Guest Blogger: Tamisha Ford | tamishaford.com
Have you ever wondered what the real secret sauce is for successful people? Have you ever really wanted to know the root of how they visualize, conceptualize, and just all-around make it happen? I think sometimes we look at celebrities or people who we deem to be successful and think they’ve just had a stroke of good luck, inherited a lot of money, or are just flat out lucky. In some cases, perhaps that’s true, but for the most part I believe something different.
I believe their secret is that they have learned what their strengths are.
I have a theory that learning what your strengths are can change your life and your environments. It can change the way you relate to people, the way you build your business, the way you interact with society, and how successful you can ultimately become. Some of us learn them on accident. The rest of us have to learn them on purpose. So here’s 3 very easy ways to start to discover your strength potential:
- Ask others. I recently did an exercise in a program I went through for entrepreneurs where we were asked to send out an email to a certain number of our closest friends, confidants, and family. I have to admit it wasn’t easy, but it was so worth it. You’ll be surprised what others see in you and this is a great place to start. Send out a basic email asking for the top 3 qualities they most admire about you.
- Pay attention to you. Really start embracing more of who you are and own your areas of weakness. Hate small talk? Okay, fine, you hate small talk. What is another way you interact with people that does make for strong relationships? Maybe you’re a connector by nature or a giver. Start paying attention to those areas you are strong in. Then, just like in business, do more of what works & less of what doesn’t.
- Go back to your childhood. I know this sounds weird at first, but you would be surprised what this will show you. Often, some of the things we most enjoyed or were naturally good at as children are strongly connected to what we should be doing or at least where our strengths lie. Bossy children often become leaders. Children who do well in English & Rhetoric often end up as authors. There are certainly exceptions, but this is a great place to start in discovering your own strengths.
As a side note, a wonderful book to read on this topic is Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham.
