Your gifts really do matter to the rest of us. Really.

I don’t believe there are any extra people. As a matter of fact, I believe that every single person who has ever been, or will ever be, born is here to share their own unique gifts with the world.

And we all have gifts this world needs. We all have some special way to contribute towards making the world a better place.

In order for this to happen, though, we’ve got to live authentically and bravely share them.

So often, however, we do not.

We are either unaware that what we have to give is special, or painfully aware that when we speak up or offer our talents we might not be welcomed with open arms.

Fear of failure or embarrassment is a powerful force, and yet it is possible to walk through the fear and get to the other side. The truth is, we fear failure but failure is one of life’s best teachers. We are all born with gifts, but they are immature gifts at first. We need to learn and grow and practice to become the best version of ourselves. And mistakes (which are really what failure is, after all) are one of the best ways to do that.

But it is one thing to say – yes, I will learn from the failures and walk through the fear – and another thing to go ahead and do it. But seriously, this is something that we can all learn to do. Yes, it is difficult, but it’s not impossible.

What’s more difficult for most of us, is to believe that we really do have something special to share with the world. That we are not only unique, but also are uniquely gifted.

But here’s the thing – no matter what it is that you’re dreaming of doing – starting a business, becoming a personal chef, writing a screenplay, establishing a non-profit – although other people have already done these things no one has done them the way that you will do them. Your perspective, your point of view, your history and experiences all come through whatever it is that you create – and no one on the planet can create exactly the same way. I’m guessing that since the chances of your being born are 1 in 10^45,000, saying that you just might have a unique gift to offer the world doesn’t sound all that far-fetched.

As Marie Forleo says, “The world needs that special gift that only you have.” (~Marie Forleo)

There are no extra people – everyone is needed. Including you.

So, you know that question: what would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? Can we just toss that one out?

Because the reality is that you might fail the first time out. You might even fail the first few times out. But that’s totally fine, because it’s through failure that you learn how to do better.

Let’s instead ask this:

What would you do if you knew the world really did need your own special gift?

Go do that.

~xo,
LuAnne