[shadowrunner]

Here's the answer to all your worries: The Sex Pistols.

Yes, the punk band. Those misbehaving misfits that couldn't play their musical instruments and yet went on to change music forever.

The Sex Pistols succeeded with barely a shred of skill or talent because they were on a mission and executed it with ferocity.

No talent is required to make a difference. Just piss and vinegar and a grand vision. The Sex Pistols prove it.

[wonderzombie]

It's a nice story, but for every Sex Pistols there are a bajillion other talentless bands who executed their vision with ferocity and never went anywhere.

This is assuming one accepts your definition of talent. Is it true that they had no talent? If they couldn't play their instruments, sing, or write lyrics, why did anyone listen to them? There had to be something there. If anything I might say it requires substantially more talent to overcome an utter lack of skill in order to excel.

Also, all else being equal, additional skill or talent won't hurt.

Bottom line: the stories you hear about people who go from nothing to incredible success are outliers. I think determination is absolutely underestimated relative to raw talent, but that determination should be leveraged in service of developing skill and/or harnessing talent, not in lieu of skill or talent.

[shadowrunner]

Frontman Johnny Rotten did eventually get good at singing, but he made history and a million bucks along the way.

[chrisdevereux]

...as long as somebody else is telling you what to do.

The Sex Pistols were really the creation of their manager Malcolm McClaren. Which really is kind of apt, because if you don't cultivate your talents, your successes all depend on someone or something else.

Piss and vinegar definitely helps though.