It's Obvious

Want to figure out what you’re good at? Need to find a way to be useful to humanity? There is no shortage of books and programs designed to help you explore those questions. I'll save you a few hundred, maybe a few thousand dollars, and give you the answer. It's obvious.

Think for a moment about some of the best gifts you’ve received. Undoubtedly they were meticulously wrapped and presented by someone who loved you. They wore a huge smile and were brimming over with confidence when they gave it to you. They knew they had found the perfect present for you and were excited to see you open it. It was probably something you hadn’t asked for, hadn’t even thought about. But they did. They thought about you and knew this was something you had to have. When you think back on it, they were right.

We all start out with a special gift or two. I believe they were presented to us from God with that same enthusiasm and knowing smile, but maybe for you, it was someone else. As a blob of a kid you didn't know what it was, but you gurgled and squealed, happy to receive it. God didn’t tell you how to use it, or even what it was. The wrapping is part of the gift. You get to guess what’s inside by shaking it around a little and going through some trial and error.

Some people unwrap their present at a very young age, others wait until they are much older. After a lot of poking, prodding, staring and guessing, everyone unwraps their gift eventually, but not everyone knows what they’ve been given.  

It’s obvious.

Your gift is the thing you do well. It’s your talent. The thing that comes so easy for you that you mistakenly assume everybody has it. They don't. Your gift is the thing that you do nearly effortlessly and without thought. It’s frustratingly simple to uncover. You've probably been ignoring your gift because it has seemed too easy, or not grand enough, or you haven't felt worthy because you've been tricked into thinking your gift needs to be some complicated thing. Powerful gifts are not complicated. Your talent is easy to identify. How you choose to use it is the present you pass along to others. Once you’ve identify your gift, use it. It's insulting not to.