1. PRYDERI

2.  "Talent" is a term you hear bandied about in all walks of life. It's used constantly to refer to celebrities and famous performers.  In show business, entertainers are often referred to as “naturally gifted” or "the talent“.  We even have “Britain’s Got Talent”.  Sports analysts will talk about an outstanding athlete's "raw talent“, while school children impress audiences full of parents at “talent shows”.  But what exactly is “TALENT”

3.  Talent can be defined as “"any natural ability or power.“ However does talent really exist?  Are some people born with natural talent or skills that others of us just don’t have? Or do we all have talent?  Is “talented” just a lazy way of us describing someone who is really good at something?  A natural ability can be great but is it worth anything without hard work and perseverance?

4.  Have any of you said the following or something similar?  “I'll never be as good as them they’re so talented”  “I’m just no good at Maths, I can’t do it”  “I can’t remember what we did, my memory is no good”  If you believe any of the above then you’ve already given up!  We often use talent or a lack of it as an excuse not to try!!!

5.  Memory – try to remember the following 17 letters  E Z H R B R W O P X W U N M D W Q  Difficult? Impossible?  How long would it take you to be able to do this?

6.  Now try to remember the following 17 letters  T H E C A T S A T O N T H E M A T  Still impossible?  Why is it easy?

7.  Why could you remember more letters?  This is called “CHUNKING” and is a technique used by psychologists and memory experts to recall large numbers of digits or numbers.  The reason you could recall the letters second time around is because your brain is programmed to recognise words and sentences since a young age and you have “practiced” the skill of reading  It’s all about practice!!!

8.  Understanding how to practice and learn is essential in getting better at something.  It is generally thought that to be excellent or an expert at something it takes 10,000hrs of practice.  That is as long as the practice is the right sort!

9.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla yer_embedded&v=O6xz4LZuTVY http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla yer_embedded&v=O6xz4LZuTVY  Does this 7 Year old show talent??  Yet on April 20 th, 2009 she was ranked Number 1 in the world  So how did she get there?

10.  Now you may have heard the following lots of times  “Practice Makes Perfect”  Is this true?  What if you practice in the wrong way?  What if you “practice” your maths questions but don’t know if the answers are correct?  Without the right guidance, teaching or coaching how do you know how to practice?

11.  Studies suggest that it is practice and not “talent” that is the key ingredient to success in any walk of life.  Whether it be music, maths, science, sport or art, the correct practice and hard work are the keys to success

12.  It means that we are all responsible for our own levels of achievement – we have the power to shape our lives as we see fit  If you are not good at something you have the power to change it!  If you put up barriers you will struggle to succeed!

13.  Practice  Motivation and Hard Work  The right guidance  With these three things anything is possible!

14.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPSi2XYg VKU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPSi2XYg VKU

15.  “Hard work without talent is a shame, but talent without hard work is a tragedy”.  Reflect on this quote for 30 seconds.  May Your faith support you