TUGUEGARAO, PHILIPPINES—Last Saturday I flew from Manila to Tuguegarao, then drove to Aparri to meet my friend, Ferdie Cabiling (a.k.a. The Running Pastor) at the finish line of his epic 2500 kilometer (1400 miles) run across the Philippines. Ferdie’s goal was to run from Sarangani to Aparri (from south to north) at least 50K per day and finish in less than 50 days in his 50th year all for the benefit of deserving Real Life Scholars. Learn more about the Real Life Scholars and the Real Life Foundation here.
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“Your sons are so gifted.”
I’ve heard it a thousand times. . .
— At William’s elementary school piano recitals: “Wow, he has a musical gift” (No, he’s practiced every day, since he was five.)
— At James’ junior tennis tournaments: “I wish my son could hit a forehand like that” (Try training seven days a week for a few years.)
— At Jonathan’s art shows: “He obviously has a special gift for art” (You should have seen his “art” before we hired an art teacher to mentor him.)
Yeah, we have gifted kids—they were gifted with a mother who wouldn’t allow them to waste time doing nothing. And they were gifted with a father who was on a ten-year anti-TV, anti-video game kick during their formative years. That’s why they spent countless hours reading, listening to music, and developing killer kick-serves.
My sons were also gifted with mentors/coaches/teachers who helped them discover and develop a few of the skills and talents that God hid in them.
Gifts are free. Talents are costly. They must be discovered, developed, and funded.
But sadly, most talent is never discovered, never developed, and never funded. It is simply wasted while staring at a screen. Tragic.
What are you doing to develop your gifts and talents?
What are you doing to help develop your kid’s gifts and talents?
I’ll never forget the junior tennis tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee when the father of a kid sixteen-year-old James had just destroyed turned to me and said: “I bet you paid a lot of money for his forehand.” That father understood that if gifts and talents are to be developed, they must be funded. He was right, I paid a lot of money for that killer forehand, and it was worth every dollar/peso.