Jon was a drummer that I got to know through the band and singles group at my church. Getting to know Jon was also the first time that I specifically recall beginning to see the distinction between gifts and talents. I got to know Jon at a weekend youth camp where we played together in the band. After the evening events, Jon and I spent some time trading guitar licks and showing each other some stuff that we had made up. Jon had only recently picked up the guitar, having always played drums in the past, and I remember being amazed at the way he played the guitar. There was just something captivating about every aspect of his style. Part of it was the way he approached the instrument and handled it. Part of it was his comfort level in playing things that are not ‘supposed’ to sound good, at least when it comes to structured music theory. The most intriguing though was just how naturally the music seemed to flow out of him through the guitar. It was truly amazing!
Jon did not know much for chords or theory and that almost seemed to reinforce his expression through the instrument. After that weekend, I really began to feel that Jon really playing the guitar and I felt that I merely worked the guitar.
I have not kept in close contact with Jon over the years, but last I heard he was working under a very well known producer in a Nashville studio. I’m proud to have been a friend and feel that the insights from this experience have changed my life in subtle ways that I’m sure he is still unaware.
My big takeaway from this experience as I have reflected over the years is the idea that people are really Gifted or Talented in their pursuits.
This difference is subtle at first, but becomes more and more prominent as you begin to recognize it. The difference is not something you can always substantiate or even identify consistently and is most apparent when looking at other people as opposed to recognizing it in yourself.
In the variety of interest and pursuits I have explored, this idea is especially prominent in those more creatively oriented and does manifest in a number of different roles beyond just the creative.
The best distinction I can make is that Gifted people just have something characteristically different about the way they do things and the authenticity with which it is expressed. It feels genuine and, like Jon, seamless expression of themselves. Talented people on the other hand have the ability to become proficient in the pursuit and can be quite good at blurring the line with their expression feeling natural, but it always seems to leave you with the impression that something very subtle is missing.
In my case, I have become a proficient musician on a number of different instruments, but I have always felt like I am working the instrument and have only rarely felt like it was a seamless expression. When I first began to develop my musical skills I have the ability, because I homeschooled from 6th grade through high school, to spend a substantial amount of time each day practicing. I had a small studio setup at May parents house growing up and was able to spend several hours each day practicing and learning. This investment of time produced a level of comfort and proficiency in the instruments to where I now feel confident in playing anything as long as I have enough time to practice. This idea of it being a natural and seamless expression always eluded me though.
I later realized and concluded that I was a Talented musician, but that was not my true or full gifting. As a result I began to explore other interests and pursuits which eventually led me to business.
As I mentioned, I seems much easier to recognize this factor, Gifts vs Talents, in other people and incredibly difficult to see it in yourself. To fully recognize it myself, I found it required a tremendous amount of self awareness and sensitivity to the responses and feedback of others. For me, it was a matter of trying new things and then gauging the level of excitement and energy in that pursuit while maintaining a sensitivity to the responses, or lack of responses, from others.
The more I pressed into business the more I felt a clear passion for it. I have received a large volume of feedback from people watching me translate a concept or idea into a cohesive strategy and action plan and their amazement at they way I am able to do this which serves as a substantial confirmation for me personally.
The hardest thing for me to watch is when people try so hard to do or be something in which they are not really gifted. This invariably leads to a tremendous amount of negative self doubt, discouragement and despair. There are some people who just want so much to be someone they are not that they miss their true calling in life and feel they are stuck in this depressed state because they can feel something deep down that this is not who they were designed to be.
There is always hope and there are always options and getting free of this begins by facing the honest truth face to face. The reality is that sometimes to enter the next and more healthy season of life, you just have to close one door before you can see the other one wide open before you!
Don’t settle for less than the best in your life… Go find your true Gifting and bring it to the world!
-JS