How to measure talent? Money is the only measure scale of talent today

Do you consider yourself to have a talent? Do you consider yourself to be a talented individual? Do you know someone who is talented? If you've been nodding through even one of these questions, I have another question for you. How do you measure talent? What is it that you use to define the amount or quantity of talent that you or any other person has? Monetization or commercial gain seems to be the only valid and generally accepted measure of talent today. Here's why.

"A special natural ability or aptitude"

"A capacity for achievement or success"

These are meanings of talent straight from the dictionary. In true form, these definitions of talent are valid. They answer the question of What. But what about the question of How much?

Here is a pitiful analysis of how talent is being measured in the 21^st century. Point after point, much similar to needle after needle poked into the artist's heart.

It is unfortunate that the feeling that we get when we hear a talented violinist make our souls weep from within, cannot be described in words. Nor can the feeling be measured.

So if someone actually came and asked you "How talented are you?", you'd probably reply "I can play the guitar very well" or "I can paint" or "I can sing". "Oh really" they'd probably exclaim and go on to ask "So what makes you special from the other millions of people across the globe who too, can sing, paint and play the guitar? Isn't talent supposed to be special?"

In the 21^st century, the amount of talent that an individual has is compared to the amount of success they got by putting their talents of display.

What is the measure of the amount of success a person has got from his or her talents? Not by the number of smiles, not by the number of awes, not by the number of humbled souls, not by the teary eyes and definitely not by the number of artists who've taken inspiration from the talented individual. You know where we're heading, don't you. The amount of success that a person gets by putting his talents on display is by the amount of money earned by him or her. Simple.

That makes money, or monetization, or the commercial gain derived from talent as the ultimate measure of talent.

It's like saying that the most talented singer is the person who has sold the most number of albums, or the most talented painter is the individual whose painting sells for the highest bid, or the dancer who charges the most for a single dance routine.

So there you go, folks. Forget the dictionary meanings and forget the beauty of the word talent. We now have an answer to our question of how to measure talent.

Talent is measured by how well an individual monetizes his or her abilities. Talent is measured by how much money a person can earn from his or her abilities. Talent is measured by the level of commercial success an individual can attain from his or her abilities.

In other words, talent is measured by money.

If you asked me, I'd say talent is one of the most beautiful things in the world. A talented individual can use his or her ability to create a visual, auditory, sensory or any other form of experience that is special and can move someone's heart and soul. Unfortunately, my definition does not earn me or you, any money.