Discovering Your Talent

pharmacy

Talent is a natural endowment. It is inborn and not acquired later in life. However, it remains latent until it is activated.

Some people don’t discover their talents because they don’t even know that they have it.  Sometimes, it stares at the owner who may not recognise it.

Some people have more talents than others, depending on the purpose for their creation. The purpose for your creation is indeed a function of your talent, the vehicle or medium for expressing it and the people to benefit from it. “A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men (Proverbs 18:16).

A good way to discover your talent is to find out the specific activities or hobbies that you enjoy – teaching, reading, writing, telling stories, singing, travelling, etc. You find yourself doing it whenever you have free time. Note them because they are pointers to your natural gift.

Can you possibly make money doing what you enjoy doing? Yes. God wants you to prosper  with your gift.  Your hobby can be profitable. But there are certain services you render not for the money but for the joy of service. You reward will still come to you indirectly.

Listen carefully to what people around say about you. People close to you know what you can do and can tell you the things you’re good at doing. This is why when people approach you to help in doing something for them, you should not turn it down without a cogent reason. You can discover your talent through serving others.

During the national conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) in Kano, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi prevailed on me to serve the PSN as the editor-in -chief of the Society’s journal. I accepted the nomination with reluctance and fear. However, for more than four decades after then, I have successfully edited journals. If I had rejected that call for service on that day, I might have missed God’s plan for my life.

Sometimes, God will speak to you through people close to you. But you must be careful to listen to only the persons who know what God wants. Proverbs 12:15 says, “… a wise man listens to advice.” Pray to God to send you trustworthy counsellors.

In June 2002, another colleague, Paul Enebeli, visited me with the intention of encouraging me to write a book. He had seen something in me which I did not know at that time.  The book he had in mind was on fake drugs. I struggled to produce that book with eleven other contributors in 2004. However, the then Director General of NAFDAC persecuted me for producing the book and usurping the glory she thought belonged to her. The official launching was therefore cancelled. But my gift of writing books was stirred and I have written motivational or ‘life’ books every year since then. Today I have 15 books.

What do you find easy to do, which some people struggle with? Is it playing musical instruments, selling, caring for the sick people, providing hospitality,  organising events etc? Such activities are pinpointing your talent.

In 1972, I was elected assistant secretary of the Lagos Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria.  That service sparked off the secretarial ability in me. Thereafter, in all organisations I belong, I have served as secretary. I have credibly served as secretary of PSN, YMCA, DMGS Old Boys Association, Okija-in-Home Club (11years), and West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (13 years).

Is there a specific subject you like to study or discuss? Some like to read and talk about politics and government. To some, nothing excites them as sports. To others, it’s business or nothing. Where and how you invest your time is a clue to your destiny.

You also need to examine your lifestyle and character traits. Do you enjoy staying alone? Are you an introvert or extrovert? Do you enjoy cracking jokes and telling stories? Do you have many friends? Are you religious? These little things count in identifying your talent.

Are there activities you detest or  dislike? You must avoid them as much as possible. Don’t waste your time and energy on them. They affect you emotionally also. Some others may be enjoying them but life is too short to engage in activities that are not profitable to you.

Finally, pray to the Giver of the gift to help you discover your own, the medium for expressing it and the people to benefit from it.