What is the secret which harnesses ordinary powers to outstanding achievements? How do some individuals attract admiration for extraordinary results when actual they possess only limited talent?
Success is not due to fortuitous concourse of stars at our birth, but to a stead trail of sparks from the grindstone of hard work each day. It takes preparation, training, and hard work to become a champion in any field.
A definite sense of purpose also adds a strong motivation toward making the most of our abilities. We all know that purpose makes a difference; a clear picture of what we wish to accomplish and the determination to reach our goal strengthens our power to achieve it. It can make the difference between success and failure, frustration and zest for living, happiness and unhappiness. Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes lesser ones exist on wishes and inclinations. The most glowing successes are but the reflections of an inner fire.
As we harness our abilities to a steady purpose and undertake the long pull toward its accomplishment, rich compensations reward us. A sense of purpose simplifies life and therefore concentrates our abilities; and concentration adds power.
You would not wish to go through a trying period again, but is it not true that some of the most precious personal values you then received would not be yours if the way had been easy and the road smooth? Your talents were tempered and expanded. You learned patience and endurance and the value of money. The sacrifices you were called to make proved worthwhile and you do not regret the hardships you endured. The lesson is clear: in whatever are we may wish to apply our abilities and to find the happiness of personal accomplishment, we must be willing to sacrifice for the expansion of our talents.
Having taken stock of our inclinations and abilities, and having prepared them for use in the light of compelling purpose, the next step is to put our talents to work. In using them we develop them. Even if our abilities seem small to us, or the opportunity to use them seems insignificant, it is important to exercise them to the fullest.
People with ordinary talents often achieve more than those with greater physical and intellectual endowments because they work harder with that they have.
We should not acquiesce as easily. For our own good, we should scorn the easy way and the second best. When we match our abilities against something hard each day, some task that seems beyond our capacity, we are exercising will, mind, and body to good purpose. As we master hard things we gain the ability to handle still more difficult assignments and fuller responsibilities. As we struggle, we grow.
In putting our talents to work, imagination adds amazing outreach to our capacities. It opens doors of achievement and happiness which we do not anticipate and which once we would have believed to be beyond our wildest hopes of attainment.
