People spend their whole lives working against their strengths. It is like swimming against the current. Go with the flow and use what God gave you. Your best chance for success is to selet a career that allows you to use your talents and do the things you most enjoy doing. All too many people believe that if you’re getting paid for it, it is work. And work is the opposite of fun. Which is why they make vacations – so you can put your life on hold for fifty weeks a year and stuff all your fun into that precious two weeks. Which is why they have sick days. Because you are sick if you think this is any way to live.

If you do what you enjoy doing and are good at it, you will be stronger and happier. Vacations will be icing on the cake.

So you are no Voltaire. Ah, but you are you, and no good can come from comparing yourself with others. Believe in your own special gifts, talents, and abilities and use them to earn a living as well as fulfill your life.

ACTION ITEMS

•  List ten adjectives to describe your top skills and abilities. What makes you great?
•  List your top ten skills. Now, of those skills, which would someone pay you for?  How could you earn a living using these skills?
•  What can you do to increase your marketable skills? Training, practice, gaining  practical experience, or learning new equipment? What is the one thing you are willing to do to improve upon your existing talent?
•  Put all your talents on index cards, one skill per card. Then shuffle the cards and punt them into orde by the skills you like to use most. Write down the result. Now reshuffle and put them in order by which ones are most marketable. Finally, put them in order by what you do best. Compare your three lists.
• What is the thing you do that comes most naturally? Could you make a living doing just that? Has anyone else made it a cornerstone to a successful career?