How to Find Your Hidden Talent
Photo by vramak.
In the past hidden talents have commonly been defined as things you are great at but nobody knows about, or things that you would be immediately great at if you tried them, skipping beginner and progressing to intermediate in an instant. The first definition is useful mainly in movies, the latter is not really useful at all (arguably more myth than reality).
Your hidden talents are the things you could do that would make you happy. But you don’t know it yet.
This is not just about work, but speaks to the whole content of your life. I’ve already written about the psychological evidence that shows that when people do work or activities that make them feel good and involve skills, either mental or physical, live happier lives.
This is just common sense, and it’s probably nothing you haven’t already heard before. But I don’t think many people actually take the next step and give themselves the opportunity to discover all of their hidden talents.
If you take a pen and paper and write down a list of all the things you’ve always thought you might enjoy or be good at, you’ll be surprised at the number of them that can be tested or teed up within 7 days. With the help of the internet, it’s easy to find local classes, get how-to book recommendations, follow along with tutorials - and find other people who can answer your newbie questions!
There is no real excuse to miss out on finding your hidden talents.
If the barrier to entry on any of your possible hidden talents is too high - for example, you want to try performing mechanical repairs on light aircraft - there is always a way to make it accessible. Try working on your car instead. If you enjoy that, you can take the next step towards your real goal.
You might also worry that your real hidden talent is not on your list. It’s so hidden that you’ve never even thought about it as something you might like to do. If you usually hate exercise, you might never expect that you’d love hiking, for example. But your hidden talents are never that random. You might hate exercise but love nature, so it makes sense that you’d enjoy relatively easy hikes. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a passionate hiker who hates exercise and is bored by natural beauty!
Your hidden talents will always fit your personality or interests in some way. Instead of being hidden and random - things to be discovered by accident - the things you love doing actually make a lot of sense.
You can find a good beginner’s lesson on anything for free, online. This is an incredible privilege of living in our current era. It provides us with endless opportunities.
50 or 100 years ago, a farmhand in a small rural town who loved sculpture may never have been able to learn more about it. His small local library didn’t have the books, he didn’t know anyone who could teach him, he didn’t know where to travel to buy materials or join classes. So he never had the opportunity to find the hidden talent that would make him happy. For us, the barriers to entry are so low that there’s no excuse not to give yourself that opportunity. Get online, Google the phrases ’sculpture classes’, ’sculpture resources’ or ’sculpture lessons’ and in 5 seconds you have more opportunity than that farmhand ever did to pursue something that could be your life’s calling. The free and instant access to answers, advice and learning materials on any topic is, to my mind, the internet’s greatest gift to humanity.
By methodically searching out all your hidden talents, you can:
- Find what puts you into flow and, if you want, build a business on it
- Be happier
- Build a personal brand around the activities you’re passionate about
As myself and other online business pundits have argued, positioning yourself as an authority is the best way to create a valuable personal brand. You become an authority by giving good advice on things that you love and know a lot about. Widening the pool of things you’re passionate about means you will have more options and opportunities in online business. Better yet, it will make you happier.
To finish off, a little homework:
Write down anything you think could be your hidden talent on a sheet of paper: things you might like but haven’t tried, things you liked in the past before life interrupted (maybe you stopped going to art classes when you moved states, or stopped playing sport when you had a baby.)
If it’s in the AM when you read this, pursue one of your potential hidden talents this evening. If it’s in the PM, pursue on of your potential hidden talents tonight or tomorrow. If it’s something you can do without help, read up on some beginner lessons. If you need help, look for a local class, group or team you can join.
My own story is that I discovered one of my hidden talents a couple of months ago. Believe it or not, it’s playing soccer! I’ve enjoyed watching it for many years but never gave myself the opportunity to try playing it until recently. I’m so glad I did. It’s become a passion of mine and I can’t imagine giving it up. My only regret is that I didn’t give myself the opportunity to try it earlier.
Not only has it made me happier, it’s also opened up a whole new sphere of blogs, websites or online businesses I could create in the future based on this new thing I love.
Now I have books on drawing, 3D modeling, fiction writing and game development in the mail - and I’m reading a great book on CSS… just in-case I have any other hidden talents up my sleeve :)
Thank you for this article, really opened my thoughts.
That is what working happy is all about - finding those hidden talents and exploring them. It’s these hidden talents that have so much strength within them.
I’ve been recording more video for my blog. I never thought I would consider this a talent, but it is. I still put out some ums and ahhs here and there, but on the whole I have fun doing it and people can feel this.
I too look forward to more hidden talents to be discovered. I believe that we will never discover all the great things we could be good at. That’s the best part about being alive (at least for me) discovering all the ins and outs of my mind and body.
You write:
“The free and instant access to answers, advice and learning materials on any topic is, to my mind, the internet’s greatest gift to humanity.”
This is a great point. You know… I’ve been taking all of this for granted. Shame on me! Thanks for waking me up.
By the way… one of the things I really enjoy is striving to write better and better copy. It’s a wonderful challenge. And so… for example… I read every post of copyblogger. How wonderful it is I can read really good articles on the subject for free.
I love trying out new skills/activities. I started learning some basic video editing recently — I’ve always been a writer, but video plays well with the desire to tell stories :). I’m still learning, but I’m getting into it.
Like you said, the hidden talents (not sure yet if I can call it a talent!) always tie in somehow to the strings of our visible passions…
That’s great Skellie. What CSS book are you reading?
I had NO idea I was a writer until about a year and a half ago. My wife always told me so, but I never believed her. When my daughter started kindergarten, I wrote to fill a void. Then I kept going. I started writing in October and by the end of the year, I had a 600 page novel finished. Crazy. There’s nothing like finding a talent in the dirt and brushing it off with a fossil brush.
I discovered that I can write when I started off as a Jr. copywriter - which was just to give it a try how it works. And as clients started approving my ads, then I realised I had the spark.
Yes, what you said is true! Anyone, who says he hasn’t had enough opportunities to learn his much obsessed skill with the internet at hands is just plain lazy. It’s far easier now than earlier to learn a new skill.
Thanks for the insights on how to google ahead with something we’re overly obsessed about!
I very much like your idea of listing “potential talents” and then putting them to the test within a week. It’s amazing how many of us feel we may be good at something, and even long to do that something, yet we never try it. We talk but we don’t explore. Your simple action tip is an excellent prompt to take an action step of self discovery.
I like that you spelled out that you can test your talents in 7 days.
I’m a fan of testing and exploring. It’s a way to incrementally expand your portfolio and enjoy the growth.
Thanks for your thoughts and personal stories everyone - great to hear about other people discovering their hidden talents and running with them :)
@ Jeffrey Way: I bought three books on the subject last year because I decided to learn to code. I haven’t touched them until now, but finally starting. They are: CSS - The Missing Manual, Build Your Own Website the Right Way Using HTML & CSS, and The Ultimate CSS Reference. I’m reading Build Your Own Website the Right Way.
I want to get to a point where I can follow along with your Wordpress and code slicing screencasts - my main aims with code are to work with Wordpress, so I’m sure I will be referring to your tutorials regularly :)
Thanks for reading Jeff!
nice article mate… n yes i agree that we r not giving time to to our hidden treasure to get it out …
Well, now it looks like you also have found a hidden talent for coding - the comments look great.
Thanks again for another great and inspiring post.
Great post,
There aren’t many things better than doing things that you enjoy and are passionate about!
ps - I enjoy reading your blog, keep up the great posts!
Great post and lots of great advice and ideas for moving ahead. I am currently at the point of realizing & understanding what it is that makes me truly happy personally and professional. I have made the decision to figure out a way to pursue a few of my passions professionally. So, now I need to buckle down and push myself forward to actually implement my ideas.
Wish me good luck! :-)
[...] Read the rest… [...]
Skellie,
I also had a similar experience years ago when I gave soccer a shot and I thought if only I’d given this a chance sooner. I’m curious, what CSS book are ya reading? I’m interested in learning CSS (and have been) thanks to my Thesis theme and research. :)
-Mig
[...] 1. Skelliewag enlightens us once again with How to Find Your Hidden Talent. [...]
Really good article.
Every one need to find more happy by themslves, I am trying to find my hidden talent like you said. Thanks for your sharing.
So uplifting!
I just found you this evening and it feels so good to go to bed.;-)
I draw, I paint, I still lack the feeling of being an authority.
Thank You for such a great feeling!
Marta Rawvolta
[...] a way of testing if our passions can be transferred into a job or a business. Skellie writes that Your hidden talents are the things you could do that would make you happy. My view is that among your hidden talents is your passion. Your hidden talents will always fit your [...]
My hidden talent would probably have to be drawing, it’s something that just clicked with me since I was a kid. Though it’s not something I take seriously, it’s a good hobby, and I’m currently the best in my school. Great post
[...] If you need more advice on discovering your talent check out this post on Skelliewag titled, How to Find Your Hidden Talent. [...]
I think that if I had dedicated time to it I could have played soccer like my father did - I should have joined a team when I was younger because I was quite good (not so much now).
I also think I could work well in film. I excelled in film studies at University more than anything else - I feel like I have a good understanding of film editing and direction. It’s not something I pursued once leaving University though.
Thanks, you’ve got me thinking about my own hidden talents!
[...] How to Find Your Hidden Talent, on Skelliewag. A good exercise for those who need help identifying their [...]
Thanks for the useful info. It’s so interesting
It’s a great tresure, joy and satisfaction to uderstand and possess your talents.
Thanks for your inspiring message :o)
That’s really true its about finding what you really got and what you are capable of doing after this you can make your way quite easy towards successful life.
Great Post!
It’s sad that so many of us spend the majority of our lives not using what we’ve been given; tolerating an existence of mediocrity, compromise and under-achieving because on some level, we’re too fearful, too lazy, too disorganised or too set-in-our-ways to get uncomfortable, to take a chance and to really explore our potential.
Johnny
I found my “hidden” talent in reverse. I’ve known for about 10 years that I wanted to write. Only problem was that I ignored it for that long too. Bottom line is that I was deathly scared. Scared of what people might think. Scared that I would be awful. The list goes on…
I would wager that most people know their passion(s). They just need to do a little fear busting.
-Jerret
I look forward to the days when I can follow my dreams, and hopefully use one of my talents as an income source…..however until the home loan is paid off a bit more I think I’ll be stuck in the monotony of 9-5 work.
What a great article. Thank you.
It all makes perfect sense… but it’s having the bottle to give it a go.
Having invested so much into a career, school, university, training… breaking the bond and walking down the corridor of uncertainty, can be scary.
Problem is, even when we follow our dreams, to follow them eight hours a day and to a deadline, sounds a bit like regular work to me.
Perhaps work should stay as work and hobbies and interests should stay as hobbies and interests… who knows!