God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.⁷ If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. ⁸ If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.   -Romans 12:6-8

I read a book called The Element by Ken Robinson (the speaker in the video below).  The subtitle of the book is: “How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything”. I’d highly recommend reading it.  It’s about people who are extremely successful because they chose to do what they love to do. I know a lot of  people who never pursue what they love for a whole slew of reasons:

Fear of not making enough money, fear of what people will think if you go after it, fear of failure. Fear of _____. (You fill in the blank.)

Take the time to watch this 20 minute TED talk by Ken Robinson:

My question to you is: Why aren’t you doing what you love?

If you’re not pursuing the passions, gifts, and purposes God’s put in your heart, you’re robbing the world of something wonderful.

You could be the next best selling author, the next Joel Osteen, Donald Trump, the next President of the United States, the next Mother Theresa, the next . . . you name it.

I don’t know what you love and what you’re good at, but I know the world could benefit from it greatly. I know that it can make an incredible impact in people’s lives. I know the pursuit of it would change your life forever.

Stop letting fear hold you back from doing what God’s put in your heart to do.

Why not start doing what you love today? Start blogging, start writing, start speaking, start recording, start applying for the job of your dreams. Don’t look back. Life is to short to not do what you love.

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough” -Fred Allen

Thoughts?

Here is another TED talk by Ken Robinson – I promise you it’s worth the time to watch it.

Ever feel like this? I know I have. When I was 18 I started interning at my church. It was an unpaid internship and I had no  idea what to expect out of the behind the scenes work at a church. For almost a year the biggest responsibility I had was washing pitchers of water and organizing bins for youth group. That’s what everyone dreams of when they think of working at a church, right?

“God is more concerned about developing your potential than you are!”

I would sit in meetings and hear my mentor delegate “significant” tasks to the rest of the team only to end with looking at me and saying, “Bubs, organize the bins and wash the pitchers.” After two months of that, I had enough. So when my mentor left for his 8 week sabbatical, I e-mailed him telling him I quit. I didn’t sign up to work for free and wash pitchers.

He got me in contact with another mentor and had him talk to me. He said, “Bubs, have you prayed about this?” Of course I hadn’t. He said, “Give God a chance to speak to your heart, if you come back and still don’t want to, then quit.” God had one chance – if he didn’t speak to me in my devotions, it was over. I opened to Isaiah 49:3.4:

³ He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.” ⁴ I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand;I will trust God for my reward.”

This verse changed my life forever. I felt like my work was useless, done for nothing, and for no purpose. YET…I leave it in God’s hands – I trust Him for my reward.  I developed this mentality and decided to stick with the internship.

One Thing Leads to Another

For an entire year, I set up bins faithfully every week. At the end of the year, I got asked to give my first offering. I started getting more responsibility. I interned a second year and at the end of my second year, I got asked to speak for the first time ever. Which led to more speaking engagements, more responsibility, and eventually 4 years after I interned, I got hired on staff at my church.

What Would Have Happened if I Would Have Quit Because I thought Everything I did was Pointless?

I wouldn’t be writing this, I wouldn’t be on staff, I probably wouldn’t be living for God. My Conclusion? God has you where you are for a reason, for your development, and if you’ll learn to trust Him for your reward instead of people, in His timing, He will promote you and allow you to do great things for Him, but first, you have to be faithful in the things that seem absolutely worthless.

Seth Godin is definitely a linchpin. He is indispensable. Why?  He knows he has something of value to offer to the world. Because of this knowledge, he ships -> he gives what he has to the world, and as a result thousands of people and organizations are in a better place. If he didn’t give what he has away, it would be to the detriment of all of those people and organizations. This makes Seth indispensable.

This book will at least give you the inspiration and motivation to become indispensable, of course,what you do with the knowledge gained through this book is what will actually matter. My summary of the book: Stop doing things that anybody else could do, and start doing things that will make you stand out, that make you indispensable. To do anything else is a waste of your talent, time, and to be honest, your life.

This was one of the best books I’ve ever read. If you’re plan on doing anything with your life, including actually having a job, you need to read this book.

Final Grade: 10/10   Buy It Here: Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Here are some of my highlights:

• You can train yourself to matter.

• The only way to grow is to stand out, to create something worth talking about, to treat people with respect and to have them spread the word.

• “Not My Job” Three words can kill an entire organization.

• What They Should Teach in School Only two things: 1. Solve interesting problems 2. Lead

• If you can’t be remarkable, perhaps you should consider doing nothing until you can.

• If you don’t have a résumé, what do you have? How about three extraordinary letters of recommendation from people the employer knows or respects? Or a sophisticated project an employer can see or touch? Or a reputation that precedes you? Or a blog that is so compelling and insightful that they have no choice but to follow up?

• The linchpin says, “I don’t want a job that a non-linchpin could get

• ”A day’s work for a day’s pay (work <=> pay). I hate this approach to life. It cheapens us.

• It’s okay to have someone you work for, someone who watches over you, someone who pays you. But the moment you treat that person like a boss, like someone in charge of your movements and your output, you are a cog, not an artist.

• I think the discipline of shipping is essential in the long-term path to becoming indispensable.

• If you are working only for the person you report to according to the org chart, you may be sacrificing your future.

• If your agenda is set by someone else and it doesn’t lead you where you want to go, why is it your agenda?

• Linchpins don’t need authority. It’s not part of the deal. Authority matters only in the factory, not in your world.

• Mentoring is rarely about the facts of the deal (the facts are easily found), but instead is a transfer of emotion and confidence.

• When you meet someone, you need to have a superpower. If you don’t, you’re just another handshake.