by Chinonso Ogbogu

You see, we all came into this world with a gift. And while we’re still here, there’s a strong demand placed on us to serve this gift to the world in making it a better place.

Just recently, I was in Lagos State for strategic meetings. My stay was a very short one but, at least, I made it my forte to catch fun—and then I did. Apart from the invaluable time I shared with my family members, the trip provided me with a great opportunity to meet with incredible creatures that humbled me and added to my arsenal of wisdom. If truth be told, the people I met appertain to the archetype of greatness. They were all awesome, immeasurably! However, something terrible happened the penultimate night before my departure that left a sour taste in my mouth. Hence, I will like to spit it out quickly.

That day, I was invited by my mentor to feature in a strategic meeting with other mentees. The meeting was scheduled to take place in a cafeteria located in Victoria Island and I couldn’t be nervier to meet with my fellow species. When I arrived at the venue that evening, almost everyone had showed up—including my mentor. Straight away, the meeting started and we all began to build and enjoy a socio-intellectual camaraderie that triggered the curiosity or envy of other people around. The meeting was centered on us building a new modus operandi towards making world impact as change agents in our different spheres. By the time the meeting ended, we were all literally on fire to take on the world with our diverse gifts and ideas. When it was time for me to leave, I joined three other mentees going my way and we all entered a BRT bus. Now, when we alighted at our destination, one of the mentees noticed that his bag was mysteriously opened. How? Like I did say, it was ‘mysteriously’ opened! Curious of the atypical state of his bag, this mentee decided to quickly ransack his bag. When he did, he discovered that all the money he had in it, his documents, as well as his ATM cards had all vanished into thin air! At that point, the four of us stood there queerly agape.

Come to think of it, that great mentee was just returning from a meeting where he made a strong commitment to impact positively on the world and all the world could do to him was steal his valuables?! Come on, isn’t the world rather unfair? I mean, isn’t it rather unfair that he decided to deploy his gifts and the world punished him for that? Well, without sounding hardhearted, I think the world is actually fair—and I believe my good friend, the mentee in question, concurs with my avowal.

However, my assignment in this particular gossip is not to substantiate the ‘fair theory’ vis-à-vis the world’s work-reward system. Rather, my assignment is to direct your focus towards the sweet taste that that experience bore and then inspire you to swallow it.

You see, we all came into this world with a gift. And while we’re still here, there’s a strong demand placed on us to serve this gift to the world in making it a better place. While a few of us are doing that, a vast majority of us are not. However, you will agree with me, there are times when you serve your gift and the world seems not to appreciate or reward your effort. Just like the experience of that mentee, you’re committed to impacting the world but nobody seems to take notice of your great works. Sure, you’re gifted and you work really hard to hone your gift, yet it appears your efforts aren’t being valued by the people around you. Gee, instead of the world to recognize and reward your gift, they don’t even give a damn about it! And now, due to such several awful experiences, you have either abandoned your gift or you’re at the brink of doing so. Well, if those preceding sentences describe your situation, then I’m here to tell that you shouldn’t give up on your gift.

Listen, the world is such an interesting space to live in. Obviously, in this space the work-reward system vis-à-vis the deployment of your gift does not always follow a linear-like arrangement. However, let me inform you that the world actually needs your gift—even though they pretend not to—and one day they will recognize and reward you for it. Meanwhile, don’t be discouraged. Just as that mentee didn’t lose even an ounce of his fire to impact the world, even after that awful incidence, don’t lose your passion towards serving your great gift to the world. Trust me friend, your gift will one day be celebrated.

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Chinonso Ogbogu is a business trainer, success coach, highly sought-after conference speaker, gifted writer, adept blogger, and a radio personality. He is the radio host of popular radio programme known as SuccessMatters™, and the owner of www.chinonsowrites.com. He is the author of the powerful book known as ‘THE VOICES’. Follow in him Facebook on: www.facebook.com/chinonsowrites or twitter on: @chinonsowrites

 

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