Happy Monday! I hope this message finds you in great spirits.  Hopefully you read last weeks post and are all clear on purpose vs goals and how to take your power back from the word “can’t”. Now you are ready to get clear on your Dreams and start making them come true.

Now before I take you through exactly how to identify what your dreams are (that’ll come next week) I am going to take this week to do some spring cleaning. It’s the equivalent to cleaning out your attic or garage before going shopping. A lot of times you discover hidden treasures and realize it’s not even necessary to go acquire new things.

 

So, having said that, I just have one question for you..

 

It is this…

 

Are you taking your gifts for granted?

 

Do you find yourself feeling frustrated because you can’t identify what your Dream is?

 

Do you have hobbies that you love, but are convinced they are not beneficial to the world?

 

Do you have talents that come easy to you and therefore you’re sure have little to no value?

 

Do you see where this is going?

 

I bet you do, because this is something that has been nagging at you for YEARS. Let’s get to the bottom of the issue right now. Once and for all!

 

Your Gifts

You have natural talents, things that come easy to you that may be difficult for the next person. Another word for these talents is “gifts. The problem with gifts is when they come easy to you, you tend to down play the value of said gift. It usually takes artists a long time to realize they can get paid to do what they love because their art comes so naturally to them. Don’t let that be you. There are specific * reasons you were given the talents you were given.

I can sum it up with something I said in a post earlier in this month:

“God does not trouble our hearts and stir our souls with a vision without there being a need for it somewhere in the world. That dream, that vision you have stirring in your Spirit is actually the answer to someone’s prayer. You acting on your dream is not a self-centered act, it’s literally answering a call and answering someone’s prayer who is in need.”

That is why we sometimes call our talents, gifts. They are given to us for free and they are something we can give away for free. Sure we can spend time honing in on our talents to make them that much better for the world, but do not make the mistake of thinking that something that comes to you naturally has no value.

 

Time to Stop Hoarding and Start Sharing

So if you are ready to stop hording all that goodness you’ve got and start having a great gift giveaway, let’s get down to identifying what those talents actually are.

 

Time to Take Action

Okay, it’s time to take action and actually do something to figure this all out. It’s an easy action item, but  a necessary one. Please get a pen and paper or even this time I will let you write on your computer 🙂

 

You are going to make 3 separate lists.

 

List #1: Make a list of all of your God Given Gifts

These are what I consider things that come super easy to you. They may even be things you don’t necessarily enjoy, just identify talents or special gifts you have that make you unique that are simply something you were born with.

Examples of this could be: a talent for drawing, a charming personality or you can even use this list to appreciate something that is unique about you (you never know how that can be turned into a talent or gift later).

 

 

List #2: Identify hobbies you enjoy or that you spend a lot of time researching

Next you are going to identify things you enjoy doing. You may not be the best performer in this area but it is a pastime you thoroughly enjoy. Also, in this list, include subjects you find yourself researching in your spare time or even write down what subject you think about when you daydream. There is real gold there.

Examples could be: golf, fashion, self-help etc.

 

 

List #3: What do others identify as your talents?

What do people tend to tell you are good at? What types of positions are you constantly recruited for? What kind of advice or questions do people tend to ask you? There is a hidden treasure in these observations. If you need to, go ahead and poll a couple people close to you, ask them what they think are your natural talents. It’s usually easier for us to identify the talents in others than it is in ourselves.

Examples of this could be: counselor, tv personality, kindergarden teacher etc.

 

Note: There are no wrong answers!

 

Putting it all Together

Now, look over the three list and see if any items overlap. Are there any that are mentioned repeatedly over 2 or 3 lists? If so there could be something there. Read over each list and highlight each item that excites you and gives you that inspiring tingle inside. Make a separate more condensed list of the items that overlap and the exciting items. See if you can get your list down to 5 items for now. Once you have it down to 5 items, which 1 item can you start developing today (or at the very latest tomorrow)? Start moving on the item and watch the world open up to you.

 

I hope you enjoyed this exercise and hopefully it brought you some relief realizing that you had what you needed all along. If you weren’t excited by anything on your list don’t.worry. Remember this was the cleaning out the attic before we went shopping. If you didn’t find anything of value that’s okay. We are going to do another exercise on Monday where you get to call the shots more and shop for exactly what you want.

 

Let’s review:

It’s an act of humility not selfishness to pursue our dreams.

Where there is the inspiration in us there is a need in someone else, somewhere else.

To keep our gifts to ourselves is the equivalent to being a hoarder.

Just because it comes easily, doesn’t mean it has no value.

We are given our gifts for a reason, they are to be given away freely and cheerfully.

 

 

Affirmation for today:

I am no longer a hoarder; starting today I freely share my gifts with the world.

 

 

What talents where you able to uncover with this exercise? What talents come naturally to you that you just didn’t realize have value? I would love to hear about it in the comments on Twitter or the Facebook Page. Also don’t forget to sign-up for the newsletter for inspiration, updates and freebies!