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A Abilities
Every person you meet is better at something than you are!
--
Gary Heard
Melbourne, Australia
Source: "Christian Leadership" email discussion list
Topics/Tags: Abilities; Gifts from god, spiritual; Body of christ
"I have no voice for singing, I cannot make a speech,
I have no gift for music, I know I cannot teach.
I am no good at leading, I cannot 'organize,'
And anything I write would never win a prize.
But at roll call at meetings, I always answer 'here.'
When others are performing, I lend a listening ear.
After the program's over, I praise its every part,
My words are not to flatter; I mean it from the heart.
It seems my only talent is neither big nor rare,
Just to listen and encourage and to fill a vacant chair.
But all the gifted people could not so brightly shine,
Were it not for those who use a talent such as mine."
- Alice Bennett
Source: unknown
Topics/Tags: Gifts; Abilities; Usefulness
There was a certain young man who, as a high school football player, was recruited by a major college as the hottest prospect of the year. An anonymous booster in the young man's hometown had written a letter to the college touting the young man's abilities, so a group of coaches flew down to interview him.
They told him that they had gotten a letter saying that he was a tremendous football player! He said, "I don't like to brag but I do alright."
They said, "We hear that you can run pretty fast. Can you run the hundred in 10 seconds?" He said, "The last time I ran it I did it in 9.2 seconds."
They replied, "That's unreal. We also heard that you can kick a football pretty good." He said, "To tell you the truth I can kick a football so hard that two times in the last three weeks I kicked a football so hard it just burst into pieces."
The said, "That's almost unbelievable." "What else can you do?" The young man said, "I can throw the football 70 yards in the air with pinpoint accuracy. I can run the ball. I can tackle. I can block. There's not anything that I can not do on a football team!"
Finally the coach said, "Wait a minute. There's got to be a problem. I bet you're stupid and you can't make the grades necessary to stay on the team. If we give you a scholarship you'll flunk out." The candidate said, "No, I'm a straight A student. I've been a straight A student since I was in kinder- garten. I've never made anything but straight A's on everything I've ever done."
The coach finally said, "I just can't believe it. Don't you have at least one weakness? There's bound to be at least one weakness in your life. Tell us what is your weakness."
He thought about it for a minute and finally said, "Well, I do lie a lot..."
Thomas Edison was almost deaf. Yet, he didn't spend all his time attempting to learn how to hear. Instead, he focused his energies on utilizing the abilities he did possess: thinking, organizing, and inventing.
Edison once said, "If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves."
Are you so focused on what you can't do that you're not letting God empower you to use the talents and abilities which you do possess?
Source: "Speaker's Sourcebook 2" (Prentice Hall), p. 3.
Topics/Tags: Abilities; Priorities; Talents
Cyrus H.K. Curtis started his own 4-page newspaper at age 13, using a handpress he'd purchased for $3.00. Curtis built the circulation of his Young America publication up to over 100 copies a week. Then, a fire completely destroyed his entire operation.
Undaunted, Curtis continued to pursue his career in journalism, and a few years later he was offered an advertising position for a small paper in Boston. Eventually, the owner of the struggling paper would hand over ownership to Curtis. For the next five years, he operated the paper, learning much along the way. Eventually, though, the little Boston newspaper would die out, too. It was then that Curtis moved to Philadelphia and met his bride-to-be, Louisa.
Eventually, Cyrus Curtis began yet another publishing endeavor, called The Tribune and Farmer. One of the features of the publication was a so-called "Woman's Page" which Curtis himself wrote. One day, his wife Louisa read the "Woman's Page" and promptly informed her husband that the material was "absurd"!
Curtis' quick reply? "You write it, then."
She did. And, Louisa's "Woman's Page" became so popular that it was eventually expanded into several pages, and finally renamed The Ladies' Home Journal.
Meanwhile, The Tribune and Farmer continued to struggle along. Eventually, though, the profits built up just enough to enable Curtis to buy another little weekly publication, this one called The Saturday Evening Post.
From a failing Boston newspaper to two of the century's most profitable periodicals, Cyrus Curtis teaches us two valuable lessons:
- First, he never lost faith in the abilities which he himself possessed.
- Second, he was wise enough to recognize the abilities which others possessed.
How greatly might the Kingdom of God be advanced if God's people would work together in similar fashion--with each of us (1) utilizing our own God-given talents to the fullest extreme and (2) humbly recognizing that others around us possess valuable gifts which we don't possess!
Source: "Speaker's Sourcebook 2" (Prentice Hall), pp. 3-4.
Topics/Tags: Perseverance; Success; Abilities; Cooperation
To say that "Babe" Didrickson Zaharias was an athletic phenomenon might be an understatement. Spectators marveled at her ability to run, jump, ride, and play basketball and baseball. She made quite a name for herself in the 1932 Olympic tryouts by winning five First Places in track and field. She attained international acclaim during the Los Angeles Olympics in that same year by placing second in the high jump, first in the women's 80-meter hurdles, and first in the javelin throw.
It would be safe to say that most people would be satisfied with such achievements. Not Babe! She decided next to take up the game of golf. She searched out a quality instructor, studied the game, and worked to refine her swing. She analyzed the golf swing, broke it down into manageable parts, and mastered each component. Babe was known to spend hours on the practice tee, sometimes hitting over a thousand golf balls in a single afternoon. At times, her hands would become so raw and sore that she could barely grip the club. Babe would stop just long enough to tape them up before continuing her practice regimen. Her preparation, training, and just plain hard work paid off, as she won the U.S. national women's amateur championship and the British women's amateur championship.
Later in life, Babe's battle with cancer exemplified the same courageous spirit. She faced life's potentially discouraging setbacks with the same determination she'd demonstrated in her athletic career.
Here is a champion, then, who teaches us that, in order to use our abilities to the fullest, we must define them and refine them. God has given each of us useful abilities and talents, but He expects us to take responsibility for developing, using, and honing them.
Source: "Speaker's Sourcebook 2" (Prentice Hall), pp. 4-5.
Topics/Tags: Sports; Determination; Abilities; Discipline
Dave Thomas had a difficult childhood that gave him the determination to excel and succeed. He was adopted, but lost his mother when he was five. After her death, his adoptive father married three more times and moved the family frequently. At 12 years of age, Thomas got his first job, and quit school after the tenth grade to work full-time in the restaurant business.
Thomas worked his way up from a busboy in a family restaurant to manager of four failing Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises. Kentucky Fried Chicken's late founder, Colonel Harland Sanders, became Thomas's personal mentor, teaching him the ropes about promoting a business.
Dave was a fast-learning student. Soon he had turned around his KFC franchises and was given a stake in those businesses. The profits, which made him a millionaire by his 35th birthday, provided the starting capital for Thomas to open his first WENDY'S restaurant in 1969.
Today, Thomas freely admits to being a cheerleader and marketer who is not effective with actual day-to-day details. He travels the country (in between doing TV commercials!) checking on quality and motivating Wendy's employees, while leaving most day-to-day operational duties to other, more qualified persons.
We might say that Dave Thomas's success is due largely to placing himself in a position where he could maximize his strengths. He is honest about what he CAN do and what he CAN'T do-- and he is more than willing to let others take over and do the things which he can't do himself.
_________
If we are to succeed, we must honestly take stock of our God-given strengths, and then find ways to maximize and utilize those strengths.
Source: "The Speaker's Sourcebook 2" (Prentice-Hall), p. 5.
A MISSIONARY'S LETTER TO GOD
I wish I were a doctor. I would heal sick people. I would remove diseases from their bodies. Yes, I would heal and help.
I wish I were a farmer. I would grow corn and rice to give to hungry people. I would teach people to care for the land. Yes, I would grow and teach.
I wish I were an engineer. I would dig wells so every person could have clean water. Yes, I would build and teach.
But, alas, I am not a doctor or a farmer or an engineer. I am only myself. But, Lord, HERE I AM.
Source: "Your Church on Mission With God," 10/98.
Topics/Tags: Abilities; Surrender; Missionaries; Vocation
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