Inspiration vs. perspiration

They say 'a Genius is1% inspiration and 99% perspiration' . May be true. But I think we should think about how much these aspects count.

Let me start with a story. A truck broke down. the owner tried many mechanics but they were not able to fix the issue. Then, as a last try, he called a mechanic from a far off place. This new person just took a look at the engine, took out his hammer and gave a knock to the engine. To the delight of the owner, the engine started. A day later the mechanic send a bill of $100 to the owner. The owner got back to the mechanic and asked him for a more detailed split up. The mechanic replied.
The knock with the hammer: $1
Knowing where to knock: $99

I think my point is clear here. The very obvious counter argument would be the fact that he had worked for ages to get the knowledge. True. But if it was just hard work, the other mechanics in the story who were possibly more experienced should be the ones who should have solved the problem. In short the inspiration(forget the percentage) proved much more important than the perspiration or hard work

I am not discounting the importance of hard work here. But I am just trying to tell that smart work is much much much more important. Whichever may be the field, hard work alone can never reap benefits.

Edison made 2000 odd trials before he was able to discover the right filament for an electric bulb. He even tried to use his hair as a filament. But his zeroing in to the right element was based on perfecting his calculations. Now, do you think he would have been less famous if the bulb was discovered in 20 tries. Or does it add to his glory if he had used 5000 trials. In fact the only thing that glorifies the first 1999 trials was the success which he achieved in the 2000th trial. If he was not able to discover the right answer, this story would have been an unheard one. And that is what happened to all the other scientists who tried hard but were not smart enough.
 To give a more tangible example, How many people remember the 100s of mathematical professors who tried to solve Fermat's last theorem? Andrew wiles who had the element of inspiration against the perspiration of the other mathematicians was the one who was able to solve the problem. He did it at the age of 40 when there were people who spend a lifetime on this and were unsuccessful.

When I was trying to solve puzzles, there were occasions when I had spent hours on the same question (yes I was so jobless at my college :P ) and finally had the satisfaction of finding the answer. But when I think back, 99% of the time, it was just the last couple of minutes which mattered.This is not just a personal experience. There are other friends of mine who shared similar experiences.Here, what matters is the direction and not the amount of work we had put in. It is not the hare and the tortoise race anymore. A turtle, however hard it works, will never be able to to defeat the hare. Let us accept the fact here.

Success is never proportional to hard work. In fact hard work just does the role of a catalyst. Success is dependent on your abilities, how well you understand them and how well you use it. In simple terms, it is a function of smart work. We need to be good enough to do the right thing at the right place at the right time.It is just about identifying the opportunities to suit the talent. Sachin Tendulkar has succeeded because he played cricket. What if he tried to do MBBS? The smartness in him made him choose the right direction. This catalyzed by hard work helped him to succeed.

A lamp may be  full of oil, wick and may be very beautiful . But if it does not have the flame, what is the point?
Hard work is definitely important for success. But it is incorrect to assume that the one who works the hardest is the one who is the most successful.

P.S: This is my first blog. So forgive me for the mistakes :P