Developing Talent

Do you have a hidden talent? Have you always wanted to paint with oils, write a best-selling novel, or play a musical instrument? Perhaps you've always wanted to be a professional chess player, photographer, or singer. Have you secretly wished to be a dancer or a stand-up comedian? Do you have ideas that you think could become viable inventions with a little bit of work? Maybe you feel that with some further focus you could enhance your psychic abilities or become a healer. Perhaps you're excited about creating new recipes or preparing gourmet meals in your own restaurant. Many people have hobbies that they dabble in that could become something more if they concentrated the time and effort into developing their talents. No matter whether you want to use your talents in your professional or personal life, being able to express your talents will make your life richer and more meaningful. Talent, marketed effectively, can also yield streams of income to you.

What's Holding You Back from Expressing Your Talent?

Expressing your talent will bring you joy and has the potential to bring joy to others too. If there's a talent deep inside you that you want to express, what's holding you back from expressing it? The truth is that many people don't express their talents because they don't feel that they're good enough when compared to others with similar talents. If we all had to sing like Mariah Carey or paint like Leonardo da Vinci then that would limit who we can be as individuals. Each person expresses his or her talent in a unique way. Think about the singing style of Louis Armstrong compared to the singing style of Ella Fitzgerald--scratchy and raspy combined with smooth and silky made some great duets.

It's also possible that your innate talents were suppressed at such an early age that you don't remember what they are and need to get back in touch with them. By working with your subconscious mind you can uncover those talents and bring them to the surface again.

Curing Negative Thought Patterns

Developing your talent will take conscious work, practice, and effort. The first time you hit a tennis ball on the court won't make you an overnight sensation at Wimbledon. However, in combination with the conscious work you're doing to develop your talents, you can also use your subconscious mind to help you make a quantum leap as you strive for improvement and enhancement.

For many people, the major impediment to developing their talents is what others have said. The negative remarks that they have received have made them feel that they weren't good enough to pursue their dreams. It's this negative thought pattern, originally created by unsupportive relatives and friends and accepted by their subconscious minds, that caused them to stop honing their talents. Their self-confidence was shattered and needs to be restored.

In order to be successful, these thought patterns need to be transformed and made into pillars of persistence. Consider the case of Robert Pirsig, the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. His book was rejected by publishers 121 times before it was accepted and published. If Pirsig had given up on publishing his book, the over 5 million people whose lives were enhanced by reading it would never have had that opportunity.

Using Positive Affirmations

The combination of your conscious work and subconscious work will bring your talents to the forefront and you'll make significant improvements in your ability to express your talent if you discipline your mind to help your body. Begin by writing some customized affirmations that apply to the talent you want to enhance. Here are some examples:

• "My writing is improving every day. I experience excitement and joy from sharing my writing talent with others."
• "My intuition and empathy are growing every day. My spiritual and psychic talent guides others into making sound decisions."
• "My talent for closing sales is increasing daily. I love representing products and services I believe will help others."
• "My photography talent is allowing me to capture a story in every snapshot. I love sharing my view of the world through my photography."

Using Hypnosis or Self-Hypnosis

If your conscious mind is creating a barrier to your success with your talents, it's important to make sure these new, positive messages are received by your subconscious mind. You can engage a hypnotherapist to help you or you can practice self-hypnosis, which takes time but is well worth the effort. When you present a new affirmation to your conscious mind, it tends to reject it based on past experiences or long-standing thought patterns. For example, if you're a salesperson and know you have a talent for sales, one month of not meeting your quota shouldn't cripple your performance. As you try to convince your subconscious mind that you're closing more and more sales, it shuts you down quickly with "I had a really bad month last month." In order to deliver new messages and new beliefs to your subconscious mind, you need to get into a state of consciousness where your conscious mind doesn't quickly reject these new messages.

With self-hypnosis, you begin by relaxing every muscle in your body. As you slowly relax all the muscles from your head to your toes, you breath deeply as you bring positive energy in and release negative energy. When you're so relaxed that you feel focused but on the edge of sleep, your mind has achieved the state of consciousness necessary for you to repeat the messages and visualize the successful events that your subconscious mind will accept and build upon.

Using Subliminal Audio

Another way that you can enhance your talents or develop the self-confidence to do so is to use subliminal audio. Subliminal audio presents positive new messages and beliefs to your subconscious mind at an audio level that will not be rejected or judged by your conscious mind. The affirmations are coupled with relaxing background sounds or music. By listening to subliminal audio daily for several weeks in succession you can bring your talents to a new level.

Using Visualization Techniques

When you're in a relaxed state of mind, use visualization combined with affirmations to help create your new reality. You can see yourself presenting your oil paintings in a gallery or your first interview after your book has made it to the New York Times Best-Selling Books list. Allow yourself to feel the exuberant feelings that would come from the success your talents will bring.