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You can be a master of all.

by Yemi Sholotan, posted in Be Inspired

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It’s okay to be multitalented, it’s okay to be a master of all!

Over and over again, I’ve listened to some of my mentees say that they feel like they don’t excel at anything simply because they are talented in so many areas. In fact, they feel like a failure because people refer to them as a “Jack of all trades, master of none”. I would like to address this issue and share my thoughts.

I can talk about this because for many years I was concerned that, although I was talented in many areas, it became a challenge to pick one career or one of my talents to focus on. But as I grew older and gained more understanding, I discovered that it is quite possible, and indeed normal, for an individual to be blessed with more than one talent and also to be a master of all! A few points to note:

*Many talents are genetically inherited, and so it is quite possible for an individual to have inherited more than one talent. Examples of which would be musical ability, artistic ability, athletic ability, mathematical ability, etc.

*Talents or natural abilities can be harnessed and nurtured into becoming a skill. For example, a person with innate musical ability that has decided to pursue a career in music, still needs to refine and perfect their skill by receiving further training at music school.

You can be a Jack of all trades, and it’s okay to be a master of all. It just means that you have a certain responsibility to work as hard as you can at each of your talents; you can’t afford to waste time and sit around. Why? Because you have so much to get done. It doesn’t mean that you’re been particularly chosen or that you’re destined to be successful at all of your talents (trust me I don’t mean that in a harsh way). It’s the reality. You just have to work at it.

In this regard, the Parable of the Talents in the scripture (Matthew 25:14-30) comes to mind where a master entrusted his ‘talents’ to his servants while he was away on a journey. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, “to each according to his ability”. All but one of the servants multiplied their talents, adding value to it for their master. Guess who did nothing with their talent: The servant who was given just one talent! He hid the one talent and gave it back to his master on his return in just the same amount as it was given. The master was not happy with him at all because he had wasted the opportunity he had been given.

The truth is that you have a responsibility to use, and not waste, the talent(s) you have been given. Sometimes you will fail but the onus is on you to get back up and use that talent to glorify the one God that gave it to you in the first place.

So, I hope that after you read this post, you’ll be encouraged to do more with your talent: not only will you use it, you’ll use it to make the giver proud and happy.

I look forward to reading your comments.

Sincerely 🙂

Yemi

 

 

 

You’re Stronger Than you Think!

by Yemi Sholotan, posted in Be Inspired, Lifestyle

Face Your Fears Quote Jpeg

Hello!

Years ago, when I was in primary 5, which is how we would refer to 5th grade in my home country, a boy classmate (I’ll refer to him as Kelan here) from my neighborhood said he heard that I had made up some negative things about him. With some encouragement from his friends, he ambushed me on my three-mile walk home from school. Those who know me now can only imagine what my stature must have been like back in 5th grade: I was TINY! I became afraid when I saw him and his friends approaching. He began to yell that he was going to beat me up if I didn’t apologize for what I had said about him. My friend, who was walking home with me, begged me to apologize so we could go in peace but I refused to apologize to him for what I didn’t do. While all this commotion was going on, I think one of his friends must have pushed him, or maybe he tripped, because he stumbled towards me. Right then, I saw an opportunity and grabbed it as a strange boldness came over me. I went for his foot, causing him to lose his balance. Before I knew what was happening, he had fallen and hit his head on a small rock, When he clambered to his feet, blood was running down his forehead, all of us got scared and ran off, including him.

Kelan was so embarrassed and later that day his mom, accompanied by Kelan, came to my house to inform my parents that I had “beaten up” her son. Naturally, my parents were dumbfounded because they just couldn’t believe that my tiny self had beaten up a boy, particularly given the extent of his injuries, all the while I was feeling sorry for Kelan. For the following few weeks, he walked around the school downcast and embarrassed, and so eventually I felt that I had to go and apologize to him. From that day on we remained good friends.

I would like to share with you three lessons I learnt from this experience:

  1. Never allow fear to define who you are. With boldness you can defeat any problem that seemingly looks insurmountable. The story of David and Goliath in the Bible has always resonated with me since my Sunday School days. Even now, I still find David to be a great example of a fearless young man who, because of this attribute, was able to defeat Goliath, the Philistine giant, as well as go on to do great things afterwards. Even faced with the invincible giant, David was courageous and did not waver, casting fear aside. While the so-called warriors were hiding, he, a young shepherd boy, stepped up to the plate. So my advice to you my friend is be bold and be fearless to take on challenges and explore new endeavors.
  2. There’s always an opportunity in a challenge. Many times when we are faced with a difficult situation, we focus solely on the problem without taking note of the opportunity that may exist even in the midst of the problem. In the story I shared about Kelan, I “won” the fight by recognizing an opportunity and going for it. I want you to always access the situation carefully, find that option that gives room for an opportunity and go for it.
  3.  You are stronger than you think. Don’t look at your stature (big or small), your circumstances or the stories going on around you. Your “bigness” or “smallness” will not solve any problem or take care of any confusion. Your faith in God will. Let your strength be in God. With a fearless spirit and with God on your side, you are definitely stronger than you think.

“Anyone can run away, it’s super easy. Facing problems and working through them, that’s what makes you strong”.         —Anonymous

If you are struggling with the spirit of fear, you can ask God to give you instead the spirit of boldness and of power to do great things and to overcome challenges.

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Why I’m here

by Yemi Sholotan, posted in Uncategorized

First off,  I’d like to say a very big thank you for stopping by.

I feel it is important that I let you know the reason for this blog so it’ll be easy for you to decide whether the journey is worth embarking on with me or not. It is my hope that as I share my stories, experiences and the few lessons that I’ve learned in life in regards to Lifestyle, Marriage, Human Interaction and Leadership, you’ll be inspired and motivated to make better decisions.

Believe me, I’ve observed, encountered and undergone a lot in my almost five decades of being on this earth, and the burden and responsibility have been placed on me to help someone not to make the same mistakes that I made or be inspired where necessary.  So I invite you to explore, share and learn with me.

I’ll post as often as possible, so please be sure to check in from time to time.

To know more about me and what I do for a living, please visit: http://www.havilahconcepts.com

See ya!