Talent and Confessions

Tonight I took my daughter to see the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, a guilty pleasure if there ever was one.

Apart from being an abomination in its portrayal of women–picture rabid, shopping women, stampeding and punching each other at sample sales as they compete for merchandise–the movie told an appealing truth.

The protagonist, as you would anticipate, is a shopping addict. Laden with debt, she bulldozes her way into a trial position as a journalist for a financial magazine, something she clearly knows nothing about. And of course she succeeds, because although she knows nothing about money, apart from how to spend it, she has a gift for writing combined with a passion.

She makes her passion, shopping, come alive in a uniquely breathless way that resonates with other women who share the same fanaticism, excitement and guilt about merchandise and its acquisition. And she creates a huge following overnight, becomes successful and sought after and wins her prince, all because she has a talent and a passion. And that is exactly the point.

What is your unique talent and can you combine it with something you are truly passionate about? Think about it. Perhaps you feel you have one but not the other. Try asking 5-10 people who know you well what they feel is your unique talent. Their answers may surprise you but will hopefully guide you.