Acquire the Talent of Identifying your Talent

U.S's President J. F Kennedy said, “Not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves.” The hidden message in President Kennedy’s words is a repudiation of the notion that talent is only found in a select group of “special people.”  According to this view, talent is reserved for professional athletes, movie stars and the winners of made-for-TV dance contests.  And, as the President noted, that’s flat wrong.

Talent is the capacity for excellence.

We are all born with talent.  It is an attribute of our species.  Talent is the capacity for excellence, and all of us have been endowed with that gift.  Like our opposable thumb, it is a characteristic that defines being human.  Every single one of us can do superior work. The challenge for job seekers, therefore, is three-fold: First, you have to make sure you have correctly identified your talent. Second, you have to make sure you’ve selected a career field in which you can work successfully with your talent. And third, you have to acquire the latest skills and knowledge in your career field so that you can actually use your talent to perform at your peak on-the-job. Let’s look briefly at each of those issues.

First, you have to make sure you have correctly identified your talent.

Talent isn’t passion.  You can love to play tennis, but never be good enough to pursue a career in the sport.  Talent, therefore, is the intersection of passion and practicality.  It is what you love to do and do well.

Some of us are lucky and discovered our talent easily.  We have “a calling” which points the way.  For most of us, however, that voice speaks too softly to hear without some work on our part.  We have to invest the time and effort to look around inside ourselves.

Here are three exercises to accomplish this inner search.  One, explore what most engages you; secondly look into what is most relevant to you; and a thirdly make an unconstrained choice.  Your talent lies where those three dynamics overlap.

Second, you have to make sure you’ve selected a career field in which you can work successfully with your talent.

Not every talent can be used effectively in every occupation.  For example, if a person’s talent is communicating complex ideas so that everyone can understand them, they are not likely to be successful in a field which requires the talent of athleticism.  They can be a sports writer, perhaps, but not a professional basketball player.

Unfortunately, most of us launch off on our careers before we’ve discovered our talent.  As a result, we may become competent or even expert in our profession, craft or trade, but we will never be fulfilled by our work.  In fact, more often than not, a lot of us are just plain miserable instead.

How can you figure out if your career field is the right place for your talent?  Take a look at the tasks you’ve performed in each of your previous jobs as you’ve listed them on your resume.  How close do they match what you love to do and do well?  If it’s less than 90 percent, you’re looking for a job in the wrong occupation.

And third, you have to acquire the latest skills and knowledge in your career field so that you can actually use your talent to perform at your peak on-the-job.

Talent is the capacity for excellence, not its achievement.  In order to perform at your peak on-the-job, therefore, you have to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to express your talent fully.  You must become expert enough to turn your potential for superior work into reality.

A person of talent sees themselves as a “work-in-progress.”  They are constantly improving their capabilities because each additional increment of expertise enables them to express a greater dimension of their inherent excellence.

To put it another way, they are so respectful of their talent they never stop trying to perfect it.  They don’t wait for their employer to offer training; they seek it out on their own.  They don’t put personal development on hold because they are in transition; they use ongoing education to plug the employment gap in their resume.

President Kennedy had it right.  We all deserve “an equal opportunity to develop our talents.”  And, that includes those of us who are looking for a new or better job.

Top 10 Valued Workplace Skills

If you think you have nothing left to learn after all the books you cracked in University, think again. There’s a whole set of business skills you probably weren’t taught in class, even if you were a business major. So as a new graduate, be sure to brush up on these ten essential job skills you’ll need to succeed in the workforce; communication, organizational, computer, interpersonal, analytical, leadership, problem solving, time management, mathematical and professional skills.

1.    Communication

• Negotiating; bargaining; persuading; debating issues without being unpleasant or abrasive to others

• Greeting people; representing others to the public; selling; demonstrating products or services

• Courteous telephone skills

• Reporting; conveying information; explaining issues or procedures

• Listening effectively

• Interviewing; drawing out others' views; probing for information

• Demonstrating skills in the use of language, grammar and punctuation

• Expressing ideas in written form; editing; revising; preparing concise and logically written materials

• Organizing and presenting ideas effectively for both formal and spontaneous speeches

• Participating in group discussions

2.     Organizational

• Identifying tasks to be accomplished

• Pulling elements together in an orderly, functional, and structured whole

• Facilitating discussions on program planning processes

• Facilitating brainstorming activities

• Giving constructive feedback on others' work

• Prioritizing tasks; getting most important work done first

3.    Computer

• Identifying and using appropriate software

• Identifying, analyzing, and solving hardware or technical difficulties

• Teaching others to use computer programs

• Understanding different application programs

• Using HTML and other web design tools

• Understanding and using different operating systems like UNIX and Windows

4.    Interpersonal

• Interacting effectively with peers, superiors, and assistants

• Understanding the feelings of others

• Analyzing behavior of self and others in group situations

• Demonstrating effective social behavior in a variety of settings and under different circumstances

• Maintaining group cooperation and support

• Making and keeping commitments to others

5.    Analytical/Critical Thinking

• Analyzing the interrelationships of events and ideas from several perspectives

• Identifying reasonable standards for assessing the appropriateness of an action

• Identifying the general principles that explain interrelated events

• Applying appropriate criteria to strategies and action plans

• Understanding and making logical arguments

6.    Leadership

• Motivating others towards the accomplishment of a common goal or vision

• Understanding and working to fulfill the needs of each team member

• Knowing, using, and properly allocating a team’s resources

• Effectively planning team activities

• Influencing the actions of team members by setting a good example

• Dealing with team disputes quickly, fairly and effectively

• Assigning duties and responsibilities effectively

7.    Problem Solving

• Effective problem solving and conflict resolution

• Anticipating problems before they occur

• Defining problems and identifying possible causes

• Identifying possible solutions and selecting the most appropriate ones

• Developing plans to apply new solutions

• Creating inventive solutions to complex problems

• Adapting one's ideas and behaviors to changing customs and rules

• Quickly and accurately identifying the critical issues when making a decision or solving a problem

8.    Time Management

• Managing and organizing projects while being conscious of schedules and deadlines

• Setting realistic goals

• Organizing work effectively; breaking projects down into manageable steps

• Prioritizing work to do most critical tasks first

9.    Mathematical

• Interpreting, manipulating, and using numerical data effectively

• Understanding and managing financial plans

• Understanding and controlling operating expenses

• Creating formulas

• Recognizing and understanding data in different forms (like graphs)

• Using precise data entry techniques; analyzing data

• Recognizing abnormalities or mistakes in data

10. Professional

• Representing an organization through appropriate dress, language, behavior, and business ethics

• Complying with the company's written and unwritten rules and expectations

• Treating coworkers, superiors, assistants, and customers with respect

• Working toward compromise in situations of disagreement or dispute

• Working within project protocols

• Showing loyalty to an organization

• Being punctual and working efficiently

• Producing high quality results

Proactively assessing skills and addressing any skills deficits make you better qualified and showcase your initiative. Keep your professional development going by asking your manager and others whom you admire what skills they think you should build to be even more successful.

INVEST IN YOU

"An investment in yourself always pays the best interest" - Jeff Moore. It's simple, you're worth it! That's the message you send loud and clear to yourself, when you invest in you.

You're worth the promotion. You're worth the raise. You're worth the career of your dreams. You're worth an amazing partner. You're worth a life that inspires you and others.

This only happens when you invest in you. What kind of classes/training do you need to take?

What can you read or experience, to help you master your craft? How can you become one of the best in your field? What do you need to learn about your self, your mind and your goals - to take it to the next level.

Jim Rohn, legendary personal development guru once said that, "you need to work harder on yourself than you do your job". And, when you invest in yourself, you go from having a job, to having a fortune. A fortune in love, respect, self worth, relationships, purpose and material.

What are you doing to invest in yourself?  What decisions are you making about your future? Have you really tapped into your greatness?

Think about it. Then do something about it.

Talk soon!

Wisdom Series #3: MAHATMA GANDHI

Mahatma Gandhi needs no long introduction. Everyone knows about the man
who lead the Indian people to independence from British rule in 1947.
So let’s just move on to some of my favourite tips from Mahatma Gandhi.

1. Change yourself.
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the
world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake
ourselves.”
If you change yourself you will change your world. If you change how you think
then you will change how you feel and what actions you take. And so the world
around you will change. Not only because you are now viewing your
environment through new lenses of thoughts and emotions but also because the
change within can allow you to take action in ways you wouldn’t have – or
maybe even have thought about – while stuck in your old thought patterns.
And the problem with changing your outer world without changing yourself is
that you will still be you when you reach that change you have strived for. You
will still have your flaws, anger, negativity, self-sabotaging tendencies etc.
intact.
And so in this new situation you will still not find what you hoped for since your
mind is still seeping with that negative stuff. And if you get more without having
some insight into and distance from your ego it may grow more powerful. Since
your ego loves to divide things, to find enemies and to create separation it may
start to try to create even more problems and conflicts in your life and world.

2. You are in control.
“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”
What you feel and how you react to something is always up to you. There may
be a “normal” or a common way to react to different things. But that’s mostly
just all it is.
You can choose your own thoughts, reactions and emotions to pretty much
everything. You don’t have to freak out, overreact of even react in a negative
way. Perhaps not every time or instantly. Sometimes a knee-jerk reaction just
goes off. Or an old thought habit kicks in.
And as you realize that no-one outside of yourself can actually control how you
feel you can start to incorporate this thinking into your daily life and develop it
as a thought habit. A habit that you can grow stronger and stronger over time.
Doing this makes life a whole lot easier and more pleasurable.

3. Forgive and let it go.
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
Fighting evil with evil won’t help anyone. And as said in the previous tip, you
always choose how to react to something. When you can incorporate such a
thought habit more and more into your life then you can react in a way that is
more useful to you and others.
You realize that forgiving and letting go of the past will do you and the people
in your world a great service. And spending your time in some negative memory
won’t help you after you have learned the lessons you can learn from that
experience. You’ll probably just cause yourself more suffering and paralyze
yourself from taking action in this present moment.
If you don’t forgive then you let the past and another person to control how you
feel. By forgiving you release yourself from those bonds. And then you can focus
totally on, for instance, the next point.

4. Without action you aren’t going anywhere.
“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”
Without taking action very little will be done. However, taking action can be
hard and difficult. There can be much inner resistance.
And so you may resort to preaching, as Gandhi says. Or reading and studying
endlessly. And feeling like you are moving forward. But getting little or no
practical results in real life.
So, to really get where you want to go and to really understand yourself and
your world you need to practice. Books can mostly just bring you knowledge.
You have to take action and translate that knowledge into results and
understanding.
You can check out a few effective tips to overcome this problem in How to Take
More Action: 9 Powerful Tips. Or you can move on to the next point for more on
the best tip for taking more action that I have found so far.

5. Take care of this moment .
“I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the
present. God has given me no control over the moment following.”
The best way that I have found to overcome the inner resistance that often
stops us from taking action is to stay in the present as much as possible and
to be accepting.
Why? Well, when you are in the present moment you don’t worry about the next
moment that you can’t control anyway. And the resistance to action that comes
from you imagining negative future consequences - or reflecting on past failures
- of your actions loses its power. And so it becomes easier to both take action
and to keep your focus on this moment and perform better.
Have a look at 8 Ways to Return to the Present Moment for tips on how quickly
step into the now. And remember that reconnecting with and staying in the now
is a mental habit - a sort of muscle - that you grow. Over time it becomes
more powerful and makes it easier to slip into the present moment.

6. Everyone is human.
“I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I
own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace
my steps.”
“It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded
that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”
When you start to make myths out of people – even though they may have
produced extraordinary results – you run the risk of becoming disconnected
from them. You can start to feel like you could never achieve similar things that
they did because they are so very different. So it’s important to keep in mind
that everyone is just a human being no matter who they are.
And I think it’s important to remember that we are all human and prone to
make mistakes. Holding people to unreasonable standards will only create more
unnecessary conflicts in your world and negativity within you.
It’s also important to remember this to avoid falling into the pretty useless
habit of beating yourself up over mistakes that you have made. And instead be
able to see with clarity where you went wrong and what you can learn from
your mistake. And then try again.

7. Persist .
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you
win.”
Be persistent. In time the opposition around you will fade and fall away. And
your inner resistance and self-sabotaging tendencies that want to hold you
back and keep you like you have always been will grow weaker.
Find what you really like to do. Then you’ll find the inner motivation to keep
going, going and going. One reason Gandhi was so successful with his method
of non-violence was because he and his followers were so persistent. They just
didn’t give up.
Success or victory will seldom come as quickly as you would have liked it to. I
think one of the reasons people don’t get what they want is simply because
they give up too soon. The time they think an achievement will require isn’t the
same amount of time it usually takes to achieve that goal. This faulty belief
partly comes from the world we live in. A world full of magic pill solutions where
advertising continually promises us that we can lose a lot of weight or earn a
ton of money in just 30 days. .
Finally, one useful tip to keep your persistence going is to listen to Gandhi’s
third quote in this article and keep a sense of humor. It can lighten things up at
the toughest of times.

8. See the good in people and help them.
“I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won’t
presume to probe into the faults of others.”
“Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of
his fellow-men.”
“I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting
along with people.”
There is pretty much always something good in people. And things that may
not be so good. But you can choose what things to focus on. And if you want
improvement then focusing on the good in people is a useful choice. It also
makes life easier for you as your world and relationships become more pleasant
and positive.
And when you see the good in people it becomes easier to motivate yourself to
be of service to them. By being of service to other people, by giving them value
you not only make their lives better. Over time you tend to get what you give.
And the people you help may feel more inclined to help other people. And so
you, together, create an upward spiral of positive change that grows and
becomes stronger.
By strengthening your social skills you can become a more influential person
and make this upward spiral even stronger. . Or you can just move on to the
next tip.

9. Be congruent, be authentic, be your true self.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in
harmony.”
“Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim
at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.”
I think that one of the best tips for improving your social skills is to behave in a
congruent manner and communicate in an authentic way. People seem to really
like authentic communication. And there is much inner enjoyment to be found
when your thoughts, words and actions are aligned. You feel powerful and good
about yourself.
When words and thoughts are aligned then that shows through in your
communication. Because now you have your voice tonality and body language –
some say they are over 90 percent of communication – in alignment with your
words.
With these channels in alignment people tend to really listen to what you’re
saying. You are communicating without incongruency, mixed messages or
perhaps a sort of phoniness.
Also, if your actions aren’t in alignment with what you’re communicating then
you start to hurt your own belief in what you can do. And other people’s belief
in you too.

10. Continue to grow and evolve.
”Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to
maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false
position.”
You can pretty much always improve your skills, habits or re-evaluate your
evaluations. You can gain deeper understanding of yourself and the world.
Sure, you may look inconsistent or like you don’t know what you are doing from
time to time. You may have trouble to act congruently or to communicate
authentically. But if you don’t then you will, as Gandhi says, drive yourself into
a false position. A place where you try to uphold or cling to your old views to
appear consistent while you realise within that something is wrong. It’s not a
fun place to be. To choose to grow and evolve is a happier and more useful
path to take.

Let's get Naked by Melissa Krivachek of Under30ceo

Have you ever noticed that when you have your mind set on achieving a specific goal or you’re headed in the direction of massive success your closest friends and family tend to want to get in the way?

Spending the holiday season with my family every year I realize more and more the greatest gift I can give them is the gift of proving them wrong.While their beliefs and values are incredibly different than mine and I love spending time with them I also love leaving them knowing that I can’tand won’t allow their beliefs and values to influence mine because the
distinct difference between those who are massively successful and those who aren’t is their Mindset.

I’ve heard every excuse and reason why it won’t work from my family and I’m sure you can relate.

Excuses ranging from you don’t have the tools, knowledge, resources, or the right relationships to you aren’t good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, educated enough, you don’t know what you’re doing and no one has ever done that before what makes you think that you can? And while I hear their concerns I refuse to allow their concerns to become my fears. It’s taken a long time to get from where I was to where I am today and it was no easy road in fact it can be challenging from time to time still today and we all have our off days regardless of our level of success. But the reality is we all have a choice, we all have a decision to make to allow those limiting beliefs to get in the way of our success or to focus our time, effort, and energy on what truly matters most to us that being our OWN goals, hopes, and dreams.

Yes no one in my family has been successful at owning, operating or profiting by creating their own business, no one in my family has made over 6 figures before and certainly not 7, no one in my family has gone out on a limb and risked everything to make their dream a reality, no one in my family was willing to call BS on all of the limiting beliefs, obstacles, and temporary setbacks in their way NOT because they weren’t strong enough BUT because they didn’t realize how strong they actually were.

Achieving this level of success is no easy task, moving past limiting beliefs that have been programmed into you from birth takes balls, and dedicating yourself to not quitting when things get rough is extremely difficult there is no question about that but achieving this level of success, making this level of sacrifices, committing to this many hours of personal growth, talking to thousands of people, hearing the word no over and over and over is what makes you stronger not weaker. It increases your level of knowledge and intellect and pushes you further
with every action and decision you make.

More than anything to get to this place in life you have to be coachable and vulnerable

It’s like going to the doctor’s office when he/she asks you to take off your clothes and put on that gown you listen. Do you want to do it? Absolutely not! Do you feel comfortable doing it? Absolutely not! Are you scared, nervous, panicked, insecure, annoyed, worried, terrified of course you are! There is no question about that no one goes into the doctor’s office happy, comfortable, and ready to be stripped of their clothes and examined. No one starts the journey of entrepreneurship thinking I want to get “naked” and vulnerable but in order to survive and thrive you have to. The quickest way to learn is to grow, the quickest way to grow is to be examined, and the easiest way to do that is by hiring a specialist and getting “naked”. I know what you’re thinking and hey, these are the very things no one wants to talk about but this is the reality of how the best outshine the rest.

WISDOM SERIES #2. Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, Nobel Prize winner and anti-Apartheid icon passed away at his home in Johannesburg at the age of 95. By any standard, Madiba, as he was fondly referred to by those who loved him, lived a robust, fulfilling and impactful life.

Few people have had as much impact on history as Madiba had. History will remember him as one of the greatest men who ever lived – an incredibly selfless man who made so much of a sacrifice to re-write the history of generations of South Africans and the world.

During his lifetime Mandela inspired the world with his numerous words of wisdom, etched in our memories till tomorrow. And his words remain evergreen:

1. I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from
nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is
keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving
forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in
humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give
myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.

2. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the
triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel
afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

3. Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp
enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one
armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.
4. It always seems impossible until it’s done.

5. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his
people and his country, he can rest in peace.
6. Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of
their people.

7. A fundamental concern for others in our individual and
community lives would go a long way in making the world the
better place we so passionately dreamt of.

8. Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve
success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they
do.

9. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world.

10. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to
live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

11. Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many
times I fell down and got back up again.

12. There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for
a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

13. Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will.

14. We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is
always ripe to do right.

15. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never
extinguished

16. Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill
your enemies.

17. I like friends who have independent minds because they tend
to make you see problems from all angles.

18. A good head and a good heart are always a formidable
combination.

19. When people are determined they can overcome anything.

Streamline your life...

There are certain things in a person’s life that really make worth living.  Your faith, your family, your career, and the positive effect you have on others, just to name a few.  These are you priorities. With each priority there are certain tasks that you do that attribute to each priority.   In the same sense, there are certain things in a job that make the biggest difference.  There are hundreds upon millions of certain task to choose from.  Imagine like a wall full of levers and you have to discern which ones to pull down to make your life work.  The problem with life is most people are overwhelmed with which lever to pull to make life worthwhile.

We want to make the biggest difference so we start pulling as many levers as possible. And we get bogged down.  Imagine your life like a computer.  You have so many things you want to accomplish so you start opening a lot of programs.  You open up a browser and start looking at websites. In fact you may open multiple tabs on that same browser.  You then open up a word processer, then excel, then a media player, then a picture viewer and before you know it your computer is running slower than you expect it to.  This is the way life works.  If you get bogged down doing too many things you become less and less effective at what is really important.

Here are three ways to STREAMLINE YOUR LIFE.

Delete it.

Sometimes it more important to say no than it is to say yes.  Say no to the things that don’t directly contribute to the priorities you find most important.  There are only a handful of things that you do that actually make a difference.  If you find yourself crunching numbers that have no ROI, delete it.  Your time is too valuable. I personally find myself double recording some things that have a easier method of tracking.

Delegate it.

What makes you valuable may not be balancing the books.  What may make you valuable is your ability to communicate with a large number of people at a time or play a musical instrument, or your skillset of selling.  If balancing the books is taking too much of your productive time, delegate it.  Give it to someone who is just as capable at doing an adequate job and give them the opportunity to take on the responsibility.  If your time is worth $100 an hour, you don’t have the time to perform a task that is worth $10 an hour.
 
Diminish it.

Sometimes you can’t avoid all nonproductive things.  Some people you still have to deal with even if you would rather not.  There may be a person you work with that has a negative attitude but his contribution is vital.  You may not be able to avoid him all together but you can diminish the time you spend with him so his negatively doesn’t rub off on you.