Are you the next Susan Boyle?

I am sure a lot of you are wondering - Who is Susan Boyle?  Please click on the video link below. Afterwards, please continue reading the post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OcQ9A-5noM

Now I pose the question mentioned in the title of this Blog – Are you the next Susan Boyle? We all have God given gifts and talents. However, when speaking of these gifts and talents, there are two challenges we face. The first challenge is: the ability to identify your God given gift(s) and talent(s). If you are one of the lucky ones and you are able to identify them, then you face a second challenge. The second challenge is: having the faith to step out of one(s) comfort zone and actually utilize those gift(s) and talent(s).  Today’s post addresses the second challenge.

Note: I will address the first challenge in a later post. “How to identify your Gifts and Talents?”

Just like Susan Boyle, we all have hidden gift(s) and talent(s) that the world must see.  However, for some reason(s), we do not allow the world to see these gifts. Sometimes we allow the “Golden Handcuff” to dictate our path. (Golden Handcuff is when you get use to a certain lifestyle and as a result, you are not willing to give up that lifestyle - short term to rep long term benefits.) Other times, we allow our current life situations to rule over us. Perhaps, we cannot identify our God given gifts or talents. Maybe just maybe, we have incorrectly identified what we perceive to be our gifts and talents. Perhaps, we allow outsiders to discourage us from living out our purpose.  Or, time prevents us from exercising these gifts and talents.   All in all, regardless of the reason, many of us have not shared our Gift with the world.

One of my main goals is to maximize my full potential.  In order for me to do that, I must utilize my gifts and talents in a way that impacts the world.  In doing so, the world will witness these gifts and talents – similar to the Susan Boyle story. In the past, I struggled with stepping out on faith and sharing these tools with the world. I used some of the same reason mentioned in the previous paragraph to prevent me from pressing forward. However, (whether it was maturity or my “Tim Tebow moment” see previous blog post) I now have the faith and confidence to share my gifts and talents with the world; regardless of the criticism or the negative backlash that comes with the territory.  I am who I am.

My hope is that this audience does not hesitate to share their hidden gifts or talents with the world. Once you have identified your gift, the next step is to use the tools around you (i.e. facebook, youtube, etc.) to share with the world your God given gifts and talents.  Once you begin to share your Gifts and talents with the world, your impact on the world will be so magnificent that your legacy will last forever.

Tim Tebow Moment

Tim Tebow Moment: A point in time when you acknowledge that you are tired of mediocrity, you are feed up with the status quo and as a result (from that moment moving forward) you pledge to reach your full potential.
There are a number of ways college football fans will remember Tim Tebow. By the end of Tim’s career, many would consider him one of the greatest college football players to every play the game. He had won two national titles, a Heisman trophy and had used college football as a platform to minister the gospel. He had become the face of college football.
In the 2008 FedEx BCS Championship game, the Florida Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 24 to 14. Tim Tebow had won his second national title - Florida won the national championship in 2006. Most college football fans would remember the 2008 football season and the BCS championship game for Tim’s second half performance. “Tim Shook off two first-half interceptions and passed for 232 yards and two touchdowns, capped off by his trademark jump pass to David nelson for a 4-yard touchdown to pretty much seal the Sooners’ fate with 3:07 to play. He also rushed for 109 yards on 22 carries. The most he’s carried the ball all season” as described by an ESPN analyst.
With all that being said, the one moment that I believe represents Tim Tebow can be seen during his post game interview after the Florida Gators lost to Ole Miss during the 2008 football season. During the post game interview, Tebow gave a speech which has been named “The Pledge". During that speech, Tim, pledged to work as hard as he could to become a better player. He pledged that the team would perform better. After that speech, Florida never lost a game that season and as stated above won the BCS National title that year. The pledge was so prophetic that The University of Florida has posted a replica in front of the stadium.
Taking a look at that post game interview, I have used it as a teachable moment for my life. So much so, that I have had what I call a “Tim Tebow Moment”. Throughout my journey, there were times when I could not “get over that hump”. There had been times where I felt my success was limited because of a “glass ceiling”.
My Tim Tebow moment occurred a few months after I relocated to DC. While I was reevaluating my career, reevaluating the decisions I had made along my journey, doing inventory on my life, it was then where I realized that I had reached a point where I was pledging to maximize my full potential. That moment was actually different than any other moment I had “attempted to experience” or “attempted to declare” in the past. That moment was real; it was genuine, it was a moment of clarity and that moment is manifesting into reality.
I believe that we all have intentions of doing what’s right and we all have intentions of being “successful”. However, I believe that life tends to derail or yield our progression to reach our full potential. There has to come a point in your life where you pledge to maximize your potential. I believe that the sooner you “buy” into doing what it takes to maximize your potential, the sooner you will reach that goal. My hope is that you reevaluate your current journey and pledge to reach your potential. GOD BLESS!