To sum up the few last couple of days:
(Warning: self-important farts coming up)

1 Thomas J. Watson once said:
If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.
That sounds about right.

2 There is no way you can really know a person, in a short period of time.
By parallel, there is no way for someone else to know you.
So give up trying to draw them a picture of you.
All you can really do, is wake up in the morning, and say to yourself:
“You’re good. Just do good, and good things will happen”.
And hope for the best.

3 The only way there is in the world to be better is to find one or two people that are actually great, spend as much time close to them, listen and learn.
So the only talents that you really need are:
3.a Spotting great people.
3.b Listening.