Now we see him in a meeting- A
lunch date with one of his mentors and friend- Kizito Stua. They also
happen to have been in the same secondary school. Currently, Bwana Kizito is a
Passionate Entrepreneur-the owner of Funguo Developers , a “must go” to
brand in the property development business .
One of the traits
Mwakazi admires in Kizito is the zeal he has for his work. The results are
pretty obvious- His business was voted the fastest growing property development
business in the county! Good for Mwakazi too, for he gets to design the
interiors of those properties!
Today, Mwakazi wants Kizito to share
the secrets behind this zeal. Kizito does not disappoint. Kizito learned early
from his one of the many stories his CRE Teacher narrated in school. On this
particular day, the lesson was based on Exodus 35: 30 – 35 . This is the day he
learned that everyone has been given a particular talent and one only needs to
discover what that talent is. He then set out on a road to self-
discovery.
Looking back, he realized that he
was lucky to be in primary school when art and craft was an examinable subject.
How he loved building those huts! He was really disappointed when the
examination body removed art and craft from the examinable subjects. How were
students who had a non-academic passion like him discover their gifting?
In college, he revisited the Exodus
35 story and discovered that more lessons were hidden in the story. This time
he dug in the following secrets that formed the foundation of his zeal.
Secret 1…..Every one of us
comes packaged with certain gifts/ passions/talents
These passions are naturally
endowed, God breathed talents- which means that it should be easy to perform
tasks related to your gifting. Should you find that you are struggling in
what you are doing, think again. Have you really discovered your talents?
In Verse 30 we see Bezalel was
called by name and his passions clearly spelt out. “Then Moses said to the
Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of
the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom,
with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make
artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to
work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts.”
Secret 2…..The talents are
given towards the fulfillment of a certain noble purpose
In this case, Bezalel was to
make artistic designs to build the ‘Ark of the Tabernacle’ …..a dwelling chest
for God’s presence and power. Kizito loved building excellent human
dwelling places whereas Mwakazi loved making those dwelling places habitable,
useful and pleasing to the humans.
All of us are gifted differently for
a particular purpose to enable each person to fit in as a piece of the universe
puzzle. What is your purpose?
Secret 3…..You are gifted
with various abilities so that you achieve the purpose
You have been given the physical and
mental power needed to fulfill your purpose. You only need to explore those
abilities that are hidden inside YOU. For Bezalel he was to ‘work in
gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage
in all kinds of artistic crafts.”
Secret 4….Gather Knowledge in
all skills necessary to achieve your purpose
Time to sharpen the skills!
For you to make optimal use of the skills, you need all knowledge that you can
get from teachers, books, mentors, on-line, experience etc.
Whereas God equipped Bezalel with
all the understanding of or information about the craftsmanship necessary, you
may have to gather the necessary knowledge to succeed in your purpose. Kizito
did not miss an opportunity to learn the current best practices in property
development plus expected future applications.
Secret 4….Master the
skill
Continuously practice the various
skills in that line of work- craftsman, designer, embroider, weaver etc.
and be the best there is. In Exodus 35 :35 we are told
that Bezalel and Oholiab were master craftsmen and designers. Work
towards being the ‘go to’ expert in your line of work.
Secret 5….Be willing to
multiply
Now that you are a master, you need
to multiply your skill through sharing the knowledge that you mastered. This
gift was also bestowed as indicated in in Exodus 35: 34, “And he has given
both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach
others”. Bezalel and Oholiab were master craftsmen.
They taught, apprenticed,
coached mentored, encouraged, corrected, and desired that the other artisans be
“all they can be” - to become masters in their own right. This meant that
the designed work would be done fast as well as continue in their absence. Not
only that but they certainly left a rich legacy!
Secret 6….Join a coalition of
the willing
Exodus 36:2- “Then Moses summoned
Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability
and who was willing to come and do the work”. Put together a
team of skilled workers and partners who are willing to work together irrespective of their
backgrounds. Bezalel was from tribe of Judah and Oholiab from the tribe
of Dan.
Add those willing to support
and provide for the cause just as the rest of the Israelites had been asked to
contribute willingly. No one was to be coerced to contribute to the noble cause
of building a dwelling place for their God. You are more likely to excel if you
work with similarly passionate team members. Choose your team members/
associates passionately.
Secret 7…..Make optimal usage
of resources
When there were enough supplies, the
workers reported the same to Moses and in Exodus 36:6, “… Moses gave an
order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make
anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were
restrained from bringing more, 7because what they already had was more than
enough to do all the work.
This follows that we all need to be
faithful stewards of available resources, no wastage,-more so when generously and willingly
given. What about optimizing the limited resources?
Secret 8…..Know your customer
needs
The passions, gifts, talents are
geared towards fulfilling a certain customer/s need. Bezalel and Oholiab
followed a certain design that God had provided. There were detailed
‘customer specific’ instruction manuals as to how the work was to be done.
They followed the manuals to
the letter. Do you have clear understanding of your customer needs? Are your policies
plans, designs and systems geared towards supporting those needs? Ask Kizito…
He gets them detailed and in a customer approved written document.
Secret 9….Apply Wisdom
when executing the passion
You may have data which is
translated to information which leads to knowledge but you need the wisdom -
that ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and
judgment.
Wisdom to know when to identify and
accept constructive criticism, admit correction, change course, listen to advise
, add more knowledge etc.
We are whole beings and wisdom is to
be applied when making decisions regarding other roles in our lives such as
education, spiritual, finance, health, family, social, artistic, pleasure etc.
Moses led Bezalel, Oholiab and other skilled workers in applying wisdom and the
results were certainly pleasing.
This particular customer was happy
with the outcome as we see in Exodus 40: 34-38. “Then the cloud covered
the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses
could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and
the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In all the travels of the Israelites,
whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if
the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the
cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by
night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.”
Over to you Passionate
Entrepreneur;
How are you making the most of those talents?
Share with your experiences us in
the comments section below and possibly mentor another Passionate Entrepreneur.
Whatever you do, make sure it results in less work, more money and positive impact.
Update
Virginia Mburu
Passionate Entrepreneurs Coach
Virginia empowers and motivates Passionate Entrepreneurs to realize their purpose and pursue it. She then assists the entrepreneurs to clarify, prioritise and focus on management and marketing strategies and action plans that will get them to work less, make more money and positively impact within one year. Download some of her gifts- absolutely free lessons on www.biasharacoach.blogspot.co.ke
