Contrary to popular belief, success comes easily to some, not others. Why? Because many of you were born with certain skills and abilities. Unfortunately, the skills you’ve been granted with are the ones that you’re not using.
For example, some of you are natural born leaders. Some of you are people persons, making it much easier for you to succeed because there’s just something about you that draws people in. They automatically trust you, and would do anything for you, including handing you the keys to the company to rule as you please.
Then, some of you are natural sales persons. Some of you are natural writers, teachers, healers, and so on.
And while you needed training to hone these skills, to perfect them, the actual raw talent has always been there residing in you.
Yet, at some point, someone decided that whatever it is that you want from life should be unbelievably difficult to obtain. And yet, we all fell for this.
Meanwhile, the talents that you have been granted are the ones that you shut off and don’t use. That’s because all along you’ve been taught that if it comes too easily to you, then it’s not worth it to use those gifts.
You’ve been taught that everything you truly want in life should come at a price. You never learned the truth, which is, if you are born with a particular talent, then it’s possible that the universe is trying to tell you that that very talent that you have is the very thing that you should be using in some way.
Like you, I fell for the greatest lie ever told. That success only comes after lots of painstaking, bellyaching struggles. Until recently, most people didn’t know that I could sing because outside of the performing arts high school I attended, I pretty much kept that ability to myself. Many of you also have discovered my writing as well.
So now you ask, why in the hell have I spent almost two decades working in a position that I don’t like? The truth is astounding, but it will set you free. Here it is, point blank.
You see, at a young age, I discovered that I was deathly afraid to be on stage alone. So a dream that I once had of being a singer got pushed far back and I buried it deep down inside of me because I thought that I could never step onto a stage by myself.
However, I’ve proven myself wrong a few times already. I actually came in second place at a singing competition that I entered. Now I know that second place isn’t first place; but still, that prize alone should have confirmed the fact that maybe I could get over my fears. But unfortunately, I didn’t do that.
Writing, too, came unbelievably easy for me. Yet, it took one college professor to pull me aside after class and tell me that she thought I was a good writer. That I should think about doing something with it.
From that conversation, I discovered another gift. It was an ability I had never really noticed myself. It took someone else to point this out to me.
After that, I spent years doing just that, perfecting yet another gift. Only I became a closet writer, just as I was a closet singer. I’ve written hundreds of blogs, but have only published more than a couple dozen of them. I have a novel series that no one knows about, and so many other written projects just sitting on my laptop. It’s ridiculous.
Embarrassed, I didn’t know how to share my work with others. I’ve always felt a bit apprehensive and self-conscious about sharing these abilities with others. After all, these gifts just came to me. I didn’t spend years studying them the way a surgeon would have to study for years to steady her hand with the blade. I didn’t think these were valuable to anyone.
I didn’t think I was valuable, if I’m just being honest. I didn’t think that I could contribute anything of value to anyone else, so I kept these things to myself. I didn’t feel that I deserved the gift of singing or writing.
I remember hearing Lisa Nichols once say that she’s always been a speaker, a writer, it just always felt right to her. Those abilities always came naturally to her. Even when her college professors were telling her otherwise.
You receive clues along the way. You just have to learn to tune in and listen. The truth is right before you.
Only recently, have I discovered a way to share my work with others in a way that could be beneficial to so many. And when you finally find a way to stop ignoring your abilities, things definitely become much clearer. It’s as if the universe is determined for you to do a particular thing.
As if we are all destined for a certain path, and when we veer from that path we just end up with a lifetime of misery, spinning our wheels, until we somehow get brought back around to that thing we were supposed to be doing along. Somehow, when you find that path again, things seem to fall into place.
Unfortunately for some, they never seem to find their path again.
I’m not the only one who knows this feeling and then wonder why I struggle. You spend so much time struggling your way through things that you’re not supposed to be necessarily doing. But the thing that comes naturally to you you run away from it. Maybe you shy away because you’re not sure if you can handle that road and everything that comes with it.
And because it comes easily, you don’t feel that you deserve it. Then you spend so time banging your head, trying to make something work that just isn’t meant to work. It’s like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It just doesn’t fit. Yet, you still try to make it fit, tearing up your hands and your nerves in the process.
You may eventually start to make a little headway too, but it’s never what it really could be. And is the toil of it all ever worth it? You think so because you’ve been told that everything comes with hard work. You’ve never been told the truth, which is that some things should come easily to you.
So as someone who’s lost almost two decades doing work that I really didn’t enjoy doing, all I can say is, let’s stop pushing our natural talents away, whatever those gifts are.
Pay attention to those things that come easily to you because these things could be the gateway to something greater. They could be the bridge to that soulmate, or that kindred spirit you seek. Your gifts could be the catalyst to someone else’s potential greatness.
So I say again, that the path to where you want to be, the path to your greatness doesn’t always lie in hard work, but in recognizing your natural abilities. And for the love of God, actually using your gift(s) the way you were intended to. The truth is before you, reaching out from within, waiting to show you the way. Are you listening?
Netia Everett is a Breakup Confidence Coach, helping you through heartbreak, lifestyle and other relationship problems. She’s also a YouTuber, Speaker, Author, and Entrepreneur. You can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.