How to Use your gift to serve the world

How to Use your gift to serve the world

Often times we use the word gift to mean talent and its correct for both talent and gift can be used interchangeably to mean the same thing; the skill someone has quite naturally 

to do something that is heard for others to do.

let me once again thank you for stopping by and spending few minutes of your time to read this article, its aim is to assist you unlock that greatness that is within you, because I believe everyone was born great but it is not all who lived out the greatness that is in them, some did not unlock the rhythm of the unsung music within their soul maybe due to ignorance, that Is why I have devoted most of my time to help people in this life’s journey.

Gift is the talent that God (some people call Him nature, infinite intelligence, great mind, or even the universe, but I choose to call him God) deposited in us without us working for it. That is why we have many unsuccessful talented people in the world, just because everyone is gifted in one area or the other in life does not automatically make them successful.

Stephen King said that “talent is cheaper than a table salt. What separate the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of HEARD WORK”.

If you have read my previous article on whypeople fail, you will discover that laziness is part of it, not of physical strength but mental prowess. The talent deposited in us is in it crude state, therefore might not be appreciated by others. It is your own duty first to discover your talent and then to refine it. Notice the word used in relation to finding your talent is DISCOVER, which means something has been there but covered. 

The unveiling of that which is covered is referred to as discover. Nobody can do the discovering of your talent for you, not even talent hunt shows can help you discover your talent. What they really do in talent hunt shows is to refine and show the talent to the world. When you go for an audition, nobody tells you to sing, dance or tell a joke, it is what you can do, it is like the kick of an unborn baby called talent within you that prompted you to do what you did.    

The gift that God placed within you must be developed before sharing with the world (see my previous article on; the art of winning, to know the process of refining your gift). An unrefined gift can do little or nothing to impact your world and even bring to you no benefit to you. Let me quickly outline here four steps in talent development;

·    Recognize you have a talent/gift: no matter how noon gifted you may look or feel, you must know that God deposited in you something unique to serve your world, this is the first step in the right direction, no matter how gifted you are, if you don’t recognize it, it has no use to you or the world.

·    

     Constantly use your gift at any given opportunity: there is what is called the law of use and disuse which says that; what you use grows and expand and what you don’t use diminish and disappear. This is true in nature and from history. I love the teaching of Jesus Christ on this topic in a particular conference where he gave an illustration that is direct and clear about three individuals that were given talents to trade with, two of them made use of their talents and got profit out of it while the last one did nothing with his but buried it inside the ground. In the end the one that did not use his lost it and it was given to the one that even had more because he used his talent.

“To him that had much more shall be added but to him that had little, the one he has shall be taken and given to him that had much”

When I started in the area of public speaking, I sought for opportunities to speak whenever the situation warrants and eventually I have had opportunities to be in leadership positions that demanded speaking. Today I do it as part of my profession.

·   

    Develop your gift through learning: get education in the area of your gifting, either professional training or self help. When I say education I do not mean a degree which in itself is good, but I mean to gather as much information that can be useful in the development of that gift/talent. My question to you is; how many books have you read in the area of your gift since the last one year? You may say I sing or I am into fashion and designing, so we deal with skills and not books, then my next question to you will be how many people do you know or have read about in your field of profession that is currently living your dream? What is the name of the most successful person in your field? Who is the most celebrated personality in the area of your gift in your country and how did he/she get to that position? Having the answers to these questions is part of education but formal training is also very important.

·    

      Have a mentor: in the area you’re gifted in, someone who is currently doing what you are dreaming of doing. This might not be very easy as these people might not have the time or chance to directly mentor you but try the other way of indirect mentoring through books, tapes and any other material you can get from these people you admire. If you can meet them one on one, great! Most of my mentors, I have not personally met them because of distance or their schedules, but I always keep up in touch with them through various means, most especially books and these days through social media.

·     

     Have a coach: your mentor can double as your coach but most of the time it is not always so. A mentor tells you what to do but a coach helps you to see what you can do and the latent ability within you to do it.  If you can, get a professional coach to help you in this process. I will be glad to do that for you either paid for or for free, just visit my web site for more information about that. www.maximumperformancecoach.com

“Life is entrusted to men as a treasure which must not be squandered, as a talent which must be used well”- Pop John Paul II.

Talent is like salt and light. It is not useful to the person that has it, its use is in serving others, adding taste to people’s lives and brightening their dark world. There is nothing more truly in a talent than to love people, I read a Chinese proverb that says; “a candle loss nothing by lightening up other candles”.

“Talent was given to us to serve the world for free but when skillfully put to use can earn a fee”- Felix Smith Aigbonohan.

Do what you know how to do best till the people around you knows you can do it, continue to do it better till they start telling other people about what you do, don’t stop until you start earning a fee for what you love doing.

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would not have a single bit of talent and I could say ‘I used everything you gave me’- Erma Bomgeck.

This should be our goal in life. Live your dream, unlock the greatness within your soul, that unsung music, that great sermon, that untold story, the world greatest designs in fashion and art, that best seller book, that great business idea, the world record setter in sports and that life you ever wised to live are all possible if only you believe.

Felix Smith Aigbonohan.

Peak performance coach

CEO, RAZOREDGE Coaching

www.maximumperformancecoach.com