Have you ever wished you had a talent possessed by another? Maybe you’ve longed to decorate as well as Jennifer or wanted to know how to sing as well as Celine. I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll all admit we have looked at someone’s talent or gift and wished we were as accomplished. What if I told you that through collaboration, you can possess any gift you want? You can!
All you need are the four rules of talent:
1) Where there is desire, there is power. If you have the desire to learn to do something, somewhere within you is the seed to do that thing. The stronger your desire to work and learn, the more likely that talent will grow
2) Work on the talents you have and you’ll grow new ones. When I was in my early twenties, I was a shy computer geek. Due to family finances, I started a computer training business from my home teaching people the popular software of the day. In spending hundreds of hours with students, I conquered my shyness and ended up developing quite a talent for teaching and relating to people.
3) With talent comes responsibility. My mother started me on piano lessons when I was 5. I took for twelve years. Because I can play the piano, I’ve been asked to accompany congregations and choirs throughout my life. When you have a developed talent, people (and God) expect you to use it and take care of it.
4) Play to your strengths and collaborate to your weaknesses. You do not need to possess every gift. In fact, you don’t want the responsibility of every gift. That would be too much for one human to bear. So use your strengths and collaborate with others in the areas you’re weak.
Did you ever know a woman who insisted upon cooking all the dishes at a Thanksgiving dinner? She worked and slaved and sweated to do it all. No one saw her much because she was too busy in the kitchen.
I love our family’s Thanksgiving dinners. My sister and her husband make the best turkey and dressing on the planet. My mom contributes her delectable sweet potato casserole. My other sister brings a monster salad with all the fixins. My husband makes an extra turkey breast or two along with his amazing garlic mashed potatoes, and I contribute the pumpkin pies and homemade yeast rolls. Toss some cranberry out and a few veggies and there’s perfection. It’s collaboration at it’s best.
Everyone feels a part of it. It also eliminates the need for one person to kill herself, hidden off in the kitchen, unable to enjoy the holiday.
Musicians are the ultimate in collaboration. A violinist doesn’t spend much time lamenting that she doesn’t play the piano. She grabs a pianist and says, “Let’s play together.” Nothing beats the richness and beauty that comes when two or more musicians harmonize their talents. One plus one isn’t two anymore, it’s three, four, five or more.
One of my favorite things to do is to put together collaborative projects. So, as I’ve branched out, trying to develop my musical talents over the last few months, I got a kick out of my first true collaborative effort. Last night I wrote a piano accompaniment for “Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel” and invited my niece over with her piccolo and my daughter to play the flute. I love how it turned out and we had such fun playing with the song, adapting it and enjoying the results.
This is how it sounds after our first night of practice. I’m sure we’ll fine tune it over the next few weeks as we prepare to play it at church the Sunday before Christmas.
So the next time you’re tempted to lament that you don’t have some talent or another, remember musicians and collaborative Thanksgiving feasts! Find someone who has the talent! As we work together, our talents become everyone’s and theirs become ours. I believe it’s what Christ meant by being “one!”
About Marnie Pehrson Kuhns
Marnie Pehrson Kuhns is a Certified SimplyAlign Practitioner™ who uses music and creativity to mentor you past barriers, fears and doubts to discover, create, align with, and deliver your soul’s song (the mission, message or purpose you are on this earth to live). Marnie is a best-selling author with 31 fiction and nonfiction titles. If you'd like Marnie and her husband Dave to work with you personally on Your Great Reinvention, get a FREE 20-minute strategy session with Marnie here.
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