“The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence and educational advantages; the question is what he will do with the things he has. The moment a young man ceases to dream or to bemoan his lack of opportunities and resolutely looks his conditions in the face, and resolves to change them, he lays the corner-stone of a solid and honorable success.” Hamilton Wright Mabie
If each of us would sit down and take inventory, we would realize that we have so many advantages. We have talents and skills. We have opportunity. We so often get caught up in negativity that we forget to make a list of what we really have going for us.
Whenever people tell me they aren’t creative or they have no talent or no skills, I help them do a self-assessment analyzing their strengths, their weaknesses, their opportunities and their abilities. We all have something to offer the world. We all can find within ourselves an ability or a talent, if only we will quiet the negative voices talking in our heads long enough to discover our real selves.
All my life, I said, “I can’t draw” or “I can’t paint.” And I made that true because I didn’t try. Then when my doctor told me to go take art classes in order to get my mind in a zone and relieve my stress, I discovered an incredible talent which I had no idea I possessed. I turned my self-talk around and said, “I can do this.” Now, I have had numerous art shows and sold many paintings.
What could you do if you took a real hard look at your opportunities?
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