From the Heart: Trust Your Talent
By Alan Cohen
Many years ago a young Kansas City artist struggled to get his cartoons published in city newspapers. His offerings, however, were met with rejection after rejection. “Forget it,” editors told him. “You have no talent. Get a real job.” But the artist felt that he did have talent and he refused to compromise his career.
Finally the artist found himself holed up in a mice-infested garage, penniless. Bored, he began to sketch his environment, especially one little mouse who ran back and forth on his window sill. Over time the artist made friends with the rodent and the two developed a relationship. He named the mouse “Mickey.”
The artist was Walt Disney, and you know the rest of the story. Disney went on to establish the most expansive entertainment empire in the world, with amusement parks spanning the globe, major film and television companies, and countless spinoff products. Over the years Walt, Mickey, and their entertainment progeny have provided limitless joy for hundreds of millions of children and their families. If you have every visited one of the Disney parks or watched Disney films or television, you can thank Walt Disney for trusting his talent.
Everyone has a bankable talent. You came to earth for a purpose. On the deepest level you are here for a spiritual purpose, to discover your identity and your value in the cosmic plan. You also have a form of expression in the world, to serve others while fulfilling yourself. Do not stop until you have tapped into your talent and expressed it. It is why you are here.
In biblical times, a “talent” was a high-value unit of currency, about 80 pounds of silver, equal to the wages paid to a man for about twenty years of work. Translate that into the dollar amount for twenty years of work today, and you will understand its huge worth.
The biblical parable of the talents tells of a householder who left home for a long time and gave three servants talents to use wisely. When the master returned, he found that two of the servants had invested their talents and generated a significant return. The third servant, however, had simply hidden his talent in the ground and made no use of it whatsoever. The master was highly displeased with this servant, and cast him out.
