I have been following Claire Idera for a while now on Instagram. A friend of mine mentioned that she and Claire went to secondary school together so I just thought “Aww.. Cool girl in my age group that does nice fashion Illustration.” That was until I saw this.

The Instagram post above was what immensely inspired me about Claire Idera,

I read the caption over and over and over again.

What? How on earth does a 21 year old girl attract 562 people to a paid workshop she is going to single handedly facilitate with slots for only 6 participants?

Let’s do some math, that means she got approximately 9,267% more entries than she planned to admit. 562 people “applied” for a 6 participant workshop.

• A workshop that’s only the second edition of the series, not the 10^th edition
• A workshop without an array of “sponsored by” in the promo art
• A workshop with no intense marketing online or offline?

This is what it means to be in demand my friends.

I stayed hooked on that page in awe of that percentage, bearing in mind that the mails were still being counted. I asked myself two questions, and right now, I’m asking you the same.

What do you have in your hand *insert name*?

What can you offer the world?

Eniola Iderawumi Claire is a 22 year old Fashion Illustrator Extraordinaire. Claire’s passion for drawing started right from childhood and over the years it is a skill she has honed into pure perfection so much that, her illustrations are now available for retail appreciation through frames, phone cases and magazine editorials alongside work she does in partnership with other brands. Claire would tell you she has turned a passion into a business and is not holding back with her creative treats and tricks. Her portfolio boasts of features with designers like RukkySimone and Moofa alongside personal projects and features in Blanck Magazine, Guardian Newspaper and several media mentions.

5 Practical Lessons we can learn from Claire Idera

Your certificate alone cannot distinguish you, only your gift can

What is it that you know or can do that the world will come to you to learn? The bible says the gift of a man makes room for him and brings him before kings and not before mere men. Gift! Not certificate.

Claire does not have any formal training in fashion illustration, she studied Architecture in University.

A young lady with no formal training in art has students offering her money to teach them her craft.

That tells me good success does not come from your degree but from your gift. A few people fortunately have gifts in line with their degree, but most people don’t. Stop chasing shadows, Find your gift today and put it to work.

Your gift is a seed, watering it with knowledge is what will grow it.

Claire said in an interview “I am self-taught. My creation process involves a bit of research then I go from pencil to whatever media I feel would be perfect.”

Knowledge and information is what will make your gift marketable. Claire said she has been drawing since she was a kid but that didn’t stop her from acquiring more knowledge to refine her abilities.

Don’t stop where you are right now, stretch your gifts. If you sing for example, keep learning and stretching until you can sing comfortably on the 8^th Octave. Set goals for yourself, and when you attain them, set higher ones. Your growth is directly proportional to your relevance.

Don’t waste those seeds.

Don’t be afraid to stand alone.

Claire said in an interview “When I started I felt like an island but I’m glad it is being embraced and understood now.” Your gift does not have to be generally recognized as remarkable before you use it.

People who do uncommon things are celebrated the most, (you might think your gift is common, but consider taking an uncommon approach to it).  Stop worrying about what people will think or whether you will be accepted. Stay diligent! The recognition of that gift will come and by then, you’ll be respected even more because you’re a pioneer.

Don’t conceal your gift

Only a seed planted will produce. Remember the parable of the talents? It still applies today. Some of us stay thinking “Lord, when will I blow”, some stay singing along with Adekunle Gold begging God to Pick up the phone and give them Bentleys, sampling other people who have it when they haven’t done what those people have done to be able to afford it. Very soon, Adekunle Gold will buy a Bentley as he is already using his gift.

When are you going to use your own? Okay, you can’t sing or dance but you write excellently well, why haven’t you started a blog or contributed to existing ones? Alright, you can’t draw a box, but you can combine colors and clothing items to make beautiful outfits? Haven’t you heard of Stylists before? Okay, maybe you have a hard time dressing even yourself up, but you have excellent interpersonal skills and can manage or mobilize people for a cause, why don’t you use that to help companies and Non-Profits to raise funds and gather volunteers?

Everybody has a gift, find yours and when you do, please don’t discount it.

Your gift is a tool for a greater purpose

Claire said in the same interview “It’s not all about the skill: I know my calling is to influence positively through my God given gifts. So I think if I’m not being an inspiration through art, it would be nothing but art”

My respect for Claire shut up when I saw this. Life has a way of balancing itself out, and the world gravitates towards people who have good intentions. Your gift is not meant for you alone to acquire fame and fortune. What good are you to the world if you do nothing in return?

Every living and non-living thing on earth takes and gives to the earth to remain. The moment they stop giving, they can no longer thrive here; the moment an animal stops respiring (breathing out carbon dioxide), it dies.

People who have a “receive only” mentality never stay on top for long. Perhaps the reason why you haven’t discovered your God given gift yet is because you don’t have the right motive. Once you have your calling figured out, the tools/gifts required to be able to do it will reveal itself.

You can never stop a woman with Purpose.

At the age of 22, Eniola Iderawumi Claire has shown us that truly you don’t have to do everything everybody does for you to attain the same success that they have. With newspaper features and magazine covers already accrued to her, she has shown that everyone just needs to embrace their uniqueness and excel with their own gift in their own craft.

You can check out Claire’s website here

 This post was culled from the Thresh woman WCW Column. The ThreshWoman WCW is a column I manage with the goal to celebrate and encourage the successes of women all around the world while inspiring other women to chase their dreams fiercely.