“Hide not your talents, they for use were made, what is a sundial in the shade?” ―Benjamin Franklin
Who amongst us never questions their talents? As Artists and Creatives (as well as those who don’t believe they are either)…we are all quite critical of ourselves, our skills, our abilities. One bad day can send us reeling into despair of just how “little” talent we have. Each of us those have a potential image that we aspire to…if we did not, we would not be so critical. Right?!
Who or what is it that we aspire to, who are we destined to become, what is our true life’s reflection? We may have known it our entire lives, or we may only just be discovering the true riches of who we were meant to be.
We all have a unique talent – a natural ability that we can express in a completely unique manner. It’s like our DNA, because no one in history has ever had the same combination of natural talent and manner of expressing than each of us has right now. For this very reason:
- No one can kick a football and become a fashion icon exactly the same was as David Beckham has.
- Not one human in the history of the world has ever expressed their creative talent like DaVinci.
- No one can sing and dance, and express themselves the way Madonna has.
- No one will be able to express their abilities like Michael Jordan (even if they match his stats).
- No one will ever motivate and build a business in the same manner as Steve Jobs has.
It simply is not possible! Often when as artists we are involved in a show, some of us become worried if an artist with the same product is stationed next to us…I have actually experienced other artists leaving a show because they also made jewelry and were stationed by my side(happened more than once). They did not understand what I understand….that if we were both in our own studios, with the same exact components and tools, with instructions as to how to create something….the piece would undoubtedly be an expression of our unique inner selves and the two pieces would have their own personalities, as they must!
“Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.” ~ Pope John Paul II
I have a friend that has an amazing musical ability; I’ve watched her listen to a song or a piece of music, then sit down at the piano and play it again perfectly! She doesn’t find this amazing as I do, she has often said in answer to my astonishment, that anyone who loves music certainly has the ability to do the same. (I beg to differ)
I have a friend who is a photographer; I will catch him looking at something….in his mind he is creating a photographic image, considering the finest angle, wondering what the best frame would consist of. When he has a camera, I’ve seen him snap spontaneous pictures – not like some photographers that snap a million hoping to ‘catch’ what they saw – he’ll snap just two or three, then he can often look at them quickly and decide which one is what he was attempting to represent. He is always right, and never second guesses himself.
A friend of a friend is a remarkable designer, not of clothing or rooms, but of gardens. The full length of her tiny yard is magical in it’s complexity. She has plants I’ve never seen before, and they are all in the exact right spots, with the exact right adornments, flowering at the exact right time in concert with each other. She saw the garden fully grown before she planted it. She didn’t really “plan” it, she just knew what she wanted to see, and made it happen! She laughs when people ask her to help with their gardens.
“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” – John L. Mason
As Artists & Creatives, we recognize these people, we see them in ourselves, because as most people that have honed their natural talents believe “it’s so easy, anyone could do it really” unfortunately this is our biggest mistake. Because it comes easy to us, we tend to undervalue our own talents, making the assumption that “anyone could do it really”….but in reality NO one could do it really, because we each have our own unique twist on things.
Our twist on things is our creative fingerprint, no two are the same, although they may look similar, they have their own delightful curves and impressions – it is what makes our gifts so unique. We, each of us, have our own natural talent. Some of my friends have said they aren’t artistic, they aren’t creative; they do not know how to make anything exceptional. I guarantee them that they do, they simply need to recognize it! I know for a fact that one of them has a keen eye for finding amazing metal junk to repurpose into something else, I will often take her with me on excursions, because she will dig up something from behind and under something else that she got a quick glance of…she amazes me! Perhaps we know (or ARE) someone that is gifted at teaching, or maybe we have a talent for reading stories to children that keep them interested and captivated, maybe an outrageous organizer or a dog whisperer or an amazingly persuasive speaker?
Our special talents come in many forms; they might lean towards writing, art, pottery, sports, communication, music, or finding a good deal. Most often we do not recognize our special talents because it comes so easy to us, we make the assumption that anyone could do it and it’s ‘no big deal’. I promise you it is a big deal.
It is a complicated business, and we are very insecure, we actors. We all feel–and fear–we are going to be found out at any moment. Someone is going to point and say, ‘You are really not very good, are you?’ -Julie Christie
Imagine if you can a world where people have assumed their natural talents were no big deal, and never attempted to hone and cure them. What if Albert Einstein, Beethoven, Michael Jordan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Dame Judy Dench, Shakespeare, Martin Luther King Jr., Christopher Columbus, Joan of Arc, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or Steven Spielberg had turned away from their natural talents assuming that they were no big deal and that anyone could do it? Where would our world be right now?
Yes we are in fact comparing our natural talents to all of those amazing people! You know why? Because we are all THAT amazing, if only we would let our little light shine! Those remarkable people devoted their lives to developing their natural talents, and as a result they excelled!
Most all artists and creative people feel like frauds, we feel how easy our talents come to us, and we are continually wondering when we will be found out, that someone will catch on to the fact that we don’t really know what we are doing, because our talent moves through us, we don’t own it, we won’t claim it…yet it is ours. Throughout history the world’s most successful artists, inventors, scientists, entrepreneurs, writers, athletes, entertainers and other creative people have become successful because they have pursued their natural talents. They have allowed their light to shine, they cherished it, understood it’s power, and allowed their passion to carry them to where they were meant to go! This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine let it shine around the world.
I believe talent is like electricity. We don’t understand electricity. We use it. You can plug into it and light up a lamp, keep a heart pump going, light a cathedral, or you can electrocute a person with it. Electricity will do all that. It makes no sense. Electricity will do all that. It makes no judgment. I think talent is like that. I believe every person is born with talent.” ~Maya Angelou
So what if you really can’t seem to see your light, let alone make it shine? Then we start at the beginning. As R.W. Emerson said “Every artist was once an amateur”. Let’s start with the most important equation, don’t get scared, it’s creative math!
Our Natural Abilities + Our Distinctive Way of Expressing those Abilities
= Our Unique Talent
If we do not ‘see’ our natural abilities, we must rediscover them, or simply notice them and give them the credit that they so richly deserve. Ponder on the following to help determine the first part of the equation Your Natural Abilities…trust your inner voice.
- What intrigued you as a child? What did you love to do the most? Your most enjoyable moments…
- What ‘sense’ did you live through most often? seeing things that fascinated you, talking to yourself, did sounds strike you…
- What is the work or task that you’ve done effortlessly ever since you can remember?
- What have people complimented you on that you didn’t believe needed to be praised?
- What things do you have a real passion for?
- What is it that energizes you, what project/process/work that you could do for hours and not tire?
- What do you do when no one is watching, or listening?
- What types of ‘problems’ would your friends and family gladly pay you to do or fix?
- What would you do with your time if you won the lottery and could do anything you wanted?
- What would be the topic if you were forced to give a 15 minute speech on something you felt confident speaking about?
- What is your fondest memory of being you, having fun, not being something for someone else?
- What activities or tasks make you completely lose track of time?
- What is ‘that thing’ which you are so naturally talented at? Well? What is it?
Now that we’ve got that figured out, let’s move to the second part of the equation, Your Distinctive Way of Expressing those Abilities:
- What do you think is the quirkiest thing about you?
- What are the things that make you stand our when you are in a group?
- What is your favorite color and how much of your life is saturated by it?
- What is it that your friends and family often tease you about?
- What is the difference between how you express yourself with others and when you are alone?
- What do you believe are your key weaknesses? Often they are simply unique strengths in disguise.
- What do you do just for the sheer fun of it? What makes it fun?
- What are the unique ways that you express your abilities? Well?
Ponder on those, let them marinate in your mind, allow yourself to wander and wonder and be honest with yourself…..give yourself some credit, and allow yourself to own your Unique Talent. Let your light shine!
“Human tragedies: We all want to be extraordinary and we all just want to fit in. Unfortunately, extraordinary people rarely fit in.” ― Sebastyne Young
Each of us have a potential image of what we aspire to, who we believe we are destined to become. Each of us has a brilliance that we must share with society. Each of us has a true awareness of what we want from ourselves. Let’s again, imagine we could be Anything we wanted to be….what would that be? How do our Unique Talents help us with what we have chosen? We must let our light shine! If you are struggling to be an accountant when you are naturally an artist, or struggling to become a painter when you are naturally an inventor, you must refocus, and the only way to get proper focus (I asked my photographer friend) is to have the proper lighting! Find your natural unique talent, and live vicariously through it! Get the immense satisfaction that comes with being fantastic as something you truly love! Who knows, your true passion, when you let your light shine, may take you soaring to the top!
Every successful entrepreneur, sports star, award winning musician, world changing national leader or famous artist has tasted the exhilaration of expressing a portion of their true and amazing unique talent. How you ask? How can we do that too??
- You must BELIEVE that you are exceptional in your unique talent.
- You must actively PURSUE your unique talent.
- You must embrace every opportunity to EXPRESS your unique talent.
What you think and believe will direct what you say, and what you say will direct what you do, and what you do will create your unique and talented destiny!
I know I know…get to the challenge right? LOL….Well, hopefully we have all pondered quitting our jobs, and doing what we love, from last week’s Take This Job… We are all hopefully balancing our ability to Say Yes to Saying No, and with any luck we have gone optimistically into Unleashing Our Inner Moxie. Now if we have been doing all of those things, finding our Unique Talent should be easy! I quite optimistically believed that by the end of this post, most of us wouldn’t need a challenge; we will have already figured it out! So what’s your unique talent? hmmmm?
“As we begin to believe that we are exceptional, our lives shine ever brighter, reflecting who we are really meant to be!”
Good day ladies and gentlemen! I said Good Day!
JeaneMargherite Meria McMahon Murray Schintgen
(yep, that’s my name, don’t wear it out!)
I would love for you to “check me out” in my other realms…..
