Recently, I was gifted a painting from a man who wanted to "bless me with his gift." Man, it hit me hard. How many of us are willing to give away our gift for free? Sometimes it works to your advantage to believe that your gift will get you where you need to go. To give it away doesn't mean the gift is worth nothing, but it could mean everything to someone else. I'm not telling you to give everything away for free, but don't let your pride stop you from giving to the world freely.
I recognize that when the man gifted me with his art, he became my friend. He became a part of my tribe to some degree. If I can do something for him, I will, because he blessed my life. I think it's important to know that when you are an entrepreneur and you have a craft that is your passion and your gift, people feel intrinsically connected to the experience that you provide when you bless them with something for free. I look back on the times that I spoke for free or did something for someone without expectation- the results were given back ten-fold. That kindness reverberates through the world and echoes back to the giver.
If your passion is singing or rapping, and you know a spot that wants to hire you, but you feel like it's beneath you, you may not know who is going to show up. You have to look further than the next paycheck and think of the bigger picture. Any opportunity you have to use your gift, use it. What you don't use, you lose. Get out of your own way, stop feeling yourself too much. Always stay humble and give away your gift. Even if your gift is motherly love or good listening, give it away!
Steve Harvey once said, "Your gift is the thing that you're good at, but it takes the least effort." For me, I love to share my heart and I never knew I was good at that. Y'all showed me that it helped. I'm a witness. If you lean into your gift, your gift will make room for you.
We live in a culture that is obsessive about views and reach. You might have a video on YouTube that only has 100 views, but you don't know if one view was to a class of 1000 people. The important thing is impact. If you're passionate about what you do, that shows through, and people feel that passion on a deeper level. Social media is going to show you all sides of opinions. Some people will want to tear you down, but don't focus on them. They aren't your audience. Focus on the people that you are making an impact on, and the rest will fall into place.
It all starts with you
