How to make your talent a firebrand

                                                                   

Most young people are free lancers these days. One reason is that there is no job for them; others too, want to use their talent. Either way you are doing something for yourself. But there is a common trend that I see, people just do projects for doing sake. For instance, when there is an election, those with music talents sing about peace or for a political party. My friend wrote a poem for a politician hoping to let the party purchase it, it didn’t happen then he stopped. The trend is that, people use their talents on the spur of the moment. When the time passes, they go into hibernation with their gifts. Yet these people are so gifted they could change the world or make history with it.  Using your gifts and ventures on a one off basis won’t get you anywhere.

                                                                                   

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Some people carry on to the next level. They are consistent with their activities. For instance, if the person creates a music album, he or she will continue for several years. This is better than those who use their gifts on occasion basis or when they feel like it. I have seen those who are consistent live on their talents. For instance, if the person works with a computer he may do it to pay his fees while in school. But this too is limiting, how can you use such a great talent just to pay your fees? Now this person could have turned it into a proper enterprise but as soon as the person completes school, this man or woman quits on the talent and go to look for a job.  So, the trend with this second level is that once the person gets what they want they quit.

To summarize this situation, it is like having a child without a purpose in life. After completing university, that person would gallivant about and never make any achievement for himself. He may not look for a job and just eat and let the years pass by or, he may work but never attempt to be a great person. This is what most people do to their ventures. 

Your talent is you and when you treat it as an ordinary thing, you stay ordinary for life. Your talent is your God given capital, if you misuse it you can’t make history for yourself. That thing that you have, is meant to take care of yourself, family, relative and the world.

                                                                          

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I looked up the word firebrand in the dictionary and it is something that keeps burning. Today, I want your venture to keep burning till it catches the world. So am going to show you how to do it.

Give your talent a life 

You need to give your venture a life. You need to build a concept around it. For instance, some musicians sing a song and they do things with it, they go to world tours, they raise funds  to take care of orphanages, they push their programme into other festivities in order to be of service and they don’t do it one time but all the time. Just a single song alone is nothing but it is the life that you build around it that counts.

A single song with a life built around it can yield greater result that a whole album without a mission.

Whatever you are doing, if you don’t give it a mission like I have described it yields very little fruit. This is why you see people do things and become famous and rich from it while you watch them and you know you can do better than them. It is the life they have built around it!

Give it a mission and an objective 

When you undertake an activity don’t just do it for doing sake but have a big purpose for it, one that covers many stakeholders. For instance, when you see somebody sing a song for mothers you also sing some. This attitude would get you nowhere. Give your venture an identity and map out strategies that can make it benefit lots of people . Give it a mission; what is the purpose of your venture? What are the five things you want to achieve with it?

Identify what makes you different 

Using the music as an example again, I will ask you this question, what makes yours different and better than the others? What new flavor does yours bring? The world is tired of eating the same food over and over again and will welcome new flavors. Show what makes you different, and let it be a difference that matter. The difference you show shouldn’t be one that just makes you different but one that puts you on top. There are so many songs and so  why are you adding your own? If it is same as what we have, you won’t impress anybody or even shine.

Heighten experience with features 

Give a great experience for it; that is the crux of your venture. When you are served food and a variety of things are put on it, you really feel it is special. But when you are served and the food is just only one thing without any additions you don’t even remember you have eaten after a few hours. You don’t tell anything about it to anybody. 

The purpose of giving the person a great experience is to make them happy. You want to keep them talking about it to people. You want them to remember it after several years!

So you heighten the experience with salient features. Using a newspaper as an example, you see that they have business section, education, question and answers, cartoons, politics, classifieds and so on. This creates variety and when each item is done well, you have a great experience. Go and do same. 

The metamorphosis should be clear; from a hidden talent to an activity, from an activity to a venture, from a venture to a firebrand and then the whole world catches fire with your gift.

Thanks for reading.