The Talent of Giving

[Rocky]

All people have talent. Some people have artistic ability, others have leadership qualities, and others may have athletic ability. Some people are talented cooks and others have strong business minds. Some peoples talent may be that they are very strong willed and persistent. The fact is, all people have some talent. Some people struggle to realize their talents and abilities, but they do have them. A trait of successful people is that they are able to recognize their talents. Once they recognize their talents they take an inventory of their talents and weaknesses. Successful people are then able to play to their strengths. They leverage the talents and strengths of other people to overcome their weaknesses. That seems like a pretty simple formula. However, there is a whole lot more to it than that.

Some people really struggle to find their true talent. There are numerous reasons for this. Some people struggle with confidence and self esteem. Others have battles with their ego. Many people get caught up in life and circumstances become a real hindrance. They get caught up in the day to day struggle to make a living and life becomes too hectic to pursue their talents and passion. Whatever the reason may be, some people have a very difficult time realizing their true talents and abilities.

The successful people I have met seem to have a very good understanding of their talents. They pursue their talents and seem to really enjoy life and work. I once heard that if you do what love you will not have to work a day in your life. That makes a lot of sense. If you pursue your dreams and play to your talents, then you are likely to do what you love doing. It is not work if you are truly enjoying what you do. It becomes work when the joy leaves. So, what is it that allows you to continue to play to your talents and enjoy what you are doing? The answer is really quite simple. To keep the joy in your career and to keep your talents growing and improving you have to use your talents to serve others.

That’s right, you have to give to get. I am sure that there are many people that have a lot of money that are just not nice people, but the truly happy people that I know are the ones who use their talents in a way that benefits others. There is a lot of talk about abundance and the secret and various ways to become successful. They are all based on the premise of giving to get. That is how nature operates. You plant a seed and in time you reap a harvest. The harvest yields an abundance of crops for the seeds that are planted. You have to put in the work of planting and cultivating before nature will do her part, but by giving up front, you gain multitudes in the end. It is the same way with our talents. We have to use them to serve others. When we do serve others we reap the rewards of satisfaction for doing good for others and we reap the rewards of doing satisfying work. In addition, we often receive financial rewards as well.

So, how do you use your talents?

[David Zinger]

Rocky,

I appreciate your positive post on talents. You are quite talented. I think to be powerful talents must be used in the service of others or create value for them.

When we engage people's talents - we engage them in work. This seems to be the basics of Marcus Buckingham's strength perspective...your strengths are what engages you.

One of my talents is humor and playfulness so I do a bit of playful banter on this site. My presentations and teaching are loaded with playfulness...from banter with the group to playful approaches to new ideas and concepts.

I also am talented at expanding connections...Once again this site is expanding connections between people but also expanding connections with ideas and perspectives.

Thanks for the blog post and have a great weekend.

David