Thursday, May 29, 2008

Good Advice up the Ying-Yang

Many ask, "Bishop, where do you find the inspiration for all the good advice you give me". Many assume I've read the book "Give Good Advice Up the Ying-Yang" or "An Advice-givers Guide to Giving Advice That Didn't Come From Dr.Phil".

I don't really know how to answer such a question. I think I've always been a little bit like this. Even at a very young age I was giving people as old as 18 and 19 years old some advice. Of course, back then it was advice such as "Hey, quit hitting me" or "You're going to fall off that" but it put me on the track of helping. And that's really what it's all about when you think about it. Helping. Helping and giving and pointing out ways that you could do things as proficiently as I do them.

It's a gift. My gift. Your gift might have to do with being able to tell if it's too hot in a particular room for your grandmother, so without asking you just go turn down the heat for her. Or your gift might be to play the violin at a high level of skill but not skilled enough to be a concert violinist so instead you work as a clerk in a law firm which makes you realize your real gift is to not be mad a God that you're not a more gifted violin player.

There's so many gifts and each person has at least two. Your gift may be as benign as being left handed, so you ask, why on earth is that a gift and then you find out that your real gift is how inquisitive you are.

Sometimes it takes people their whole lifetime to discover what their gift is. Others discover it as early as age nine. Anyone that thinks they have discovered their gift sooner than that is probably just dreaming. I mean, come on? Do you mean to tell me that your seven year old son can already speak three languages and can also beat you at guitar hero?

So let me give you some advice. Learn early what your gifts and talents are. The sooner you discover them, the sooner you can apply at that law firm for the clerk job.

1 comment:

Lindsey said...

Very good advice! Fantastic post - I laughed out loud in the office reading it, which I think illustrates my talent of being ok with myself and not feeling self conscious that I look crazy...