In your pursuit of success and relevance, many strings may tug you several ways. They have told you your talent is what will make a way for you and bring you into greatness, but what happens when you have several talents? You have realized that you can do many things and you can do them well. Your friends are often amazed by how great you are .I mean how many people can do it all?
For instance, ever since I was young, I was the go-to person for all things and I mean all things. I was the one who could draw and paint, I was the same one who was singing in a band. I was the one my friends came to with their English essays; they even tagged me, the walking dictionary. It was the same me who they believed could talk in public, so they made me MC and leader of most events. Oh did I forget to mention cooking? It so happened that if someone wanted to cook or eat a delicious meal, even for a party, they came to me first. I was also the one who designed most of my family and friends’ clothes. There was even an occasion where my family members refused to sew their clothes until two days to the event, just because I had not come back from school to design it. I was also the mediator, the repairer of the rift. My friends came to me with their sob stories about their relationships and even fights. On and on like that.
How many things could just one person do ? If you’re like me, you may be suffering from this curse of the multi-talented. You are that bundle of talents and everybody comes to you for just about everything. Yes you’re that good and what was supposed to be your blessing , is now your curse. How is this a curse? Well it turns out that most of us who suffer from the curse of the multi-talented find it difficult to focus on one thing. You glide through life moving from one talent to another wandering which one you should concentrate on. Even when you finally manage to concentrate on one, you grow bored and start itching to move on to another. This brings to mind the story of Leonardo da Vinci, who was a painter , sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. He is widely considered to be perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. How did he manage?
Being a multi-talented person comes with confusion and you cannot achieve much until you learn to focus your energies on one thing. “One well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth one hundred shallow faculties.” –William Matthews. So here’s how to put things in perspective; ask your family and friends which the talent they think you’re best at .When you have come to a conclusion, choose that talent. Learn everything you can about it and practice it daily. The only way your talent can bring you into a place of greatness is when you hone it into a skill. Acquire all the skills you need to deepen that talent. Work and concentrate on it for at least two years , no matter the distractions. Remember that itchy feeling to do something else will come, but try your hardest to stand firm and hold your ground.
When you have developed this talent to the point of being a skill and have made money from it, then you can move on to the next talent. Then repeat the process like that. It’s that easy. I’m in my 6th month of concentration, the longest I’ve concentrated on any one talent. The itch has come twice but I’ve been able to shrug it off and continue concentrating. You can do it too, if you put your mind to it. If you’re lucky like da Vinci, you’ll be able to squeeze out all your talents before your time is up. I wish you success.
Peace and Light.
Opemipo Adebanjo
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