This article shows how important self-perception is for the development of academic talent and encourages researchers and educators to acknowledge this dimension more. Our emphasis is on mathematical talent; most of the empirical findings include Finnish Olympians or Pre-Olympians. Research shows a positive correlation between perceived ability and achievement. Gifted girls tend to underestimate their abilities in mathematics and perceive their abilities higher in language arts even when they perform equally in both domains. The findings from Finnish Olympians reveal similar stereotypes in parental attitudes. They prefer ability as an explanation for their success rather than effort. However, our studies show that females tend to attribute success to effort more than males. (Contains 1 figure.)