Maybe you can relate to Ana as she tells Harold the story of how she intended to make the world a better place with her law degree and wound up doing it with cookies. Sometimes we start out thinking that we will do or become one thing and then things turn out differently. If we are blessed, they will turn out much better than we imagined. Our gifts, life and circumstances can sometimes take us down roads that were unplanned or unintended.

Sometimes we are so close to the situation that we don’t even know what we truly bring to the table. Our gifts can be masked by our own image of what we think we should be or become that we can miss it entirely. Perhaps a parent set you on a path that they wanted you on as a kid and you just didn’t have the same passion for it as they did. Maybe it was their unfulfilled path, and you simply got stuck on it. Or maybe you had an interest in something for which you really didn’t have much talent.

Life can give us course correction opportunities if we are paying attention. Ana realized that she could make the world a better place with her passion, baking. Perhaps her study group friends encouraged her with their compliments, or just by their growing numbers. There are always clues about your gifts and ideal contribution, if you pay attention. Most life coaches that I encounter will tell me that they had been ‘coaching’ all of their lives before someone, or many people encouraged them to ‘become one’.

What do people say you bring to the table? What gifts and talents should you make sure you are contributing to the world? How would you like to be remembered as leaving the world better than you found it?

Whatever we do, we all can and should make it a goal to make the world a better place in whatever way we can.

Author's Bio: 

Patty Sadallah has 29 years experience as an organization development consultant and executive coach. She is a Dream Partner Catalyst and coaches and consults entrepreneurs, small business owners, nonprofits and faith-based organizations toward by moving them toward their dream visions. Find out more about her coaching and consulting at http://www.PattySadallah.com/sq.

She is also the Chapter President for the Northeast Ohio Christian Roundtables, a chapter of Truth at Work. It is a monthly advisory board roundtable of Christian leaders, equipping members to share their faith at work, grow their businesses and strengthen their walk with God. Learn more at http://www.NortheastOhioChristianRoundtables.com