The other old saying goes: "success is 10% talent and 90% hard work". Which is both compatible with real life experience and more optimistic than what the article says: "without talent you're screwed". I strongly prefer the former way of saying this!
">Many theorists argue that thousands of hours of focused, deliberate practice is sufficient to achieve elite status."
Really?
I feel like any extended experience among a group of "practicers" would dispel this notion.