UNLEASH THE TALENTS By Muyiwa Afolabi Lately I was seeing a gangster movie and a group of criminals robbed a treasure house, carting away so many valuables. But as they made away the police came unto them and a pursuit ensued. Subsequently these criminals hit a dead end at a river bank by the woods. The two of them got out of the car with the loot deliberately sank the car in the river, swam across the river into the woods and disappeared with the loot. After a while the police got to that same point and couldnt find a trace, they knew the criminals came that way but without the car or the crooks in sight the policemen became helpless. After a while a police helicopter began to hover over the territory to see if they can find the car or the crooks, but because of the density of the woods it was impossible to see beneath the dense leaves from the helicopter above hence, they couldnt find the car or the crooks. Then suddenly a fresh set of cops arrived at the scene with police dogs, trained and gifted in tracing and sniffing out criminals through pathways, in less than a minute the dogs led the cops to the point the car was sunk and subsequently into the woods. In another 5 minutes the cops through the dogs were on the trail of the crooks through the woods and consequently one of them was caught and the other one jumped off a cliff to his death after the dogs got unto him and he couldnt escape. The stolen treasures were recovered and the police force was commended. Thanks to the gifted and talented dogs. Wait a minute, the police got the praise, not the dogs, the police got the commendation, not the dogs, the police did the job not the dogs, the police, not the sniffer dogs. The dogs really did the job, but the police got the praise, the dogs carried the talent, but the cops were extolled. The gift, the talent gets the result but the owner, the manager of the gift or talent, the custodian gets the reward and the praise. Hmmmm. In life, whatever you desire or want you must go for it. We pursue, we chase and hanker after those valuable things we believe we need to bring us joy, pride, comfort, pleasure and fulfillment. You chase the job, you chase the promotion, you chase the position, you chase the goals, daily youre in pursuit of those valuable things, pleasurable treasures that mean so much to you. You need good cash to pay your bills; education, accommodation, clothing, transportation, energy, health care, investment and savings, security. You need a good position and location for career exploits. You want relevance, influence, power and authority. You want prestige, respect, dignity and honour. You seek relevance where it matters. You of course want a life that is happy, glorious and satisfying. All these dont come easy. Were daily existing and working within a framework of contest for opportunities. Everybody wants these things. If you remain slow, ignorant, clumsy and archaic others will move in and take what you want. Even if you feel by all rights it should come to you and be yours; life is designed for you to keep chasing, protecting and preserving what youve got, if not youll lose it. Career success is about pursuit. Everybody in your organization is chasing a position at the top. And everyone wants to get there quickly, in one piece and ahead of others. Its a race. Im sure if you consider right now, youll know one or two persons in your team or office eligible for that next position or level you want. There may be some colleagues youve left behind and some other ones may have left you behind. Its all part of the chase. However, there comes a time in career when skills, qualifications, certifications, double MBAs and even a PhD is no longer enough. A time comes when your eloquence, grammar, power dressing, and swag will fail to deliver your next level. Simply because all that you have, others have got them too. What then is the next thing to do? Unleash your talent. Everyone on the surface of this planet has got talents, gifts and natural endowments. We have abilities and capacities in propensities that are uncommon and rare. No one taught you, no one trained or showed you how. You just know how to do those things and youre very good at it. You have a very good handle and control over this talent and can manipulate at will and at your pleasure. We all carry something. However due to challenges, pressure and even life dynamics and proclivities, we didnt see the need for a core relevance of this talent so we tied it somewhere and forgot all about it. Now youre at a point where your energy, your qualification, your experience, your contacts and relationships, your pedigree, your accomplishments and general abilities cant deliver to you your next level, then its time to unleash your talent. Just like in that movie, the skills, cars, choppers, intelligence, radio communication, and experience of the police force failed in tracing the criminals, then they had no choice but to unleash the dogs with the ability to perceive by sniffing, trace and locate the crooks and the treasure. The gift of the dogs delivered the treasure. At that point the entire police force had to depend on the gift of the dogs to succeed, they had no options or alternative, their police academy experience, guns and rifles, fast cars, experience with criminals and past successes were useless. The sniffer dogs talent, natural ability to sniff, saved the day. Are you there yet? At that point where everything you ever knew or ever did cant help your situation. Have you even lost your job, lost your relevance in the organization and youre just at the velvet zone – where the business doesnt need you anymore but wont ask you to go because you gave your very best in service and they dont want to appear mean, ungrateful or callous? Are you at that point where you have a big office, a big title and earn big salary but youre doing nothing because youre no longer within the scheme of things? Your time is over, your relevance has expired. Dear friend, this is the time to unleash your talent. The leash is the limits youve placed on your natural gifts and talents. Its time to mentally and psychologically break the limits. Set your mind free. You can do much more with that talent than you ever imagined. In fact it may be your saving grace, your only option and way out now. So unleash it. Set it free and let it begin to work for you, make way for you and lead you eventually to your treasure. Please realise that the talent is not exclusively yours, others have the gift too, but the power and capacity yours carry to deliver superior results is what makes the difference. Like the policemen in the movie, of course they have noses and can sniff or smell but they can never be compared with the sniffer dogs. They are not that gifted. So pick up your talent and develop it. Work on it, improve it; make it sharp, powerful, efficient and outstanding. Get to work on it and raise the bar of dexterity. Outperform everyone else with a similar gift. Be the best; let the next person be way behind you. Next you place a price tag on it. Value it and use it as a negotiation tool for that next position, title or level you want. Dont drop it cheap and make it common, dont over dispense it. Cherish and value it. Thirdly, identify those who value it and are willing to pay good price for it. Dont try impressing a boss who doesnt value it; identify that boss that would appreciate it then flaunt it in his presence. Dont cast pearls to pigs, they wont value it. Know your real customer that would appreciate and can, and will pay for it because he values it. Then identify where it is needed, take it there and show it off there. It can be dangerous showing off in the wrong place. It will be foolish unleashing sniffer dogs where there is a cross gun battle between the cops and the crooks, the dogs will definitely get shot in the lone of fire, and their sniffing talent becomes useless and wasted. Dear friend its time to unleash your talent, its your sure security when all else fails. Enjoy your day.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 07:05:49 +0000