Monday Spark: If you haven’t found your true talent yet, dig deeper.

ken robinson on talentIn the video below Sir Ken Robinson is talking mainly about education. That’s his thing.

For decades Sir Ken Robinson has challenged the way we’re educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.

He applies a similar way of thinking to business, looking for ways to foster more creative thinking within companies.

There is much in what he says that also applies to us, as freelancers.

First, watch the video.

A number of the points he made resonated with me. In particular, I was struck by his observations about talent.

As he said, finding your true talent is like mining for minerals. It’s not a given that you will find it in plain view, on the surface. You’ll likely have to dig for it.

The trouble is, few of us bother to dig.

Why is this? It’s because our belief in having a unique and valuable talent was beaten out of us by our education and early years at work. Our teachers and bosses were not particularly interested in our hidden, buried talents. They were simply looking for aptitudes that made us likely to pass exams, or add to our employer’s bottom line.

As for us, we accepted these demands. We felt we had to, in order to pass those exams and get a promotion. Our own talents remained buried, out of sight.

But hang on. You are no longer at school. And you no longer have a boss, because you are a freelancer.

In other words, you no longer have to follow this traditional, linear system.

Another point made in the video, early on, is that most people do what they do because they need to, in order to make a living. But a smaller number of people do what they do because they love to, because it’s not just what they do, it’s also who they are, at a deep and meaningful level.

As freelancers we are in an ideal position to join that second group. But to do so you have to deliberately step back from the “business as usual” approach to freelancing.

Stop thinking in terms of being a servant to the stated needs of your clients and prospects. Instead, dig down and discover your true talent. Then make that talent available to your clients.

Do that, and you’ll give more meaning to your work and your life, and you’ll love what you do.

Related Resource:

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About the author: Nick Usborne is an online writer, copywriter, author and coach.

2 thoughts on “Monday Spark: If you haven’t found your true talent yet, dig deeper.”

  1. I suspect that for many people this post might be an Ah-ha moment. The video is worth watching for the presenter’s skill alone – let alone the highly valuable material he offers. Which, as you say Nick, is relevant to us all.

    Reply

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