--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Talent is the capacity of doing anything…" description: "\"Talent is the capacity of doing anything that depends on application and industry and it is a voluntary power, while genius is involuntary.\" — William ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/william-hazlitt-326_application_talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything_1536614.png" --- # Talent is the capacity of doing anything that depends on… ![“Talent is the capacity of doing anything that depends on application and industry and it is a voluntary power, while genius is involuntary.” quote by William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/william-hazlitt-326_application_talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything_1536614.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/william-hazlitt-326_application_talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything_1536614.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/william-hazlitt-326_application_talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything_1536614.png) > “Talent is the capacity of doing anything that depends on application and industry and it is a voluntary power, while genius is involuntary.” [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Talent is a skill honed through effort; genius appears spontaneously without deliberate practice. **In simple terms:** Talent requires work; genius seems natural. Key Takeaway Recognize effortful skill versus innate spark. Themes effort skill nature vs nurture self-awareness Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career development - creative projects - learning new skills - overcoming imposter syndrome Key Concepts human potential psychology motivation Questions to Reflect On - Do you rely on effort or innate ability? - How can you nurture both? A Different Perspective Talent can be undervalued compared to genius. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Application](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/application/) [Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capacity/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Genius Involuntary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-involuntary-5713611/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Involuntary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involuntary/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Talent Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent-capacity-1410677/) [Voluntary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voluntary/) [Voluntary Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voluntary-power-5713612/) ## Related quotes > [My retirement is both voluntary and involuntary. One reason, and this is voluntary, is the impact of television. All old movies are turning up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-scott/my-retirement-is-both-voluntary-and-involuntary-one-reason-and-this/) [Randolph Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-scott/) > [“Fear is involuntary, courage is voluntary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/fear-is-involuntary-courage-is-voluntary/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [We feel that our actions are voluntary when they follow a decision and involuntary when they happen without decision. But if a decision itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-feel-that-our-actions-are-voluntary-when-they-follow-a-decision/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Virtue is voluntary, vice involuntary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/virtue-is-voluntary-vice-involuntary/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I have one talent, and that is the capacity to be tremendously surprised, surprised at life, at ideas. This is to me the supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-one-talent-and-that-is-the-capacity-to-be-tremendously/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Talent is the capacity to direct concentrated attention upon the subject: "the gift of seeing what others have not seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/talent-is-the-capacity-to-direct-concentrated-attention-upon-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If your education, talent and capacity can do nothing; your body can do lots of things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-your-education-talent-and-capacity-can-do-nothing-your-body-can-do/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [I like working with great talent, in every capacity. I have a rule of thumb, in any creative endeavor - whether I'm doing music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malik-yoba/i-like-working-with-great-talent-in-every-capacity-i-have-a-rule-of/) [Malik Yoba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malik-yoba/) > [There is no such thing as talent. What they call talent is nothing but the capacity for doing continuous work in the right way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winslow-homer/there-is-no-such-thing-as-talent-what-they-call-talent-is-nothing-but/) [Winslow Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winslow-homer/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Tears may be considered as the natural and involuntary resource of the mind overcome by some sudden and violent emotion, before ithas had time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/tears-may-be-considered-as-the-natural-and-involuntary-resource-of/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“Those who support such survivors of abuse often find it difficult to hear the reality of those survivors' lives and experience and are often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-matthew/those-who-support-such-survivors-of-abuse-often-find-it-difficult-to/) [Laurie Matthew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-matthew/) > [Voluntary poverty isn't going around with some burlap bag around you and imitating the poor. It means being indifferent to the material, doing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/voluntary-poverty-isn-t-going-around-with-some-burlap-bag-around-you/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [“Any fool that had once helped you will someday make known to everyone that you were once a needy. No matter how broke you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/any-fool-that-had-once-helped-you-will-someday-make-known-to-everyone/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [The American way was for commerce, personal relationships, and religion to be voluntary. No one was forced to participate in something he didn't want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-american-way-was-for-commerce-personal-relationships-and-religion/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) ## More by William Hazlitt > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [No act terminating in itself constitutes greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/no-act-terminating-in-itself-constitutes-greatness/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-never-do-anything-well-till-we-cease-to-think-about-the-manner/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/man-is-the-only-animal-that-laughs-and-weeps-for-he-is-the-only/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Those who have had none of the cares of this life to harass and disturb them, have been obliged to have recourse to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/those-who-have-had-none-of-the-cares-of-this-life-to-harass-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-not-satisfied-to-be-right-unless-we-can-prove-others-to-be/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The world judge of men by their ability in their profession, and we judge of ourselves by the same test: for it is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-world-judge-of-men-by-their-ability-in-their-profession-and-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The best part of our lives we pass in counting on what is to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-best-part-of-our-lives-we-pass-in-counting-on-what-is-to-come/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) [Explore all 671 William Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More Application quotes > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [I've been in real estate for a long time and I always try to stay on the edge. I'm really excited about the partnership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-hammer/i-ve-been-in-real-estate-for-a-long-time-and-i-always-try-to-stay-on/) [MC Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-hammer/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“...why don't you take a picture of yourself next to a fucking job application? How about that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-wolf/why-don-t-you-take-a-picture-of-yourself-next-to-a-fucking-job/) [Josh Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-wolf/) > [Everything for us is a system. We don't think about it discretely as just as a piece of hardware, or discretely as an application...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosain-rahman/everything-for-us-is-a-system-we-don-t-think-about-it-discretely-as/) [Hosain Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosain-rahman/) > [To each eye, perhaps, the outlines of a great civilization present a different picture. In the wide ocean upon which we venture, the possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-burckhardt/to-each-eye-perhaps-the-outlines-of-a-great-civilization-present-a/) [Jacob Burckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-burckhardt/) > [Without application of the mind; there is no drive for taking affirmative action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mercado/without-application-of-the-mind-there-is-no-drive-for-taking/) [Joseph Mercado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mercado/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) [Will Advise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-advise/) > [At every juncture, advanced tools have been the key to a new wave of applications, and each wave of applications has been key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/at-every-juncture-advanced-tools-have-been-the-key-to-a-new-wave-of/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The effect of the discovery of printing was evident in the savage religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Application of power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-innis/the-effect-of-the-discovery-of-printing-was-evident-in-the-savage/) [Harold Innis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-innis/) > [As science is more and more subject to grave misuse as well as to use for human benefit it has also become the scientist's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-science-is-more-and-more-subject-to-grave-misuse-as-well-as-to-use/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you ask ... the man in the street ... the human significance of mathematics, the answer of the world will be, that mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassius-jackson-keyser/if-you-ask-the-man-in-the-street-the-human-significance-of/) [Cassius Jackson Keyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassius-jackson-keyser/) > [Technology, and applications of this technology, will continue to improve and evolve, providing unprecedented, global access to information, individuals, training, and opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-webb/technology-and-applications-of-this-technology-will-continue-to/) [Maynard Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-webb/) [Browse all 918 Application quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/application/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Talent is the capacity of doing anything that depends on application and industry and it is a voluntary power, while genius is involuntary.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Hazlitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything-that-depends-on-application/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Application" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything-that-depends-on-application/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/william-hazlitt-326_application_talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything_1536614.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/william-hazlitt-326_application_talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything_1536614.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/william-hazlitt-326_application_talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything_1536614.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Talent is the capacity of doing anything that depends on application and industry and it is a voluntary…” — William Hazlitt", "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": "William Hazlitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Talent is the capacity of doing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything-that-depends-on-application/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/talent-is-the-capacity-of-doing-anything-that-depends-on-application/#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 } } ] } ```