“Where do I even begin?” says a voice inside our heads.
This voice of reason often echoes doubt into our minds. Suddenly, we become immobilized and distracted. Let’s summon our strength to overpower this deadly beast.
“Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong… yet, a person can only perform from strength.” – Peter Drucker
In this podcast, I share with you the 7 step process I used to determine and build upon my dominant talent. This has helped me get moving and increase focus. I hope the process does the same for you.
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The 7 Step Process
1. Become aware of your strengths.
2. Pick a dominant talent.
3. Determine if your current lifestyle lets you do what you do best.
4. Show up.
5. Listen to feedback.
6. Revise accordingly.
7. Repeat Steps 4-7.
1. Become aware of your strengths.
As Peter Drucker said, you can only perform from your strength. Before you can ever perform from your strength, you must know what your strength is. Doing so is a lot easier said then done. My best techniques for determining strengths are as follows:
Tests
- Take the Strengthfinders Test.
- Take a Myers Briggs Test.
- Take a Social Styles Test.
- Take an EQ Test.
- Take an IQ Test.
- Take an SAT Test or Find Your SAT Scores.
Inquiries
- Ask the people who support you, “What am I good at doing?”
- What awards have you won?
- What do people normally praise you for?
- When did someone successful compliment you on work you did within their field?
- When do people take interest in what you say?
- When do you make people more animated?
2. Pick a dominant talent.
This step can be very challenging for some. Many times we will mistake a supplemental talent for our dominant talent. You want to choose the talent that maximizes the following equation:
Talent x Time = Strength
Strength here is being used synonymously with impact.
Insights on your dominant talent typically lie within your natural abilities of early childhood.
3. Determine if your current lifestyle lets you do what you do best.
The Gallup Organization has asked about 10 million people to choose between strongly disagree and strongly agree to the following statement:
At work I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
What they found is that only 30% of people responded with either agree or strongly agree. That means 7 million out of 10 million people do not feel their job offers them the opportunity to do what they do best every day. Are you part of that 70% who feel disengaged with how you spend the majority of your waking hours?
4. Show up.
As my Management 101 professor once said, “80% of life is showing up.”
5. Listen to feedback.
Here goes one of the most effective perspectives I have found when it comes to looking at building your artistry or business.
Imagine yourself dancing with a dance partner. That’s you and your audience. You must pay close attention when you lead in a direction if your audience follows your lead, pushes back, takes you in a different direction, or understand your intention at all. The Artist’s Intent must be in tune with The Audience’s Reaction.
6. Revise accordingly.
Follow the energy. Take the feedback you received when you showed up and use that to increase the energy.
7. Repeat Steps 4-7.
Repetition is the father of all mastery.
Closing Comments
1. I am not a guru, nor am I trying to be. I am exploring my own true self alongside you.
2. If you have an idea for a podcast you would like to see or a question answered in an upcoming episode,
or e-mail me
Resources
Strengthsfinders 2.0 by Tom Rath