Using Our Gifts to Make a Difference

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” —Mark Twain

A few years back, Barb and I were teaching a young married couples class. Most of the “kids” were in their young 20’s and just married. They had much to learn. I would get incredible amounts of questions as the “senior member” in the class. Some would embarrass me but one stood out and made me stop to really think before answering:

“Glen, what do you think is the secret of life?”

Yikes, not a typical one like, “Do you think couples should pool their money or have separate accounts?” or “Should couple share the chores?”.

So, I thought for a moment and I knew that this was one of those teachable moments, so I quickly asked God to help me with the answer and this is what He/I said:

“I believe that each of us have been given specific gifts. When using these gifts especially for helping others, we will find great joy and passion and hopefully make a difference in the lives of others.”

I further went on to say that I always wanted to play major league baseball. In fact, at age 6, I told my Mom that I was going to play 2nd base for the San Francisco Giants. I was sitting in the back seat of our car while she was in the front and she started to tear up. I noticed and asked her why she was sad and she said that she was really happy that I was going to play baseball but that she would miss me if I played in San Francisco while she lived in New Jersey. At that moment, I just assumed my Mom was moving to San Francisco with me. Who else would make my breakfast and wash my clothes?

I went on to play baseball in little league, Babe Ruth ball and high school.

In my senior year, my baseball coach sent a scouting report about me to a couple of colleges on my behalf. One was to the school I eventually attended, Duquesne University. I “accidentally” read it on the Athletic Director’s desk when I working out in preparation for my first baseball tryout at Duquesne. It read something like (it was 40 years ago so my memory isn’t exact): “Excellent baseball IQ, strong leader, good contact hitter, weak arm and not particularly fast. Good high school player, probably will struggle at the collegiate level.”

I was blown away. Up until then, I thought I could do it. But those words on that paper sunk in. He was absolutely right! I had a weak arm and my grandmother at age 80 could probably beat me running down the line. He was so right!

I left his office and immediately went to my dorm to think but it was too loud and crazy. We had this grotto that was isolated on campus. Few people knew where it was or visited it. So I decided to walk there to think and pray.

Maybe God didn’t gift me the gift to play baseball after all? But if not, what gifts did He give me? I just had to figure this out.

The very next day, (I don’t believe in coincidences), I met with my faculty advisor. Mrs. Antonelli was the head of the Sociology department. I went into her office and we talked. And with great wisdom, she pulled out of me my likes and dislikes. We realized that I seemed to excel when it came to organization, developing and executing plans and maybe inspiring and encouraging others. We looked at the list of majors at Duquesne and settled on a Sociology degree with a minor in business emphasizing Management.

That was it! She nailed it. I felt like a light bulb had turned on. I had a plan and the plan included using my gifts and passions. It wasn’t baseball, but it sure seemed like maybe, just maybe, I could someday lead a team or an organization. It felt so right, so natural.

As they say, the rest is history.

We each have different God-given gifts. Figure out your gifts and then use them to help others and I think you might just find the “secret of life”.

Thanks for reading this and have a great weekend.

Glen Cavallo is a 30+ year healthcare executive that has chosen to share the many lessons he has learned with others. Glen provides inspirational keynote speeches at regional, annual and awards meetings, serves in advisory and board positions for companies and helps to mentor and coach leaders in all areas of business.