My usual online companion defines x-factor as,“a noteworthy special talent or quality.“ It could also mean, “a variable in a given situation that could have the most significant impact on a specific outcome.” So, if I got the meaning right, X factor is a quality that one cannot really describe, but it is something that makes a person overly unique and special. It is an outstanding, extraordinary ability, a variable that cannot be easily defined but one that is very evident.

I know there’s someone reading this right now and you are probably asking; Liz do I have an x-factor? My answer to you is an emphatic YES! Each one of us has that special quality that has the potential to make us unique and special. The unfortunate thing is that most people don’t ever get to exercise it because they have no idea they have. You can’t use what you don’t know you have. It is not until you become aware of something that you suddenly get ideas on how to use it. so to sharpen and use your X-Factor, you must know you have it. 

Now before you get confused let me explain something here…. When I talk about your x-factor, I am not referring to your gift. There is a difference.

There is a difference between your gift and your x-factor, but just like your gift, the x-factor is something that every human being on earth has. You see, there is no way you can have a gift and not have the x-factor to back it up. The x-factor is something that every human being on earth has over and above their gifts. Let’s use an example of neurosurgeons. I am sure you must have heard of many neurosurgeons, especially those who have ever performed those delicate procedures involving the separation siamese twins, but there's one particular neurosergeon I want to focus on.

If you have read, “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story” by Ben Carson himself, then you will quickly agree with me that he had the gift of being a neurosurgeon, but over above that gift, he also had an X-Factor that backed up that gift. While he was still a practicing neurosurgeon, he did many extraordinary and daring things while at the operating table, things that would otherwise have been impossible to do without that little extra factor we are calling the x-factor. The many unbelievable procedures he performed helped him make history, especially given his background and history. Though he didn’t quite call it the x-factor, he himself acknowledges that there was something peculiar in him that gave him that unique ability to do what he did. So yes, there is a very big difference between your gift and your x-factor. The x-factor is what I refer to as the wings that make your gift fly high.

By the way, reading his other book, “Think Big: Unleashing your potential for greatness”, gave me hope that if someone like him can become the person he became, then there is hope for everyone who was ever given labels of any kind. His story really inspired me. If you haven't read his books, get the two I've mentioned above and thank me later.

Like I have said in other articles, it is possible to have many gifts, but there is one particular gift that will always make you stand out, and that is the one that has the x-factor in it. For instance, going back to Ben Carson, since he became a politician, how evident has been his x-factor? It’s like Ben Carson the neurosurgeon and Ben Carson the politician are identical twins with two different levels of abilities; the neurosurgeon being one very powerful guy and the politician being the direct opposite. Well, I am pretty sure he is still doing a good job in his current position in Trump’s government, but I am 100% certain that he stood out more when he was a neurosurgeon than he is now because his x-factor was in being a neurosurgeon.

You think about anyone who ever did great things in a field where his x-factor was evident, then he or she moved to another field. You will clearly see that when he switched to something else, somehow it is like his or her light dimmed. But I do not want to discount the fact that there are people with multiple x-factors in multiple disciplines or fields, but all the same, there will always be one field where the x-factor is more pronounced than the rest. The most important thing to note is this, if you don’t work your x-factor, you might lose it because like I have often said, “What you don’t use, you eventually lose.” 

So, how do you know your x-factor? I’ll give you a few hints:

1.Things you do effortlessly - You seem to do things that the rest of us normal human beings can’t do easily, and the most annoying thing about it is that you do it with so much joy and effortlessness. For instance, while I can’t seem to put together one stanza of lyrics to a song in three months, you get lyrics to an album with 15 songs in one hour, and not just the lyrics but the melodies too. Clearly, this means you have an x-factor in that area and if I were you, I’d focus on growing my muscles in this area. 

2.Your passionate abilities – The other day someone asked how long it takes me to do the daily episodes I’ve been doing for my podcast and the long articles I’ve been writing daily. I found that strange because I had not thought about it in terms of the minutes or hours I put in; infact I hadn't thought about it at all prior to his question. The only thing I know is this has become a nightly routine that I look forward to with excitement. I realize it is something I have become so passionate about and even when I am tired, the thought of recording something interesting for someone else to listen to and get an “aha” moment is renewing enough for me to forget about my fatigue. That is what I am referring to passionate ability. Yes I know I have a unique ability of delivering my message through writing, but I also know I write with passion, which makes me think there could be an x-factor in my writing.... or what do you think? 

3.You always find a way to connect your passionate abilities with your day-to-day activities – Let me use myself as an example again. It doesn’t matter whether I am writing a report or a whatsapp message, the passion I put into whatever I am writing is the same. Actually I hadn’t realized this before today, until I started thinking about my own X-Factor. And by the way, this thing about writing is a habit that has been with me for as long as I can remember. I don’t just write for the sake of writing. If you think am kidding follow my Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and you’ll see what I mean. I take everything I write as serious business. Even if it’s just a normal text message, I always make sure all my t’s are crossed and all my i’s dotted. Writing is how I express myself best and I guess that’s why I do it effortlessly. I am not saying this to brag, but I can comfortably write a 3000 words article in less than an hour. 

So, Why is it necessary for you to find out what your x-factor is? I’ll share two reasons:

1. It will save you the trouble of trying to invest your time, energy and other resources in things that will never make you stand out or bring you satisfaction.

2. It will save you mental torture and unnecessary stress from doing things you don’t like doing. For instance, like I said earlier, asking me to write lyrics for a song would be pure stress for me but to someone else, this might be a piece of cake. On the other hand, writing 3000 words in 60 minutes is something I can do in my sleep. So why stress me with lyrics while I can do better with articles?

It is my hope you’ve learned something about the X-Factor today, and if I may say so, I guess that’s why Simon Cowell called that TV musical show The X-Factor. To listen to the x-factor epoisode on my podcast, click here.

Identify your X-Factor(s) and you will WOW!! the world with your uniqueness.

Be ignited. Be inspired. Be influenced to find your X-Factor as you become the best version of yourself you can ever be.