Do you have big dreams? Would you like to do something big with your life?
Do you feel like you are an ordinary person, one little person in the world and a little shy about what you can seriously accomplish?
Yet you want to make an impact on your little corner of the world to make it a better place.
This quote by a child prodigy grabbed my attention, “If you want to do something big in your life, you must remember that shyness is only the mind,” Arfa said. “If you think shy, you act shy. If you think confident you act confident. Therefore never let shyness conquer your mind.”
Arfa Karim Randhawa was the computer programming prodigy who became the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at 9 years old. Unfortunately, Arfa only lived until she was sixteen but she had a big dream and in her brief life, impacted the world in a significant way.
When I visited my sister last summer in San Diego, we’d watch the large ships coming in and out of the harbor from her high-rise condo windows overlooking the San Diego Bay. One of the sights that captivated me was the little tug boats pulling a big ship—and I mean 
a gigantic ship, a ship many times its size. Once the ship was in the harbor, it could no longer use its own power, but had to depend on one or two tugboats to pull it in. It’s almost amusing to see these tiny tiny boats pulling the great ship.
They created tugboats to tow big ships. That is their job. It doesn’t matter that they are small, they fashioned them to do this chore and they do it well.
Sometimes I identify with those tugboats. The dreams I have and the ship I want to pull in seems huge to me. How about you? Do you sometimes feel small in comparison to the big dream you have? Are you shy and maybe even a little fearful?
Perhaps God has designed you to fulfill some big plans. Maybe He wants you to impact others in some significant way just as they designed tug-boats to pull the hefty boats.
It’s not in your best interest or in the best interest of the world for you to shy away from the gifts, talents and abilities God has placed in you. Maybe you won’t be a prodigy, but you have your own significant assignment and role to play to make the world a better place.
Invest time and resources to develop your skills, talents, and abilities. Maybe you already have invested. If so, refine your skills and add to your abilities. I’d like to invite you not to settle at the level you are in your skills. Always be looking for ways to add to your knowledge and to grow. Implement new tips and ideas in your areas of talent on a regular basis.
One of my areas is writing and I teach people how to write. A proverb which inspires me to continue to develop my writing skills says, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings, he will not serve before obscure men.” Proverbs 22:29 (NIV 1984)
Your ever increasing ability will enable you to move big ships into the harbor–huge ships loaded with good things for yourself and for others.
What are your thoughts about this? Do you sometimes feel small compared to your dreams? Does the thought of the tugboat encourage you? Share with us in the comments below.
Don’t be shy no matter how little you feel. Grow in your skills, little by little and have fun with it!