Hey, what’s up?
It’s Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business and a
life that you love.
And this is Q&A Tuesday where it’s all about Q’s and A’s and today’s Q comes from
miss Sasha and she writes:
“Hey Marie.
I get caught up with something you usually say at the end of your videos.
It goes something along the lines of the world needs that special gift that only you have.
I don't really see myself as someone that has any special gifts and especially nothing
that I can offer to the world.
Unless there’s a world’s best procrastination competition.
I’ll go next week.”
Very clever.
“How can I work out what these special gifts are that I was sent into this world with?
Thanks for any advice.
Sasha.”
Sasha, this is a super great question.
You know, I have never met one single person who doesn't have any gifts, but I’ve met
loads of people who wonder if they even just have one.
I think part of the problem is this word gifts.
So when we hear that word gifts or talents, instantly we think of someone who can sing
or dance or talk to dead people or solve gigantic quadratic equations without using a pencil.
So I think the first step is we need to look at gifts in a broader way.
So a simple shift is to start calling them strengths.
There’s no one that can say they don't have strengths, right?
And I bet you have strengths you’re not even aware of, Sasha.
Now, the million dollar question is, “Well, how do I figure out what my strengths are?”
The best place to start is with one of my favorite books of all time.
Behold Marcus Buckingham’s Now Discover Your Strengths.
Sasha, I recommend this book to everybody and now when you read it you’re gonna discover
that every single human being, including you, is born with a unique set of strengths.
Now, the book also comes with a code so that you can take this awesome little test and
discover exactly what your strengths are.
Now, the thing about strengths, they’re really an ability you have.
It’s something that comes very naturally to you, it’s something that when you do
it you actually feel stronger.
It’s something that you can imagine yourself doing repeatedly, happily, and successfully.
Now, most people overlook their strengths because the fact it comes to naturally to
them they take it for granted.
For instance, are you a great learner?
Do you have a strong sense of empathy?
Do you thrive on competition?
Do you have a knack for imagining the future and getting people excited about it?
Can you win other people over even if you’ve just met them?
All those things are strengths or what you might call gifts.
And, yes, they are special and useful even if they’re not talent show material.
Now, once you know your strengths the whole key is to continue to use them as often as
you can and to develop them.
It’s a big key to happiness, both in your regular life and at work.
Now, here’s a big thing you don't wanna get tripped up on.
Don't try and look for the perfect job or the perfect business to start in order to
express your strengths.
Your strengths are gonna be with you for life and if you’re like most people in this day
and age, you’re gonna have many evolutions in your career so you don't have to worry
about it.
So for example, in my own life two of my top strengths are positivity and communication.
Now, I used these strengths when I was on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on
Wall Street, I used them when I was a bartender, I used them when I was a Nike athlete, and
I use them every single day in my business and here on MarieTV.
Now, there’s loads more we can talk about as this is a big and fascinating topic, but
the two most important steps you can take are, number one, recognize that yes you do
have gifts.
You’ve just gotta start calling them strengths.
And number two, you want to find out what those strengths are and start using them as
often as you can because the world really does need it.
So let’s land this plane on one of my favorite quotes of all time and, yes, it’s a Tweetable.
Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.
That was my A to your Q Sasha.
I really hope it helps.
Now I would love to hear from you.
Have you ever had a doubt that you have any special gifts?
Did you have any ah ha’s during this episode?
Or if you discovered what your gifts are, I would love to know how you figured it out.
As always, the most awesome discussions happen after the episode over at MarieForleo.com,
so come on over and leave us a comment now.
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Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world really needs that
special gift that only you have.
Thank you so much for watching and I’ll catch you next time on MarieTV.