Do you know where you can find some of the most talented and gifted people that have ever walked the Earth? You will find them in the cemetery buried with their unused gifts. This is sad, but unfortunately true. We all have a gift. We all have that one thing that we can do very well that most people struggle with. Some may have discovered what their gifts are early on in life while others have discovered their gifts in adulthood. Either way, from the moment we are born, we have one. Most people go through life and never actually use it to its full potential. A lot of people see their gifts and talents only as a hobby and have not even considered making that their career. We tend to play it safe. We go to school, get a decent job, and work there for 40 years in misery hoping that one day we can retire and have the life that we have dreamed of. We then push the thing that we love and have a passion for to the side because we have not been exposed to how we can use our abilities to help create a better life for ourselves. Our talents then go to waste. What was meant to help change this world ends up being buried in the grave. Once you discover your gift (that’s a completely different topic), then there is something that you must do for you to begin to grow in it.
Use it! If your gift is a being a public speaker, then speak. If you’re a talented dancer, then dance. If your gift is to sing, then sing. Whatever it is, you need to start doing it at the level that you are at. Find out what it takes for you to become better at your craft and do it. If it requires you take classes, take the classes. If you need to go back to school to obtain a degree in a certain field that will allow you to take your gift to the next level, then do it. It does not matter how talented you think you are, you still need to put the work in. It has been said, “Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard.” I saw a sports meme that sums this up perfectly. It said: Steph Curry is just an Allen Iverson who practiced. That blew my mind. Your gift will take you places. This is why I make time to work on my craft. I know that if I make room for my gift, then my gift will make room for me in the presence of Kings and Queens. You must be diligent, consistent, and persistent. It’s like being truly committed to going to the gym and eating right, the results you want are going to come over time. Value your gift. Continue to improve and become better at what you do. If you do that, you will be more likely to be in a position to take advantage of opportunities that will come your way.
Don’t waste your talents. Even now I’m thinking about all the years I have wasted by doing absolutely nothing with my gifts. I cannot even imagine where I would be right now if I knew what I know now. You cannot change the past, but you can change the path of your future by choosing to operate in your gifts today. If you only have the opportunity to someway somehow touch the heart of just one person, you have just changed the world. At every level, there are people who need you to operate in your gift. Depending on what your gift may be, you will have the ability to change the trajectory of future generations because you were obedient and did what you were put on this Earth to do. Do not look down on your talent because it seems insignificant in the eyes of others. You have no idea of where your gift can possibly take you. Instead, just use it. Develop your gift, find ways to use it to help others, and watch how your life will begin to change for the better.
Shawn's Blog 