Want a Rewarding Life? Nurture Talent in Others
As you go through the next week, I'd like to suggest that you find two or three examples of hidden talents in the people around you, and that you then use these examples to make it easier to be supportive of those people.
To illustrate the point, I'd like to share one of my most prized pieces of art. You just see a portion of it here; the entire image includes 12 original characters that my son, Jeff, created when he was seven.
On the back of this 18" by 24" poster board, Jeff included a paragraph that described each character. Here's what he wrote about the orange guy at the top left:
"#1 Flat Face - Flat Face is basically a guy with a FLAT FACE! He gets his flat face not from a cool, new, Flat Face Maker but from punches in the head. (Take a moment to notice four fists in the background) Ouch!"
Bear with me - here's just one more example, of the guy next to Flat Face...
"A Really Happy Creature - This creature's background was meant to be viney and forest-like. That's because it's the greenest thing I can think of, and Green means peace and harmony and crazy little purplish-greenish creatures to me. Oh yeah, and happiness."
Just to give you a bit of perspective, Jeff is now 19 and working this summer in the entertainment industry.
Wonderful things happen around you, if you pay attention
When my son brought this home, it stopped me in my tracks. He had created 12 original characters, but more importantly, he had developed a full personality for each character. That showed me the power of his imagination.
I've kept this poster board in my office ever since, and I'm pretty sure that Jeff never understood why. He thought he could do better, and always wished for more refined drawing skills. Ove the years, he migrated from creating character profiles to writing entire scripts, and then to making films.
When I had trouble seeing what was going on inside Jeff's head and heart, I would look at these pictures and be reminded what dwelled inside. It sustained me through his adolescent days when he thought his parents were evil, or when he couldn't explain why he failed to turn in his homework. It sustained me when I overreacted and was subsequently disappointed in my own lack of maturity.
Just like any parent, I've stumbled my way through raising kids. But today, this character board gives me comfort because I didn't merely shove it into a box with other school artwork. I recognized it as a sign of talent, and doing so is one of my proudest moments.
Everyone has talent worth nurturing
Just to avoid the "favorite child" debate that sometimes rages in my household, I could have easily given examples of the talent that lies inside my other offspring. You can do the same for your friends, colleagues, or neighbors.
I can't urge you enough to pay attention to the people around you, to watch for signs of the talent that dwells inside them. Look for opportunities to help foster their strengths. Very little in life will give you greater pleasure than nurturing the talent in others.
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Bruce Kasanoff is co-author with Michael Hinshaw of Smart Customers, Stupid Companies. Bruce also has free ebook guides available at Kasanoff.com.
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Image credit: Jeff Kasanoff
Consultant focused on OpEx, Transformation, and Process
11 年Although there are many skills I'd love to educate and inspire students to achieve - nurturing their own interests is far more important. The same can be said of those around you - at any age! Reminds me of https://cainesarcade.com Caines Arcade - where will Caine be years from now?
Organizational Learning & Development/Organizational Psychology
11 年Bravo! Being in the training and development field/industry and also a mother of two, this rings very true to me. Helping others achieve breakthroughs and seeing those "aha" moments pay intrinsic dividends far beyond what any extrinsic rewards can ever provide. Thanks for sharing!
sole trader consultant, broker, campaigner, advocate and problem solver - self employed sole trader-:"canstruct"
11 年Like this, and what about the other 10 characters and what was geoff age at the time?
Wellbeing Services for the Workplace
11 年I love the honesty of your post. Thanks so much for sharing it. It was really quite touching to read, and as you've said- applicable in business as well as personally. As an Occupational Therapist this is one of the ways I am most successful; helping people recognise their strengths and using this to help them work their way through their struggles.
Marketing Manager | Innovative Communicator
11 年Being able to see and mine the hidden strengths in others, encouraging them to surface is a skill set and talent in its own right. Its the secret sauce of engaging others - and as this post proves, we can try it ourselves at home.