One of the least understood principles of success but one of the most important is this: your God-given gift will make room for you. We were each born with God-given gifts, talents, and abilities.
How is the fulfillment of vision meant to work in practical terms? Proverbs 18:16 is a powerful scripture that answers this question: “A man's gift makes room for him" (NKJV). What you were designed to be known for is your gift. God has placed a gift or talent in every person. It is this gift that will enable you to fulfill your vision. It will make a way for you in life. It is in exercising this gift that you will find real fulfillment, purpose, and contentment in your work.
It is interesting to note that the Bible does not say that a man's education makes room for him, but that his gift does. Somehow we have swallowed the idea that education is the key to success. Our families and society have reinforced this idea to us, but we will have to change that perspective if we are to be truly successful.
This is a hard lesson I had to learn. I’ve always been good with numbers, so in high school my accounting teacher encouraged me to pursue it as a career. So, I went to college and graduate school to receive degrees in accounting and business. In the back of my mind, I knew that I wanted to be a writer but no one was encouraging me to do that. It was the perception that writing did not make any money and I needed to do something that would.
After several jobs in accounting, I kept asking myself why nothing ever worked out. I was never truly happy at any of these jobs, and there were times I questioned my abilities. I wasn’t operating in my gifts at all, and I was super miserable.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe in education. However, if education were the key to success, then everyone who has a degree would be financially secure and happy. If you are intelligent but are not exercising your gift, you're probably going to be poor. If you're educated but have not developed your talent, you're likely going to be frustrated.
Education, in itself, doesn't guarantee anything. It is your gift that is the key to your success. The second part of Proverbs 18:16 says, "A man's gift…brings him before great men" (NKJV). You don't realize that the gift you're sitting on is loaded. The world won't move for you just because you're smart. However, when you exercise your gift, not only will the world make room for you, but it will also pay you for it.
If you're a young person in high school or college who is planning your career, don't do what people say will make you a lot of money. Do what you were born to do, because that is where you will make your money. No matter how big the world is, there's a place for you in it when you discover and manifest your gift.
If you do things in a halfway manner, you can always find a job. Yet if you do just enough to get by, you are going to remain simply an employee. However, if you decide that you're going to find something that is truly yours, then you will fulfill the vision for your life.