Remember that we are who we are. Do not try to mimic anyone…

He wanted to conduct t,o millions, but his styles just did not work at all. During soft passages he would crouch extremely low. For those loud sections of his composition he would leap high into the air. To top it all he would even shout at the orchestra before him.

Problem was his memory was poor. Once he forgot he’d instructed his orchestra not to repeat a section of music. During the performance, when he went back to repeat that section, they went forward, so he stopped the piece and shouted, “Stop! Wrong! That will not do! Again! Again!”

For his own piano concerto, he tried conducting from the piano bench. At one point he jumped from the bench, thumping the candles off the piano. At another concert he knocked over a choirboy. During one long, delicate passage he jumped high to cue a loud entrance, but nothing happened because he’d lost count and signaled the orchestra too soon. As his hearing worsened, musicians tried to ignore his conducting and got their cues from the first violinist. Finally they plead with him to go home and give up conducting, which he did.

Who was he?

Ludwig van Beethoven!

The man many consider to be the greatest composer of all time learned that nobody can be the master of all trades.

Take football (soccer) as another instance. David Beckham, England’s football icon of the past decade or so has been touted around the world as one of the greatest footballers ever and a master at crossing a ball across a soccer pitch with pin point accuracy. Or bending in a free-kick 25 yards out.

Enter David Bentley, the so-called younger version of Beckham. Touted about only a couple of years ago as being the new David Beckham, Bentley now with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (Spurs) shone when he played at Blackburn and pulled on an England shirt. He would run defenders ragged, turn them inside out and deliver cross after cross with deadly accuracy for a striker to shoot or head at goal. Even his free-kicks reminded people how Beckham struck a ball.

But his first season at Spurs was a disaster. His form dropped and he was no longer touted as the new Beckham. He suffered as a consequence, was criticised by his manager and almost became the forgotten man at Spurs. England hung him out to dry and he struggled to make an impact, losing out to the wing wonder that was Aaron Lennon…

David Bentley playing for Spurs

But then, no doubt Bentley knew he had to shrug off this image of being the new Beckham. He had to pick himself up and soldier on, playing his own game and creating his own image and not being in the shadow of an established icon. His chance came at Spurs after unfortunate injury to Lennon and with a renewed optimism and mind set his manager gave him his chance. And Bentley played his own game and since Tottenham Hotspur F.C.  have pushed for a Champions League place with the assistance of a revitalised and in-form Bentley…playing his OWN game…

The Bible says, “We have different gifts according to the grace (divine enablement) given us.”

So recognise and develop your OWN gift.

That can be intimidating, especially if you have spent your life looking for approval from people who have none to give you. Stop making your life an ongoing struggle to be something you weren’t meant to be. God made you who you are; when you try to be somebody else the best you can ever be is number two.

So be yourself; after all, who is the most qualified to be that?