Once I found my then six-year-old son staring quite sadly at some pictures of superheroes. The conversation went something like this...

Me: Troy, what is wrong?

Troy: I wish I had superpowers.

Me: But you do have superpowers.

Troy: No I don’t!

Me: OK tell me, what do superheroes do with their superpowers?

Troy: They save people.

Me: Good, so they use their powers to help other people right?

Troy: Yes. Now tell me how I have super powers!

Me: Well you make really great art.

Troy: How is making art a superpower?

Me: When people see your works they love it and it makes them happy. So you see, one of your superpowers is to make people happy with your art. That is how you help people.

Now whether Troy was convinced or not is for another discussion but this conversation got me thinking; how many of us ignore our own talents while wishing we had someone else’s? It reminded me of how badly I wanted to have a beautiful voice like Maana Samaa Ewusie Mensah with whom I used to sing at the University of Ghana Harvest Chapel Choir and Excellent Youth Outreach. Oh my goodness, this lady can sing!

But as for me, hmmm it was not that I could not sing oh, perhaps I just had a ginormous room for improvement in the singing space. I would always fantasize about how I would rock a stage with thousands of people praising God and falling under the anointing. Look, on two occasions my voice was so not not on stage that the mike was gracefully taken away from me. Somehow, my voice always sounded fabulous in my imagination but not in reality.

Meanwhile, I had totally forgotten about my own superpowers but thank God for His mercies which opened my eyes to what was possible. So my Grandma has just passed on and we went to Sekondi to bury her. After the funeral, I thought let me pass through my alma mater, Archbishop Porter Girls’ to visit my little sister. Then I saw her; Mrs Armah Brako who used to be one of our tutors, now the headmistress. I just had to go and say hello. She couldn’t immediately place me but when I mentioned my name, she went ‘Ama Mbir, you used to write so well! Do you still write?’ and I said no.

On our way back home, I kept reminiscing all the essays I wrote and how my essay was once read in another class as a good example. Gosh next to reading, I used to love writing! I also wondered what happened that made me stop writing? I totally blamed it on life haha! So anyway, a little later while I was brainstorming on what skill I possibly had that I could use to be of service to humanity and of course make money, I revisited my fantasy of writing. Perhaps eventually I could actually write a book, I thought.

This thought process led to the birth of The Fabulous Woman Network which was really just a platform for me to celebrate women who inspired me while I honed my writing skills. Little did I know that God had other plans. Today, not only have I written articles which have inspired many people around the world, I have published a book which has generated good revenue to help sustain the work we do and even help others like the widows we support. Further, founding this network has opened many doors which have blown my mind. As if rediscovering my writing skills was not enough, it opened the door for my speaking career. Mind you, I have always been a talkative; actually, my name was always somewhere at the top of the names of talkatives in my class! Haha. I never knew that all that talking was preparing me for a career in public speaking!

Two years ago, when I walked into my boss’ office to hand in my resignation, I had no idea that my life would turn out this way but this is what God can do when we start appreciating the gifts He has bestowed on us. To think that being branded a talkative made me feel so bad when I was a child! To think that I fantasized about being a singing superstar! To think that I actually believed I didn’t have much to give back to the world! To think that I didn’t see it as a big deal that a former colleague even to this day have me writing and editing for him! Thank God for His mercies indeed!

You see my friend, we are all unique with special qualities - our own superpowers. If only we can take our eyes off other people’s ‘stardom’ for just a moment to focus on honing our own superpowers, we will literally be blown away because He knows the plans He has for us. Plans to prosper us, and not harm us, plans to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). To Mrs Armah Brako, I am so happy I met you on that fateful day, God bless you! To everyone who needs to hone and use your own superpowers, just do it; you are fabulous!

Ama xx

Author (goo.gl/pv4Y7z) and Founder of The Fabulous Woman Network

Blog: amaduncan.com