"We live in deeds, not years: In thoughts not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heartthrobs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best." - David Bailey

"Do your work with your whole heart, and you will succeed -- there's so little competition." - Elbert Hubbard

It seems strange that so many people are willing to settle for mediocrity.  Profitability can be accessed with a commitment to excellence.  You were born with unique talents and need to develop your own strategy for the use of that talent. 

For some, your talents may have been squelched over years, while you focused on building someone else’s vision.  If you are not sure of your own unique ability, examine the activities you enjoyed as a child and the interests that affected your attention as a teen.  Determine whether they were creative, scientific, literary, abstract, culinary, numerical, linguistic, performance-based, outfitter-oriented, medical, collector-based, and so forth.  Brainstorm to find a way to use those talents for profitability, and to fit those interests into the down time you have been wasting on TV, shopping, or doing other activities that have not yielded you the satisfaction you have been seeking.  Use the power of the Internet to help you brainstorm. 

For example, you may like birdwatching.  With all the techno-tools available, you can take photos and videos of those feathered creatures and their footprints, record their sounds, and create any number of income streams.  You can create calendars or birding games, sell photos to other websites, publishers, and magazines, write articles for niche birding publications, become involved with the Audubon Society, organize birding excursions or become a guide, draw them in cartoons (Daffy Duck; Road Runner, for example), do research on whether the eco-system is diminishing the bird population, change focus on bird category by season - water birds in the summer, field birds in spring, migration patterns in the autumn, etc. – or simply, cook them.  (I threw that last comment in for people who enjoy the culinary delights of Duck with Orange Glaze, Beer Can Chicken, or Stuffed Cornish Game Hens) With creativity, you can discover how to use your talent to your greatest advantage.  Flair it up!        

If you doubt this, listen to your children.  Every parent can recall a situation when her little one said something profound at a critical moment.  That is genius in its natural state.  It takes action and commitment to mold that genius into something that will affect the world.  Every person has this ability.  Few develop it.