DON'T SACRIFICE THE GIFT

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."  Pre

Last week, we talked about what your "WHY" is.  What you are really good at.  That "IT" factor that moves you....your "GIFT."  The late, great Steve Prefontaine said it best in the quote above.  We all have be gifted in something (check out 2/9 blog post).  It's your "light"....that which shines the brightest IN you and that you let shine OUT of you.  

Jesus said in Matthew 5:15-16, "No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.  Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it give light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light...your good deeds...YOUR GIFT, shine out for all to see...."

In the classic movie, "BACK TO THE FUTURE," George McFly is a "punching bag" for his nemesis, Biff.  It appears it was that way all the way back in high school.  Marty asks him, "why do you let Biff push you around like that?"  The answer: FEAR.  George was afraid of Biff...afraid of what others thought of him...afraid or stepping out because, what if people didn't approve of him?  He had this "dream" to write a book, but never pursued it because of FEAR....the FEAR of what others would think.  Do you know that most successful people didn't succeed the first time they tried?

What if Albert Einstein, who didn't speak until he was four...who was told by a teacher he wouldn't amount to anything, what if he listened to what the "authorities" said about him?  If he would have, we wouldn't have experienced the knowledge of the most influential physicist of the 21st Centry.  What if the great Walt Disney would have listened when he was fired from his first newspaper job because he was "lacking imagination and no original ideas?"  Or arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, the winner of 6 NBA championships- what if he has listened to his high school coach and given up the game after he was cut from the team?

Now, you might not be an Einstein, Disney, Jordan or anyone else you recognize as successful, but you are YOU.  What do you have that other's need to hear, see, do, etc.?

As you continue to journey through your BEST YEAR YET, ask yourself, "what am I "hiding" that I don't want others to see because I'm afraid I might fail?"  It could be:

• Running a marathon
• Photography
• Poetry
• Writing 
• Pod casting
• Starting a home based business
• Career change
• Etc....

Whatever it is, don't let the opinion of others keep you from expressing your gift.  DON'T SACRIFICE THE GIFT!  YOU.CAN.DO.THIS!!