Elise Ballard’s TEDxKIDS Talk: Epiphanies & Listening to Our Gifts and Talents

LISTEN TO WHAT MAKES YOUR HEART SING

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ― Albert Einstein

I spoke to 350 middle school and high school kids in December of 2011 about epiphanies and listening to what makes their hearts sing. After interviewing hundreds of people about their greatest epiphanies, I have come to strongly believe that what makes our hearts sing – those things we love to do so much that we go into our “zones” and time disappears when we are engaged doing them – those are our gifts and talents being utilized. The inner desires and yearnings of the heart are our gifts and talents calling to us. Many people who are fulfilled by their careers heeded those calls and there is collection of many of those kinds of stories in my book in the Callings section.

Believe in your passion. Believe in your power. Believe in being stubborn.
~ Diane Warren

Sometimes the dark moment you’re in is, in the end, actually a great gift.
~ Cory Booker

I highlight the stories of Cory Booker and Diane Warren in this talk, encouraging kids to listen to their inner callings and desires and hoping that I brought awareness to the fact that they could be having their greatest epiphanies in life right now, at their age, as Cory and Diane did. I also wanted them to know that we need them to listen to what makes their hearts sing and act on it. The world needs them to bring their gifts and talents forward.

All of us have unique gifts and talents the world needs us to be bringing forth and utilizing. Are you engaging yours?

Develop your talents and they will make a way for you. ~ Elizabeth Avellan