Lucius Annaeus Seneca quotes “ Shun no toil to make yourself
remarkable by some talent or other”!
Talent is an innate ability which one is gifted with. Everyone, indeed, has
been bestowed upon with some talent. But some people can identify it and some
people take it unidentified to the grave. In short, identification of your
talent is what makes the whole difference. Mere identifying it is not enough
and it should be further developed by consistent efforts. Sometimes your talent
may be of immense use in your career field and if you develop it proactively,
then success is just a cakewalk for you.
Sydney Smith has convincingly brought forward the fact by saying,”
Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your line of talent. Be
what nature intended you for, and you will succeed.”
So this is the simplest way to achieve success!! Then why many can’t make it up
to that success? Because the problem lies in identifying: what is your talent!
The task of identifying talent becomes difficult given the number of
influences one has from one’s childhood. The parents wish their children
to achieve something without knowing what the child is good at. The teachers
also imprint the minds of the pupils by their perception of good & bad.
Peer pressure, further, adds to the influence which a person is exposed to in
an impressionable age.
Thus, talent gets hidden somewhere in the routine life and one tends to
be ugly duckling.
But once you know what you are good at and polish the same, life takes you to
places.
One can transform oneself and understand one’s true self only when one
has the ability to ward off these influences.
A mentor is the one who can help you identify your flair. If you do not have
one, then it is essential to find one who can guide you to find your
competence and further to enhance the same. A mentor is a consultant who
may not be related to you though he will be interested to see your growth.
Mentor could be a friend, a teacher or your parent.It is not only the
individuals who get benefited by the mentors but many progressive companies are
seen to hire mentors in order to help them grow.
Strong conviction in your ability makes you shine out in the crowd. You should
eye million opportunities which you come across; given your inclination. Once
you focus all your energies on your talent, you can make the best of any
smallest opportunity you encounter. You should not let go any opportunity
rather turn it into the golden one.
It is often said” When opportunity knocks, don’t let the fear hold you
back.Open the door and embrace the opportunity which has come forth”!
Once you identify your talent ,it is more important to master it. In this fast
growing competitive world you can’t relax with mere inherent talent. You should
master the art to fortify it further with all the necessary efforts. You
should have an action plan to exploit your talent and have to follow up
the plan, diligently . A close monitoring of your action plan with the help of
a written record is also a must while mastering your talent. Once a master of
your talent, you can master success.
Keep yourself updated with the field of your inclination. Keep yourself
equipped with the technological advancement in the field of your choice else
you will be left behind. Identify the people who have made it great in the
world, with the talent same as yours. Reading their life stories and
experiences will also make you understand what it took them to reach their and
how best you can have an edge. Get inspired from their stories.
Written reports of your journey at taming your talent helps in a long way, too.
Always have a journal which helps you understand where you stand. Monitoring
day to day progress towards mastering your talent is a continuous process.
Create milestones and verify yourself against those. If your lag behind ,push
harder to mitigate those.
No wonder with your continuous efforts you would transform the ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.