UNLEASHING YOUR GREATNESS

… THROUGH YOUR TALENTS

By

EDOKA PETER-PAUL

Writer, Motivational Speaker &

Founder of Pillarious Foundation

DISCOVERING YOUR TALENT

What Is Your Talent? Your TALENT is your natural ability to do something- what you can do with joy and improve on it as you grow with it.

     Every human being on the face of this earth has talent or talents. And the reason why, is this: so that there will be what I personally call ecological (Natural) departments-where personnel’s will be needed to occupy, to function and excel. So, you must therefore identify what you have, so that you can get to where you were meant to be and occupy that position you were born to occupy.

Knowing it is also Discovering it. And this ultimately requires that you give yourself the discipline of been sincere with yourself: identifying with your strengths and weaknesses, and doing everything in your power, with the help of others too, to strengthen your strengths and (accepting and strengthening) your weaknesses.

     From creation, God in His wisdom has deposited talent(s) into our being when He breathed the breath of life through our nostrils into our spirit. That singular action of His made us unique as an individual and complementary as a group; designating everyone to do one thing or the other for the continuity of creation. Even those that can do multiple stuffs with different talents, are specifically good at a particular talent – and they excel in that more, while they work at improving the other(s).

     Your talent therefore, must be what you love to do, regardless of the immediate reward – for a little while you shall see how rewarding your talent’s exhibition will be. Thus, you should not set-out with the intention of  making ‘money’ from it, at its inception – you should ‘wear’ patience like cloth and perseverance like pair of shoes – this way, rewards will come running to your busy-open hands.

     Your talent and potentials had been with you since creation – because they are tools that God has given to you, tools that should lead you to greatness. They are tools in your hands that should help you to achieve your purpose in life. They are your best friend through the past years and will be till forever comes.

          What is that thing you love to do, either you get paid or not? What is that stuff that gives you joy when you are engaged with it? That could be your talent.

Have You Discovered Yours?

 I have encountered persons who mistake Interest for Talent.  You can have interest in what is not your talent, but you must have interest in what is your talent. Interest is the ‘force’ that leads you to achieve that which has drawn your attention. Talent on the other hand is the forceless ‘force’ that made you do what you ought to do.  Music, acting, broadcasting, motivational speaking, counseling – these and more are my interests. But writing (of anything: music, movie, script, lyrics, motivational/inspirational articles, and more) is my talent.

     Unless you have interest in your talent, it will be dormant and useless. And your purpose in life might not be achieved. And if your purpose in life is not achieved, then you have thousand and one question to answer from the Creator. Recall the scriptures recorded that God said: my Word cannot go out of my mouth and return to me without accomplishing what I sent it out to accomplish. In other words, you can’t be in existence and refuse to do what you were sent to do.

     So many of us are either living our dream in its quarter phase or pursing and living, at the same time, another person’s dream. My father was a soldier, I love the well ironed uniform and the respect that comes with it. Once while growing up I thought I would be end up been a soldier, but later I discovered that I can’t survive a day as a soldier-because of the nature of the job. But my father’s career almost bought me over.

     The life of a man is spent either pursing to succeed where his father failed, or striving to make a new path for those coming behind him.

KNOW WHERE IT’S NEEDED

     Your greatness is needed; this I am sure of.  Your greatness is needed here on earth, and much more, in the community where you live.  But, DO YOU KNOW WHERE IT’S NEEDED?

     In an attempt to ‘knowing’ your talent, you should also know where that talent is needed. You must discover alongside your talent, where it is strongly needed; where it will grow with time.

     For a start and even when it seems serious, your talent should be a fun-fulfilling tool. Since it’s something you love doing, it should be something too that gives you joy and full of fun while you are on it. But you must first give your talent out for free and for fun-like testing the waters. Enjoy sharing it with people whose input will help you to be better at it. Enjoy giving it out without asking for anything in return.

     At a point, when you have grown with your talent, it should be a money making venture – Even the Good Lord said it, “With the labour of your hands you shall eat.” Strategically placing your talent where it is needed will make it produce abundant fruit, thereby, fulfilling the demand and command of God – Subdue the earth …

     We’ve heard stories of bankers who later become fashion designers, we’ve heard of insurance brokers who later become broadcasters, we’ve heard of soldiers who after years of service in the force, left and become more successful in an entrepreneurial venture . Now, from all these examples, you must take from them one singular fact: that they were somewhere before they got to where they so belong.

YOU MUST START FROM SOMEWHERE – HERE

     Your present job is not meant to make you lose sight of your dream. NO! It is actually meant to help you reach your set dream – to help you realize who you are and gradually walk to where you really belong. But since time is not always our friend, and will never be- the moment you realize your ‘way forward’, the second you finally arrive at the MOMENT, that instant, take more stock of your time and set out and set a deadline for actualizing your dream. START NOW!

Your talent is needed where you are presently spending your time – for as you spend your time, so you must spend your talent – because with TIME you will return to where you will give account of how you spend your TIME. So you must not waste too much time planning how to spend your time. Make it prompt, make it now.

With the birth of social media, platforms were created where your ideas can be tested for free and someone somewhere can even pay you for thinking it out. That is to say, no matter your talent, if well groomed will surely be rewarding-financially, socially and emotionally. Even as you give your talent out for free and for fun, you are gaining experience, learning from your mistakes as you improve on yourself.

As you know WHAT YOU HAVE, you must know WHICH INDUSTRY you belong to. You must know HOW THEY OPERATE and WHERE THEY GATHER the most. As you know WHERE TO MEET them, you must know HOW TO DRESS for such meeting. You must have done your RESEARCH and be acquainted with some of their VOCABULARIES.

Because you do not know it all, because you want to know more, and because ‘iron sharpens iron’, you must go to where your likes are. You must mingle with those who have and are generating ideas like you. That is why we have ASSOCIATIONS – to ASSemble Our Caucus Toward One Notion-SUCCESS.

This is how to SELL IT, this is how to MANAGE it, this is how to IMPROVE it.

YOU MUST START SMALL - PLEASE

      The sun does not reach its peak the moment it was its turn to rule the world from the sky. Even with all its might in brightness, it rises at the wee hour of the day – the nano second between dusk and dawn - and makes its journey in gradual procession with pride and dignity and sure hope of ‘ruling’; until it covers the face of the earth and rules till it’s the turn of the moon and the stars.

      STARTING SMALL means starting from where you are, whatever the kind of job you are doing, whatever the course you are you are studying right now – start with it. The work you are doing and or the course you are studying right now, has little or nothing to do with your being great. They are tools in your hands to use, and to become what you need to become. Are you a cleaner or secretary or a receptionist; have you just discovered that your passion lies in listening to people and counseling them? Then, don’t quit your job, draw a GOAL-MAP, state clearly how much you will need to register for a course in the nearest institution, for the studying of a course in guidance and counseling.