“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Calvin Coolidge

What motivates you?

This past week I thought about what happened during the last seven days. I often will reflect on the past week and ask myself a few questions; what happened that significantly set me up for a learning opportunity and what can I learn from either a failure or a victory.

I have received many lessons from my kids and this one involves them both. My 7^th grader is the one that you may consider the athlete and my 10^th grader, well, maybe not as much, but something changed my thoughts on that. My daughter plays water polo and is a starter as a sophomore. The team is mostly sophomore with the exception of two seniors. She has worked really hard to make that team and has improved far beyond what most thought capable. She is tenacious and puts in 100% for practice, which has paid off.

My son on the other hand is a gifted athlete with a lack of motivation. He doesn’t try hard in practice. In the first four games of the season, he did just enough to get by on the field.  He doesn’t work at it like my daughter and he doesn’t seem to really care. So, I had an idea. I told him that if he worked hard all week and played in the game like he is capable of I would get him a pair of shoes he has been bugging me for. He has been begging me for a new pair of shoes for over a month.

My boy loves shoes. In fact if he could by a new pair of shoes every day, he would! He has talked his grandmother, his mom and his grandfather into buying him new shoes. They have all been sucked into his charm and they bow to his shoe fetish. I finally put a stop to it three months ago and it is driving him crazy. The kid has five new pair of $80-$100 pairs of shoes.

This Saturday, he played hard for the first two quarters scoring a touchdown and an extra 2 point conversion and multiple tackles and two sacks. He was pulled from the game along with all of the other starters in the second quarter after their team was beating the opposition.

Of course after the game, he was excited and also ready to head to the sporting goods store for a new pair of shoes. I really don’t want to make a habit of motivating him in that manner, but I wanted him to get a taste of what hard work feels like and thrill to know that he contributed to the team and also a chance for me to have a teaching moment with my boy.

I was studying in the book of Timothy this week. I was reminded in this verse about our talents and gifts that we are rewarded with from our creator. It reads 1 Timothy 4:14 “Do not neglect your gift, which was given you…15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” I reminded my son of this verse and mentioned to him the story about his sister. Now, that itself will motivate most boys. Knowing that his older sister is playing well as a starter, should be enough to challenge him! She has become a person that many of the girls get motivation from to work harder. Now that’s progress!

My daughter found motivation from within herself to work hard while my son found motivation from something different to accomplish the same task. The most difficult responsibility for most of us can be to understand and realize that we are responsible for our talents and gifts. We are responsible to give those gifts and talents to humanity without question. Unfortunately, most of us are not taught that way. Our culture is not really about giving as much as it is about getting.

My daughter has been “diligent” in her pursuit to be a top athlete, while my boy has been riding on his talent. She has given herself “wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.”  So, what about you…?

Question, are you diligent in your talents to give to others? If not, it may be a time to reflect on this verse and ask God to guide you in the correct area. If you are not sure what to do, seek Him with diligence and do something good until God gives you the next task to use your talents.