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You Can Follow Your Talent

3 October 2011

I’ve been working with a couple of people recently who had difficult decisions to make. What they both had in common was a desire to follow their talent and also a struggle to square that with the needs of other people.

In both cases they knew in their heart what they wanted to do and they had a small voice in their head holding them back saying:

‘Hang on… think about how the others will feel if you do this. Think about them first and put your ambition on hold.’

It’s normal to have doubts and it’s okay to wonder what the future holds.

And yet if you have talent and ambition it really is okay to follow it and see where it leads. That doesn’t make you ‘selfish’ it just means you’re putting your talents to use, which is an entirely different matter.

The cautious voices we hear are just there to encourage us to double check our thinking and make sure we know our heart.

In the pick and mix world of Modern Careers there are always opportunities waiting to be created and if you have a talent for something then you CAN follow your heart and engage your ambition to power you forwards.

Here are some questions to help you make progress:

1) How can I be resourceful and make a success of this?

2) Who do I know who can support me?

3) What do I have to let go of in order to create space to do this?

4) Who already uses their talent in a similar way… and what can I learn from them?

5) What am I going to be saying to myself when I’m retired and wishing I HAD followed my talent?

It’s okay to be talented and to follow your ambition.

It’s okay to put yourself first.

We can follow our heart and go for our dreams, because otherwise we’re just treading water and not living life.

I’m taking my own advice and this week am off to Future Radio to record a demo show with a friend, as the next step towards getting my own show. It’s going to be great fun and I’m looking forward to honing my ‘radio voice’ …and hopefully I’ll avoid all cliches, Pop-Pickers!

Tags: talent