I am going to teach you the importance of:
1. A Talent
2. Learning the Ends and Outs of that Talent
3. Practicing that Talent
4. Over Coming Fear
5. Using that Talent and Enjoying It
(1)
A Talent, What is a Talent? Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. A skill is the learnt capacity or talent to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. A marked ability or skill. The potential or factual ability to perform a skill better than most people. A Talent is the natural ability to do a thing. Whether it be Write, Sing, Sports or Invent or Create. A Talent can not be taught or learned it is a Natural thing inside of a person. You can add to or build up a Talent to make it better useful and you can also lose a Talent by letting it sit dormant for a period of time. For example, if a singer doesn't sing for awhile, they lose that ability to hit the high or low notes. If a sports player is injured and has to be out for a season or two, they must reestablish him or her self. To gain full potential from a Talent, one must practice it everyday. Example: When I was 3 years old, I had a two year old brother and a 4 year old brother. My dad had bought a guitar and began to learn how to play it. Dad began to teach us to sing Gospel Music. But it just came Natural to us. We could hear a song just one time and we could sing it all the way through. Less than a year after we started singing we were getting invited to come visit and sing at other churches. Soon after that we were singing at the radio station. People loved to hear us sing Southern Gospel Music. As time went on, we added more places to go to and sing. More family members, and even sang at 2 different TV Stations a few times. We even sang for the City of Kings Mountain and was picked up to go to the event and brought home in a police car. That was exciting. My family had the Talent to sing and make music. We have sang in almost every church in North and South Carolina. A Talent is born within a person. Not everyone has a Talent. Can you run faster than anyone in the neighborhood? Can you jump higher than anyone? Can you just pick up any type instrument and fool around with it a few minutes and then play a song? Can you just fix things? Then you have a Talent. A Talent can save you money. A Talent can make you money. A Talent can be hard work. A talent can be fun. A talent can do amazing things. If and when you find out what type Talent you have and build on it and grow it. It can and most times is a life changing experience.
(2)
Learning the Ends and Outs of that Talent The very best time to work on perfecting that Talent is at the earliest age possiable. Does your babies really like music? Do they beat and bang on any and all things in their way? Do they try to work on their toys? Do they talk or walk to early for their age? When you humm a song, do they try to dance? Do your sons or daughters learn something very fast, any thing? Even playing video games can lead into a career.Then they may just be Intellectual gifted. Find out what it is that intrest your child the most. What is it that makes them most happy besides candy and cookies and sweets. The very best age for this is 3 years old. If you have younger children, they may or may not follow the same path. If you have older children, then it best if you work with them first. What ever it is they enjoy the most, that is what you build upon. A FACT: "You can never get anywhere in life, doing what you hate. You may buy a home, own a new car, wear nice clothes. But it came the hardest way to get it. By doing what you hate." EXAMPLE: My dad and mom worked in an old cotton mill all their lives. Dad had that security of a paycheck every week. My brothers and I wore patched clothes to school. We walked to school in the rain. We heated our home with coal. Yet, we never went hungry. We never slept out in the cold. We never had as many toys as the neighborhood kids. Because dad had to work hard. Mom had to work hard. For only a meager paycheck. Dad was to tired to play with us. Mom was to tired to play with us. Don't let that happen to you. What ever your child likes, build on it. If you play an instrument, and your child really likes to hear you play. Teach it to them. If they like sports, let them join a team. Encourgement and praise goes along way in a childs ear, eye, heart, and MIND. Please don't misunderstand me, our out come may not be your out come. Your out come may be totally different. My family failed to persue our Talents. But many many times I have often thought about just how differently my life would have been if dad had a took that mans advice and we had made a career out of our singing.
(3)
Practicing that Talent You have heard it said, "Practice Makes Perfect". Well, thats a Fact. You must practice that Talent everyday. Work it, learn it. Add to it as time goes on. Perfect that special ability. Make it special, make your own. Think that no one else has it. It's yours and yours only. You are the best at it because no one else has your Talent. Everyone's Talent is unique only to them. Simply because you, me, and everyone is unique. There will never, ever be another You, and Your Talent. Practice must be kept fun, intertaining, and intresting. Never make it feel as an absolute even tho it is. If your child writes, praise him or her. Hang up there writing. Let them hear you on the phone or with visitors talking about how well that story was your son or daughter has written. No matter how bad it may be, praise them. EXAMPLE: My son wants to pick a guitar so very much. But I don't have the ability to play any type instrument. Due to circumstances and situations, he has no one to teach him. I bought him a real nice guitar that just fits him. He strums up and down the strings. He doesn't know how to cord. But he will call me on the phone and say, " Daddy, I wrote another song." I say, "Well lets hear it." He will play it for me. I just carry on about how good it was. I tell him to try and think of words that will fit that tune. Some times he calls to tell me he has written a song that fits his tune. I praise him. I can hear and even feel his smile over the phone. Oneday, he will play a real song with that guitar. I can't wait. Buy a recorder, buy a camera, go to games, and use them. My family failed to take pictures, and today, I wish we had. I would love to show them to my son. Please don't ever miss this opertunity. You'll regret later in life. I film everthing pertaining to my son. Some times he will ask me why. I just tell him, "I'm going to make a movie star out of you boy." Then we all have a good laugh. Invite their friends over for snakes. A party. For practice. If they seem to be losing intrest in practice, do something silly for them. If they seem to be losing intrest in sports. Never ever tell them, "Oneday you'll be glad you did." That goes right over a childs head. They don't understand "oneday". Pop some popcorn and watch a few slide shows or videos of them playing, with them and the family.This will encourage them greatly. Same if they sing or play an instrument, listen to some of the recordings with them. A writer may have pieces of paper or full sheets just laying around. Please never move these if possible. I have pieces of paper laying around. Each one is a different insperation. Chain of thought was broken at that point. But later on in the day or next few days. I see that piece of paper, I pick it up, read it, and all of a sudden, that thought comes back to me. Some of my best work has come about that way. When you move it, it breaks that tie to thought. It disrupts that subconscience mind of thought. Practice must be fun, intertaning, and intresting. Encouragement and praise will always stimulate and show gratitude to your child.
(4)
Over coming Fear The first step in overcoming fear is recognizing and identifying what that fear is and its origin. Are your childern embarrassed by a crowd of people? Then you need to get them more involved in social settings. Counteracting with lots of different people. In age and in male and female genders. One good way of accomplishing this is to go to church gatherings. Or home parties. Always have the guest bring their children. Especially if they have a Talent of their own that they can perform at the gathering. Let your child perform their Talent also. If your child does not want to perform or is embarrassed to perform, simply tell them, "Look at what all the others are doing." Concentrate on reality. Tell your child you want to see them perform. Tell them it is a form of practice. EXAMPLE: If your child writes, began to read the first line or paragraph of something they have written. Then just stop, and say something like, "Well here, I can't put the full meaning into because I didn't write it. But I'll let my son or daughter read it. They can express the full feelings of it better than me. Because they are the one that wrote it." Then call the child in to read it.
Attack fear with faith and love. There is wonder-working power in these weapons and they have been overcoming fears throughout humanity's existence. Always praise the child on everything they do. This builds confidence, selfesteem, and shows respect. Never ever say, "Oh that is silly." Or "It can't hurt you", or "Don't be such a baby." This can and most likely will settle into their subconscience mind that "Oh yes it can, or Oh yes it will." Never ever demorallize you child by calling them a baby in front of a group of people, just because they feel uncomfortable in or around a crowd. EXAMPLE: My dad is 75 years old, has been playing the guitar and singing in church for some 51 years. Just the other day told me he still gets a little nervous when playing and singing to a crowd.
Discuss your childs fears with them. Analyze the fear. Can it harm you in any way? Talk to your child about why they feel embarressed or fear getting up and performing their Talent. Understanding plays a huge role here. Confront whatever it is your child is afraid of directly. Work on it to over come it. EXAMPLE: Tell your child to never look at the peoples faces. Always look just over their heads. The people will think your child is looking at them. When in reality, your child will be looking at the peoples hats or a spot on the wall. Also tell your child to never look at just one thing for any length of time. To look around. See what they can spot on the wall. While making the people think they are being looked at by your child. Tell your child it's a trick that famous people pull on people all the time. The people will think your looking at them, when in reality you are really looking at something else. Change the way you think and you change the way you act. You can control your thoughts. Since you're only able to consciously think about one thing at a time, only allow positive thoughts to go through your mind. Whenever a negative thought or fear enters, simply choose to stop it right in its tracks and immediately change that thought to something positive. Deliberately program right thoughts into your head every single day. This is the best way to change the picture of fear into one of victory. EXAMPLE: Tell your child it pleases people to hear them perform. People really do like it.
(5)
Using that Talent and enjoying it It really doesn't matter what Talent your child has. It will come as natural as blinking the eye. But only if you help perfect it. Fine tune it. Bring out the natural abilities it has. Practice, Practice, Practice. Making practice fun and enjoyable. Snacks, visitors, momentary funny interruptions. If your child performs at a gathering, then skip the practice for that day. If they have a game that day, then hold off on the parties where they will be the focal point of the evening. It would be grand to have a celebration party with their friend. Always remember, it's a Talent. It is meant to be fun. Not a chore. What better way to make money? Doing what your good at. Doing what you love. This same principle goes for school. With out a good education, a Talent is almost worthless. EXAMPLE: My mom and dad didn't care if we got an education or not. Not a single one of my immediate family members got a high school diploma. Over the years, we have paid a huge price also. But I am thankful that today I have some college and an Associates Degree along with other college awards. All come by the hard way. A good education, lays out a road map, a short cut to be all that one can be. It also adds comprehension and understand and common sense to all that one wants to endeavor. I hope you found this informative, and helpful for you, your child and your life. All this came to my family and me the hard way. If we only had the knowledge, the forsight. I would be somewhere singing today. Instead of writing this paper. You see, I love to sing. I have a song in my heart and mind all day everyday. Even in bed at night, I am rocked to sleep by the movement of my feet to the rhythm in my head. But, denying that Talent, I have worked hard for nothing. I missed the opertunity to be the next Elvis, or George Jones. My family missed the opertunity to be the next Kingsmen, Cathedrals, or Gaither Vocal Band. It's to late for me now. I suffer physical disabilities that prevent me from hitting those notes anymore. I can't hold that note no where as long as I once did. Please don't let the same thing happen to you or your children, or family. Regrets are a hard lesson to learn.
Good luck to you and you're Family.
Michael Wood is the Author of many Southern Gospel Music Songs as well as a few Country Music Songs. My Family and I have been in and around music for some 51 years. 14 of those years we toured all over North and South Carolina. Singing in countless Churches, Radio Stations, and 2 different TV Stations. Unable to carry the high note for the distance I once did. Due to physical disibilities. I now write. You can listen to several samples on the Hobbies Page, Enjoy


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