by Jeffrey B. Allen

Created on: August 20, 2009   Last Updated: August 27, 2009

Most of us are average people with a few exceptional qualities. We are all blessed with a special talent. For reasons beyond our understanding, certain things come as easily to us as eating, drinking, breathing, and sleeping. For instance, some of us can sing like an angel, play the piano, throw a baseball, fix an engine, or remember the lyrics to every conceivable song title. Others can count the cards at the blackjack table, and some could sell the shirt off another's back before that person knows what hit him: God given talents. We all have them. I know of no philosophical genius who has cracked the code as to why those talents are doled out the way they are.

The truth of the matter is, all of us are given, at birth, the uniqueness we need and the gifts of specialty to succeed and find satisfaction in a competitive, diverse, and amazingly dynamic whirlwind of a world. There are some people who find their gift earlier in life than others. They are drawn, at an early age, to certain vocations, occupations, quests and challenges. A good example is Lance Armstrong, (he has won the Tour de France cycle race seven straight times), or Amelia Earhart (she disappeared in 1937 attempting to be the first woman aviator to fly around the world)

Yet, there are those of us who struggle to find a place in the economic quagmire where our talents can be rewarding. If that's the case, maybe you are looking in the wrong place. You need to search deep inside yourself, because you are probably already using your gift. You just don't know it. Discovering your special talent and lifting it out of obscurity is the key.

Passion for that discovery has seen many an obscure talent turned to legacy. Take Jim Henson and the Muppets, or Walt Disney, who was a pretty good cartoonist. Better yet, look at Bethlehem Pennsylvania's Music Festival. It started in 1984 with one man's idea: a tiny spark triggered by a love for music and a personal need to organize and motivate others. Today, Musikfest is the largest and most unique music festival of its kind in the country. The person who founded it has never made one dime from it. The entire festival has been built and organized by volunteers; 2025 of them, to be exact.

Do not, for one minute, think your talent has to lead to notoriety or monetary riches, because chances are it won't. If you recognize your gift and embrace it, it will give you inner strength and confidence. It will make you proud and passionate, regardless of the rewards you receive

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