Talent matters, but talent has a broad definition.

Those were the words spoken by tennis legend Roger Federer during his 2024 commencement address to the graduating class at Dartmouth College. Among those sitting in the audience was Lawrence Calcano, CEO of iCapital, and himself a product of the esteemed Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He was visiting the campus to see the youngest of his three children graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and, serendipitously, found resonance with Federer’s comments.

Striking an especially poignant chord were Federer’s assertions regarding the “myth of effortless achievement.”

“Most of the time it’s not about having a gift, it’s about having grit,” Federer told the graduating throng. “In tennis, like in life, discipline is a talent, and so is patience. Trusting yourself is a talent. Embracing the process, loving the process, is a talent. Managing your life, managing yourself, these can be ta