harder than you worked and not get to the point you are at.

The reality is probably a mix of both.