Use What You've Already Got

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Use What You've Already Got
Tue, 12-30-2003 - 6:31am
Use What You've Already Got!

Celebrating our natural talents should be an easy task. But
for many people it’s emotionally exhausting. Why? Because a
lot of folks fight their natural talents for one reason or
another.

Perhaps their parents wouldn’t approve of their artistic
ability to paint or sculpt, because they want them to be a
successful doctor or lawyer. Maybe someone’s gift wouldn’t
seem to have the ability to bring the kind of wealth they
desire.

Sometimes people are simply afraid to pursue something that
seems to come so easily to them - shouldn’t success be
difficult? No, it shouldn’t and it isn’t. These are all
excuses. And all the excuses in the world won’t destroy
talent. It will be there, waiting for us to fight through
fear and "what ifs" until we realize what we should have
been doing our entire lives.

We have been given natural talents for a reason - to use
them to the betterment of the planet and those who inhabit
it. Have you ever noticed that when you engage in an
activity in which you are naturally talented, you feel
energized, excited and optimistic? That’s a sign that these
are the things you should be focusing upon.

For example, when I stand in front of an auditorium filled
with thousands of people, and speak to them about fulfilling
their dreams, my body is filled with energy - so much that
I’m practically buzzing all over. I’m so excited I can
hardly stand still.

Your job is to find out what makes you buzz and begin to
perfect it. Discover your brilliance in life and practice,
practice, practice. You must hone your natural abilities to
perfect them - concentrate on your strengths, not your
weaknesses.

Look at the world’s greatest athletes. They practice what
they’re naturally good at - and what they love to do - every
day.

You don’t see Michael Jordan sitting around trying to
decipher a strand of DNA. If that was something he was
talented at that’s what he would be doing. But it’s not.

He’s a brilliant athlete and businessman. He sticks to what
he does best and has reaped astounding rewards because of
it.

There are only two steps to success - discover your
brilliance and perfect it. Doing this will allow you to
receive the wealth you truly deserve.

Action Step:

In closing I'd like to offer an exercise to complete in the
week ahead: Differentiate between your strengths and
weaknesses. Then forget about your weaknesses and
concentrate on your strengths.

Business coach Dan Sullivan once said, "If you spend too
much time working on your weaknesses, all you end up with is
a lot of strong weaknesses." To make the definition crystal
clear between your strengths and weaknesses, I want you to
take out a journal or notepad and pen and ask yourself a few
questions.

What are some activities that you excel at without a lot of
effort, study or preparation? What do you do well that most
people find difficult? What can you do that people marvel
at/make "wow" comments about?

If you had all the money you could ever spend - meaning
money is not a concern of yours anymore - what would you do
for a career/hobby?

Now, you may have a list of 5 to 10 activities. On a scale
of 1 - 10, 10 being what you’re most talented at, rank these
activities. Your biggest rewards will come from spending the
majority of your time honing your talents in the activities
you’ve ranked 7 and higher.

Once you have your top activities - you should have 5 or
fewer - choose the one you love to do the most and practice,
practice, practice. Hone this talent on a daily basis. If
you love to paint, set aside time to paint every day. If you
love to golf, go golfing daily - even if it’s in your
backyard.

If you want to write a novel or screenplay, decide how many
pages or scenes you’ll write each day and do it. You have
been given talents that no one else has, that no one can do
quite the way you can. When you use them and perfect them
you are celebrating being alive and giving thanks to the
Higher Power who bestowed them upon you.
_________
Article submitted by Mark Victor Hansen - Co-Author of the
Chicken Soup For The Soul series of books. For over 26
years, Mark Victor Hansen has focused solely on helping
people in all walks of life reshape their personal vision of
what's possible for themselves.

Live With Passion!


Phyllis

Live With Passion!

Phyllis