Greatness: Do you see the greatness in others and not in yourself?

How do you see yourself? Do you sometimes think “Oh, it’s easy for this one or that one because they’re so talented? If I had their talent I could do wonders or I could be as great as they are.”

You can be as great. But great in your own talents and abilities if you only took the time to look at yourself and appreciate the gifts and hidden and unexplored talents in you.

Sometimes society judges talent by the mass of one’s followers, fame and dramatic accomplishments. Talent and contribution is not only measured in external greatness but the effectiveness and impact on others – whether one person or a small group.

You may be a stay-at-home mom or dad, society may not look upon that as an extraordinary talent, but if you are the best mom or dad that you can be – growing and learning – and impacting the little lives that look up to you, you are shaping the future of tomorrow. That’s a pretty great impact on society. You are shaping the future generation.

All of your talents, your organizational skills, your wisdom, your experience, and your life are being poured into these young lives so they in turn can go out and share their own experiences intricately interwoven in with what you have taught them. As a result, they begin to produce a different kind of fruit, with amazing flavour, changing the lives of those with whom they now come in contact.

If you took the time to analyze you, you may be surprised at what you find - talents and innate abilities you were born with, undiscovered diamonds in you waiting to be extracted, refined and polished.

Today, make a decision to stop wishing you had other people’s talents and gifts and start turning inward to what is rich within you. Begin to look for ways to develop those talents and refine them once you’ve realized them. Some other talents only emerge after you’ve taken the initial step to extract one. You may be surprised at what develops as a result.

There is more to you than you know. Take the time today to explore you!

The world is waiting to experience what you have to offer.

Determination

To achieve anything worth having, there must be some unction of determination on your part to take you through to the finish line.

What is determination?

1) Determination is the sustenance you need to keep going when you’ve failed so many times. It’s the deciding factor when obstacles present themselves.

2) It’s the mindset in spite of the pain that lifts you up and pushes your body forward even when it says you should give up.

3) It’s that which compels you to keep searching for an answer when you’ve searched before and have been unsuccessful.

How does a person become determined?

1) You see the value/importance in what you’re doing or what needs to be done.

2) You’ve made a mental decision to do this thing no matter what comes your way.

3) You know in your heart that you can achieve this goal/dream.

Determination is like a shield which deflects every objection that challenges why you cannot have what you set out to attain. You know without reservation that you can achieve this thing - that inner feeling/knowing inside you that the negative, “You can’t have or do,” is incorrect and that the positive, “I can have or do” is possible.

Determination gives birth to persistence and is the outward expression in the form of persistence.

Why does a person need to be determined?

If you want to be successful in anything you do, you need to be determined? The higher the goal you need to attain, the more of the demand on your will to be determined to see it to the end.

You are here today because of one sperm’s determination to reach the egg in spite of the harsh adverse conditions and competition it faced in the uterus. It will do us well to follow this blue print to achieve anything we set out to do and see it to its completion.

Regardless of the adversities we face, determination may be the only thing we have to keep our heads above the water, stiffen our fists and press forward until we reach the destination point.

Diamonds in the Rough

There lies within each one of us untapped treasures buried beneath the surface of the outer influences of what we should be and what society considers most valuable - treasures that go beyond what society may call the norm. These treasures belong to you and they are embedded in your makeup to bring joy to you, contribute and make a difference in society.

Sometimes uncovering these treasures and revealing them to others who have not been exposed to your type of treasure may be received with indifference. But if you hone in and be persistent in accepting the innate abilities within you, developing them and continually sharing them with the world, those who have been waiting for a breath of fresh air and inspiration will embrace your talent and elevate you to a place of high honour. Those who have resisted and rejected your talents will have no other choice but to sit back in admiration when they see you shine and may even come to appreciate your talent and your place in society.

How do you discover the diamonds that lie within you?

You must inwardly pursue yourself to understand and know who you are underneath all the external stuff. Understand your heart and the things that bring you the most satisfaction and great joy.

Sometimes diamonds are found in the most common things. An ordinary job or hobby may lead you to discover your true diamonds, and as you filter through the common things, your true ability surfaces.

Diamonds may not be revealed until you find yourself in a situation where you’ve not intended to be or really wanted to be or is your ideal dream. E.g. you may take a job that is not your ideal career but as you continue to work you may find that you begin to discover treasures in you that you never realized were there.

The layer/the rough that conceal your diamonds begin to peel back, and as you continue to zoom into those areas, your diamonds becomes more evident to you or perhaps others may recognize it even before you do.

Some treasures are easier seen than others. While others are revealed under certain circumstances, these circumstances provide the right environment for the unveiling of your treasures.

As you set your heart and mind to discover these treasures, open your heart and mind to go through the doors that open for you as they may very well be the doors that lead you to your treasure.