Find and pursue your passion; you won’t regret it

I am sitting here this morning, listening to an interview with author Mitch Albom (“Tuesdays With Morrie”). He was speaking about how we can discover and share our talents and how we connect with people to maximize the impact of that talent on others. (http://bit.ly/1OhOAgI)

As Albom points out, sometimes we find out our gift is that we’re good at math, or we have a voice, or we’re good at staying calm, but sometimes we think, that’s not so exciting, wonder what to do with it or tell ourselves it won’t pay very much.

Sometimes we are told what someone else thinks we’re good at and so we do “it” for someone else. And we cannot feel satisfied no matter how altruistic the job may be.

What’s your passion?

If you love making jewelry, perhaps you think you have to do craft shows. What about working in a craft store, in a gallery, marketing?

Sometimes opportunities are thrust upon you and you don’t even realize it.

Albom was saying how he had really wanted to be a musician. Worked at it. Meanwhile, he volunteered for a small free newspaper that printed his article on parking meters on the front page.

“I picked it up, I saw my name, I saw the print after it, and something clicked in me. … OK, this is where I’m supposed to be. It’s creative, like music.”

With no formal training other than being a good student, writing is what he went on to do.

Different gifts

Sometimes you have to be open to your gift. If you try to make it something you think it should be and it doesn’t happen, you suffer disappointment. If you are just open to feelings, what happens when you do this or that or not do this or that, what happens to you?

Of course I liked this interview because he was talking about writing, but his message was for everyone — everybody has a story. That is a gift we all have. We don’t always know someone else’s who may be smiling or frowning in line in front of you.

But by listening to and by telling your own, sometimes those gifts, those talents reveal themselves to us. How much more motivated are you when someone adds lively little details, emotions, to a tale? How many people change the course in their lives because of what they’ve seen or heard from someone?

I know a young man who works in a standard retail job. His talent is interacting with people. He told me his grandmother was “everybody’s friend” and it made him feel good when he was around her. While it may seem common, clerking at a store, he makes it an art form by smiling, empathizing, listening, telling stories like his grandmother did. In a span 2 minutes, he can positively transform someone’s day — by selling them a box of facial tissue.

In this season of giving, try this: Reflect on this quote from the e-newsletter, The Daily Good, “How has a gift you have, or a gift that’s been shared with you, changed your life? Make time to pay-it-forward in some way.”

I share with you the gift of gab.

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 7:57 AM with the headline "Find and pursue your passion; you won’t regret it."