Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.

Jong contrasts the near-universality of aptitude with the scarcity of nerve. “Talent” is framed as a starting condition—many people can do something well—but real artistic or personal achievement requires pursuing that ability into uncomfortable territory. The “dark place” suggests the psychologically risky zones that serious work often demands: confronting shame, desire, grief, anger, or socially disapproved truths, and risking failure or rejection. The line also implies that talent has its own logic; if followed honestly it may lead away from safety, convention, or self-protective narratives. Courage, not giftedness, becomes the decisive virtue.