It’s all too easy to believe our talents and gifts are not worth pursuing. But I know from experience that everyone I meet has amazing skills and experience that I would be proud to have. So how do we harness these talents and inner fierce to become successful?
1. Try making a list of things that you are good at. Maybe you love writing up detailed reports and therefore have a natural skill for writing. Maybe you get compliments on your excellent presentations at work. This may mean you would be great as a public speaker or trainer. Maybe you enjoy meeting people and have been told that you can sell snow to an Eskimo, this may mean that you would be great at sales or negotiations.
2. What do you love to do? If you still think you don’t have much talent, start looking at what you love to do. Maybe you love to shop, and your family and friends consistently tell you how good you are at putting outfits together. Maybe you love to write, and whenever people read what you have written they remark about your incredible creation. Maybe you find yourself doodling a masterpiece when you have some idle time. Maybe you find that all your friends come to you with their problems and they call you their coach?
If you think about what you enjoy doing and what you are great at, you’ll find that you’ve been drawn to it over and over again. It tends to be true that the better we are at something, the more we enjoy doing it.
3. What problem do you solve? When you think about what you love to do and what you are great at, these 2 things together are usually the very thing someone else needs. That shopping skill can translate to you being a stylist. That writing talent can lead you to a career writing for some of your favourite magazines or to help others write their book. That doodling can lead you to graphic design. The fact that everyone comes to you for direction may indeed mean you would be a great coach. If you package your skill and talents into a way you serve the world, you get to do what you love and make money while you do it.
4. Ask yourself “why not”? Identify the inner obstacles in front of you and blast them into oblivion. Don’t let doubt or fear get in your way of unleashing your potential. Make a list of the reasons why you shouldn’t succeed and then with a different coloured pen, write down the reasons why you deserve to succeed. You might be surprised with the answers you give.
5. Now go out there and be the success you plan to be. Don’t worry if you don’t have all your ducks in a row, all you need is an idea and little bit of fierce!
