Did you know in ancient times the word talent was used as a unit of measurement for silver and gold?
We are each born with talent. This talent has economic value. Historically, one’s talent was equated directly with pay. One’s talent was considered currency, which was compensated with silver or gold. Your talent would determine your wages.
Therefore, there was an economic incentive to build one’s vocation around his/her natural talent because this was the source of income. To the Ancient Greeks, Romans and other civilizations this was the norm. It was really common sense. If you had a talent for carpentry, why would you work as a butcher, baker or candlestick maker?
Unfortunately, this simple concept has been lost. People are not always encouraged – be it within family units and/or schools – to align their natural talents with a vocation. Some are taught – either explicitly or tacitly – that work is a chore to be endured. As a result, there are disconnects between what many people do professionally…and what they should be doing based on their natural talents. This misalignment costs individuals unknown fortunes and joy. The reality is this: A career is an opportunity for your talent to shine.
A common question to educators is “How do you find things to write and talk about daily”. However, teachers will generally tell you that ideas flow to them like a bubbling spring. Finding content isn’t the problem. Finding time to share everything they want to share is the challenge.
Teaching is only arduous when the teacher doesn’t have a natural and refined talent for teaching.
Think of it this way: Within each person is an unlimited amount of gold and silver (i.e. talent). He/she polishes and exchanges with customers a tiny piece of this talent daily for cash. A teacher has an unlimited source of income so long as his/her readers find value in his/her words. The same principle applies to any vocation. Your gold and silver already rests within you.
Yet, it’s common across industries for some people to find themselves in positions not aligned with their talents. They look outward for money rather than inward. As a result, work feels like an unnatural struggle. Talent alone won’t get us to where we want to go. Talent must be continuously polished with hard work, but building upon our talent is the starting point for career success. Study those who’ve excelled in business, government, and the arts and sciences. You’ll arrive at an inescapable conclusion: Success is a merger of talent and dedication to refining that talent in service to others.
(Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved)
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