The start…
Talent, skills, perseverance, not quitting and values are what drives the most successful people.
It’s what drives you, isn’t it? Doesn’t it?
Shouldn’t it?
Sure maybe you’re not going to be famous or a millionaire, which is so fine. Many of you will be professionally and financially successful, and I empower you. If you can realize your talents and skills, and apply them to the job you choose.
Realizing the skills and talents you have…
You have to realize what you’re good at, which is something difficult for most people. But the more experience you have, the better the realization of you abilities. This takes most people years to figure out.
In a speech given by President Obama a few months ago, he was forthright and gave a charge to teenagers in saying that “everyone of you has something your good at. every one of your has something to offer.”
Now, take your skills and talents and move to the next level. The next stage of life. What you do now as a person, a young person affects your lives and what you do and who you become.
Values…
Many of you all probably know what this means…right? Many of you have these already and live by them on a daily basis. Many of you might now know what the heck I’m talking about. I was like at some point in my life too.
But I learned at many times the hard way…certain life lessons based on stupid things I did…like kicking the wall and putting a huge hole in it…a life lesson. Or putting transmission fluid in my oil spout and freezing my car engine when I was a teenager…life lesson. Little things or big things in our lives. mistakes or accomplishments, no matter what they are…they breed certain lessons that we all learn from.
Do you learn from them though? Are there lessons that you are taking from things that happen in your life? It’s through some or many of these lessons that we develop values…things, feelings, beliefs, purposes, missions, whatever in our lives that we hold true to our heart.
I established some very important values in my life that I live every day by such as treating people right, using my God-given talents everyday and just doing the right thing. II have more, but not a lot. I focus on just a few that carries me through.
These are things and stuff…experiences that I hold dear to me. So dear that its worth or value couldn’t ever change in my view.
Values…
Here’s a good example of what I mean by values:
Let’s say I were to give you a 100 dollar bill. You’d take it wouldn’t you? Yeah, of course you would because a hundred dollars is a hundred dollars! Okay, now what if I were to crumple the 100 dollar bill up, would you still take it? Yeah, you would wouldn’t you? A hundred dollars is a hundred dollars. What if I were now to rip the one hundred-dollar bill in half, and then tape it back up and give it to you, would you take it? Yes, of course you would. A hundred dollars is a hundred dollars
now, what if i were to go outside and throw it out onto a street and let cars run it over, it lands in some water through some nasty oil gunk. And then I were to give it to you, you’d still take it right? Of course you would. You just can’t turn down a 100 dollar bill right? A hundred dollars is a hundred dollars
no matter what it looked like…no matter what happened to it. The value of that hundred dollars stayed the same.
Is that any different in our own lives?
Do you all value things and people, and passion and faith any differently than we would value the worth of this hundred-dollar bill?
That’s what I mean by values. Think about this for a moment. What are your values? What could be your values. What is it that you can hold or hold now so dear in your own life that no matter what, it still holds its worth to you…and you will never break free from it? Do you have any values right now? You should. You are at a stage in your life where this should start taking you to places you never imagined.
Everyone is given the possibility of greatness. Now whether they find or use it is up to them…it’s up to you. Embrace your greatness. To believe in yourself, you have to know what you believe in. Embracing your greatness in this way provides a mechanism for you to lay the foundation and to build your own value system.
Life is tough…
We have hundreds of things going on in one day and never enough hours int he day. Never enough relaxing time to make up for that stress we all undertake. But in the midst of the chaos and the everything’s of everyday life, what really matters to you? What is important to you?
Michael Jordan knew what mattered to him. He was kicked off his very own high school basketball team because the coach said he had no talent, no skill and was worthless. Yet Michael Jordan didn’t let that stop him did he? No.He persevered and believed in himself and followed his own value system, thus making himself one of the most successful basketball player (using his skills and talents) and the most admired by young people (him giving back :))
….this actually happens a lot to us in many other ways though doesn’t it…in life? There are times we just feel knocked down, kicked a round. But we have to just get back up. Dust ourselves off and move forward, because relishing and savoring every good moment in our life makes up for the challenges that occur.
Embracing your greatness…
Your Success is my Success,
Keith Lipke
Keith Lipke is a careers and college recruiter, public speaker, coach, mentor and blogger at The Hope Chest. His passion is to educate, inspire, and give hope to young people who need it upon their search for the right career and college.
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