Any dormant talents?

What are your dormant talents?

I'm currently running my Uncomfortable Growth® - Own Your Reinvention program, and this is a question we consider as part of thinking about what next.

Many of our natural talents lay dormant during our working years as we prioritise talents that are easier to earn income. As the saying goes - parents want their children to be a Doctor or Lawyer, not a rockstar (although thank goodness true rockstars like George Michael didn't listen to their parents!)

It could be that you started to develop this talent as a child. It could be something you enjoy now as a hobby. Or it could be something that you just haven't had time to invest in.

Dormant talents though represent new possibilities. Perhaps it is something that you want to do for joy or perhaps it's a second career.

So how do you find your dormant talents?

In most cases our dormant talents have always been there - glimmering away in the background - desperate to shine through, waiting to be nurtured.

Mine was writing.

When I was in primary school, a teacher entered one of my creative writing stories into a local library contest, and I won. The contest was open to 16 years and under. I was 10.

In high school, English was my strongest subject, but I decided to study business at university (writing was not my dream then).

However, while at university, I accidentally started a love letter business.

It came about because one of my friends became so tongue-tied and socially awkward around a girl he liked - that it was literally painful to watch. So I offered to write a love letter on his behalf. It was thoughtful and romantic - like him. He gave her the letter, and to all of our relief and delight - they dated for about a year.

News spread quickly, and suddenly a number of guys came to ask for my help. I was flattered but I had done it as a favor - so I declined. But when they begged me, and offered to pay, I thought perhaps? why not? For the next 2 years I wrote over 100 love letters on behalf of others. I insisted on getting "a brief" (who did they admire and why?) and then writing a personal letter that reflected who they are (no catfishing through me!). Not only did I enjoy the letter writing, I loved seeing people being brave by putting themselves out there.

As uni ended though, so did my letter writing. I was focused on my business career. Although communication and storytelling is a big part of business, I never made the connection that it was the same dormant talent.

It was only about 3 years ago that I started blogging. A year after that I wrote my first book. A year later my second book. Writing is something I can see myself doing for years to come.

It's a dormant talent that's now been reawakened, stretched and in development.

What are your dormant talents? Where could they take you?