Requirements Needed To Have Success In Occult Arts, Aye Options

Ever since i have been acquinted with the occult arts I KNEW THIS. I knew that the occult arts are not for everyone; just like not everyone can be a highly paid lawyer, or a marathon runner, or a singer in a heavy metal band, a mathematician or have a phd. The list goes on and on. Now i think Bym touched upon this too in one of his recent posts so kudos to him.

So i've been thinking lately, what are the requirements in order to succeed in the occult world DESPITE how diligent you approach the magickal systems? What i mean by that is no matter how diligent ( and how hard) a man with low intelligence tries to comprehend a magikal philosophy he probably won't fully absorb it as well as an astute student of the arts.
So again, what ARE the requirements?

1) Gift/natural talent. What i mean by this is that magick is not a science, it is an art. Having said that, ( now i think Darmage talked about this too prior to this post) you need some form of talent in order to achieve success in the occult arts. Just as chess or soccer or computer engineering, you need to have a natural desposition for the art in order to be good at it so to speak. It needs to be your destiny.

2) Intelligence. You NEED to have ATLEAST an average intelligence to be competent enough to absorb all those thousands of books and theories on complex matters with complicated language, metaphors and hidden meanings.

3) A strong memory. Without a strong memory how could you possibly remember ( and digest) all those facts and theories and statements written by those who have written books on occult related subjects? Not just that, but how will you be able to build on your vocabulary ( which is quite important I think since it will help the magickian tremendously when it comes to studying books ) without a strong memory? Not just that, but a strong memory will undoubtedly help the magickian memorize the conjurations/rituals etc as well.

Make a post below showing whether you have all of these ( or not) and how it has impacted your magickal lifestyle.

Comments , criticism welcome.

So i've been thinking lately, what are the requirements in order to succeed in the occult world DESPITE how diligent you approach the magickal systems?

Ok, despite hard work. I agree though with the replies above... the guy who does the pentagram ritual every single day for five years has ten times my respect than the guy who is filled with knowledge and wisdom but has never left the recliner. There used to be a picture of a fat slob passed out indoors on a lawn chair before his TV set, with the caption "He's been like this ever since he crossed the Abyss." I am impressed by diligence, no matter what form it takes or in what subject.

But aside from hard work? You mean to ask about what makes a person predisposed to magic, sort of an occult aptitude?

This is the usual way it goes in folklore. Seventh sons of seventh sons, or those born under peculiar auspices, or whose rites of passage were interrupted, or whose parents had died young, are alll things said to produce occult power. In Italy there are witches who are termed Streghe or "natural" witches, and others who must learn occult arts. There are many other designations for people of arcane purpose within myth and custom, and to me this says they recognized that to be an exceptional magician you must be exceptional in some way yourself. The most notable modern magicians, for all their intentional eccentricities, were able to express themselves with some creative discipline: they are foremost poets, artists, and others who obviously possess a great talent apart from magic itself.

What do you consider success in the occult? Since you prefer the imperative tone, list three things you consider "success in the occult" and for each give an example of someone real or imaginary to whom this success is attributed.