I would like to start my today’s article with the quote of the legendary Albert Einstein, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
Is everyone really a genius? I think it is true if we have the special skills to know our true selves.
To truly know ourselves is the most important skill one can ever possess. Once you know, who you are, you know, what you need to do and how you should do it. It enables you to avoid a lot of frustration by exerting your efforts, time, and energy on something, which you should not do.
Our life is full of trials and errors but knowing yourself helps you do the best experiments, you become more confident and you find your purpose, and can leave a high impact on the world.
God has created every human being with a purpose. Everyone is genetically programmed with special characteristics and skills to serve humanity. It is in our DNA, our chromosomes. All you have to do is to find that purpose and discover your true self and God-gifted talent.
Don’t work to earn money. Work for your purpose and achieve excellence. Money is the result of professional and coordinated efforts. It should not be the purpose of your life.
In general, most of us have chosen our career or profession because:
- This is what our parents wanted us to do.
- Our friends had opted for it.
- It was very popular during our college time and people were earning good with it.
- It was our family trade, our grandfather, father, uncle or brother was doing it.
- A family friend was doing it.
- It was the ONLY choice due to our major in college/university.
- Got an offer ONLY for this job from any firm/organization.
- This was the ONLY easiest work, you could do.
- Etc
As seniors, elders, parents, and teachers we must encourage our youngsters and help them discover their personality, natural talent, passion, and purpose and then direct them towards achieving that dream, goal, purpose, trade or profession.
I am sure, you would have met people, who are engineers or doctors by qualification but they are singing, teaching or painting as their profession. Have you wondered why? Because they were singers, teachers or painters as their natural best talent but they went into the wrong fields. Fortunately, they realized their true potential and passion at later stages and opted for their career.
So the real question would be, how to discover yourself? How to find your purpose? What is your natural talent? The answer is simple….. you have to make your self-assessment and learn to know what you do.
“Do what you love and love what you do” is a simple key to the hardest puzzle. Don’t get confused between passion and a hobby.
When you wake up in the morning with a smiling face and are eager to go to work and do what you love the whole day without someone or something that motivates you, you are in the right profession.
But on the other hand, the feelings of a person when wake up half-hearted, thinking frustratingly, ah again doing the same job, the same workplace as a child unwillingly goes to school, you are either in the wrong profession or working in a toxic work environment.
1st step: Just think, what is that single thing, which you can do for hours and hours without getting tired, feeling hungry, getting bored, without noticing the time and you feel passionate about it and love to do it again and again. That’s what you are born to do, that’s your purpose, that’s what God has genetically programmed you for. That’s what is in your DNA, in your chromosomes and that is your true talent. Choose it as your profession.
2nd Step: Once you know your true natural talent and decide to make it your career and profession, the second step is to find around you those people, who have achieved excellence in the same profession. Make them your role models, your idols, your inspiration.
Find out, what exactly they had done to inspire the world. How did they leave their footprints on the earth? How did they achieve it? What did they study, where, how, and why did they do what they did?
The world is in the palm of your hands. You have Google, Wikipedia, Books, and Youtube videos to study about your role models. Study their biography, their habits, and their skills and learn from their experiences. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jack Ma, Warren Buffett, Stephen Hawking, Adam Smith, Eugene Fama, and Nikola Tesla are a few names. Find your own role models and make them your heroes.
3rd Step: Please remember that during the self-discovery journey, you may realize that you are on the wrong track. You might have to switch and opt for the right career path.
Once you know your best talent and you have your role models, then start adopting their habits, the way they had achieved excellence. Put all the wisdom and knowledge in your brain, blood, and sweat. Be consistent. Give your best shot. Study about your profession and master it. Don’t be mediocre. Continue your study for every single day of your life and translate it into practical efforts, which will gradually bring results. Perseverance is the key. There is no free lunch. There is no shortcut. There is no overnight magic. You have to write your success story with blood and sweat.
Have you ever wondered that there are hundreds and thousands of CEOs, Doctors, Engineers, Scientists, Teachers, Singers, Painters, Economists, Leaders, and Managers in the world but few become Icons, few could ever grab the Nobel prize, a gold medal, excellence award, mark the top 50 list, grab an Oscar or Grammy awards? Why is this so? Because all those had discovered their true natural talent and opt it as their profession and had done miracles. Rest are either not exploring their best potential or on the wrong journey of their career path.
If it is difficult to switch your career at this point in time. Try to find your talent and apply it to whatever you are doing as your profession and you will see the magic. For example, if you are a finance manager but your self-discovery is a teaching profession. You can start training your team. You can be a coach, a mentor a trainer. Do what is best defined as your self-discovered natural talent.
You can be the Leonardo da Vinci or Picasso of your trade or a simple unknown painter down the corner of an unknown street.
Always remember, “Do what you love & Love what you do”. The choice is yours.
Have a safe, healthy & blessed day!