Can You Deliver?

We need to realize that our fortunes or Lady Luck is not always to blame for our not getting “that particular job” or “promotion” that we thought we deserved. Let's ask ourselves this; If I’m really given this position, can I really deliver? How prepared am I to really take on this job or project? What kind of results will I produce with my current level of skills??

Earlier in 2020, I finally decided to try pitching my writing to clients and start earning from it. I registered in the relevant places and waited for months without getting any writing jobs. I became frustrated and resentful of those who were advertising their writing successes. Then I landed my first gig! It was what I had been waiting for, so obviously I was excited.?

But then I became gripped with fear and bolted. The job was supposed to be something I could do, so what was the problem? Well, I learned a major lesson from that experience. What had been holding me back wasn’t my lack of a job, it was a lack of confidence in the skill I was selling.?

I realized then that those who make it are infinitely confident in their abilities. Conversely, those who continuously lament their fates are most often not even prepared to take on the responsibilities that they’re praying and wishing for.?

So the question of the day is; Can you deliver?

If your dream job or promotion lands in your hands right now, can you deliver? If your miracle fortune arrives right now, can you deliver on all the responsibilities and promises you made while you prayed for the miracle to come? Or will you just forget everything and lose it all just to start praying all over again?(sounds so cliche but we know that’s because it happens every time).?

I decided to work on building my actual skills in this area by doing pro-bono work and that was all I really needed to help me build my confidence. It’s not like I couldn’t write, but I needed to totally and completely own it! We all do. If you claim to have a certain skill that you’ll like to sell, then you should own it. You must be able to defend that skill any time and anywhere you’re called upon to deliver.?

It’s not enough to pray for opportunity and fortunes, we should be primed and ready to deliver once we’re handed these opportunities. The only way we can do this is to continually improve on those skills by finding ways to practice them even if it means offering your services temporarily as pro-bono work for your local communities, friends and connections.

Here's another way to look at it from Barack Obama;

The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don't wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.

The idea is not to wait until we're perfect because that's counter-productive, but that while we search and wait for our opportunities, is the perfect time to keep on building on the skills we already have and finding ways to express those skills. Personally, I find that when I'm occupied with something (no matter how trivial) is when I get the most opportunities.

So what skills are you currently offering? Are you utilizing them in the way you hoped? If not, then what are you doing right now (with those skills) while you wait for the right opportunities to come? Just imagine that God is about to grant long awaited answers to your prayers, and He asks you; My child, can you deliver? What would be your response?