Add my name to the long list of posters here that genuinely think they have little talent. I played guitar for ten years when my little brother took up the instrumnet and in four months he was playing circles around me. People LOVED to follow me at open mics. That said, hard work does have its merits. Number one is memorization. There is no excuse for a forgotten lyric or missed chord except "I didn't work hard enough on this song." Hard work will also improve your speed and smoothness. Another thing that helps me overcome my limitations is to believe in myself. Plain old confidence. And I sing every song like it's the last one I'll ever sing in my life. Emotional involvement in what you are doing can make up for a (seemingly) lack of talent. I also surround myself with three extremely talent musicians - a bass player, another singer and my aforementioned bro - that help create a total sound that people find good. I don't dwell on the fact that I'm the weak link, I'm just part of a sound. We can't all have Leo Kottke's hands and Van Morrison's singing ability. And I am glad we can't. It's our diversity of talent that makes music the incredibly beautiful tapestry it is today. Keep playing, but don't stop working your fingers off either!