--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the combination of reasonable…" description: "\"It is the combination of reasonable talent and the ability to keep going in the face of defeat that leads to success.\" — Martin Seligman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/martin-seligman-5268_ability_it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-tale_98279.png" --- # It is the combination of reasonable talent and the ability… ![“It is the combination of reasonable talent and the ability to keep going in the face of defeat that leads to success.” quote by Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/martin-seligman-5268_ability_it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-tale_98279.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/martin-seligman-5268_ability_it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-tale_98279.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/martin-seligman-5268_ability_it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-tale_98279.png) > “It is the combination of reasonable talent and the ability to keep going in the face of defeat that leads to success.” [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success stems from both innate ability and persistent effort despite setbacks. **In simple terms:** Talent plus perseverance beats defeat. Key Takeaway Combine skill with resilience. Themes perseverance talent success resilience mindset Mood determined optimistic Type motivational self-help When to use this quote - entrepreneur launching a startup - athlete recovering from injury - student tackling a difficult course Key Concepts growth mindset grit Practical Applications - set incremental goals - track progress despite obstacles Questions to Reflect On - How can you cultivate perseverance when talent feels insufficient? - What habits sustain effort after repeated failures? A Different Perspective Talent alone can be insufficient if perseverance is lacking; external factors also affect outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) ## Related quotes > [Hard work often leads to success. No work seldom does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-mackay/hard-work-often-leads-to-success-no-work-seldom-does/) [Harvey Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-mackay/) > [“Determination today leads to success tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aremu-sunday/determination-today-leads-to-success-tomorrow/) Aremu Sunday > [I believe in preparation. 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Happiness is just one-fifth of what human beings choose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/i-m-trying-to-broaden-the-scope-of-positive-psychology-well-beyond/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [It's a matter of ABC: When we encounter ADVERSITY, we react by thinking about it. Our thoughts rapidly congeal into BELIEFS. These beliefs may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/it-s-a-matter-of-abc-when-we-encounter-adversity-we-react-by-thinking/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [One of the things psychologists used to say was that if you are depressed, anxious or angry, you couldn't be happy. Those were at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/one-of-the-things-psychologists-used-to-say-was-that-if-you-are/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [Psychology is much bigger than just medicine, or fixing unhealthy things. 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One of the possibilities about that is that the 'I'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/one-of-my-worries-about-america-is-the-epidemic-of-depression-we-ve/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [The Fundamentalist Religions simply seem to offer more hope for a brighter future than do the more liberal, humanistic ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/the-fundamentalist-religions-simply-seem-to-offer-more-hope-for-a/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [If the point of the inner-child movement is to cure adult problems, it doesn't work. Reliving childhood traumas gives you a nice afterglow, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/if-the-point-of-the-inner-child-movement-is-to-cure-adult-problems-it/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [I don't mind being wrong, and I don't mind changing my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/i-don-t-mind-being-wrong-and-i-don-t-mind-changing-my-mind/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [I believe that traditional wisdom is incomplete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/i-believe-that-traditional-wisdom-is-incomplete/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) [Explore all 102 Martin Seligman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. 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I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is the combination of reasonable talent and the ability to keep going in the face of defeat that leads to success.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Seligman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-talent-and-the-ability-to-keep/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-talent-and-the-ability-to-keep/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/martin-seligman-5268_ability_it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-tale_98279.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/martin-seligman-5268_ability_it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-tale_98279.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/martin-seligman-5268_ability_it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-tale_98279.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is the combination of reasonable talent and the ability to keep going in the face of defeat that leads to…” — Martin Seligman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Martin Seligman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is the combination of reasonable...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-talent-and-the-ability-to-keep/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-talent-and-the-ability-to-keep/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```