Charles M. Schultz, ... wrote: "I have always been grateful for the ... my parents showed for the ambition I showed for a strange ... They never tried to ... me, or point
Charles M. Schultz, ("Peanuts") wrote: "I have always been grateful for the tolerance my parents showed for the ambition I showed for a strange profession. They never tried to discourage me, or point me in a different direction."
We're all born with innate talents, but we lose touch with them. Not many of us had parents like that; or managers or teachers like that.
Buckingham and Clifton ("Now, Discover Your Strengths) came up with a list of 34 innate talents and a way to assess them. Not things like "integrity" or "perseverance," but necessary new words-Deliberateness, WOO (Winning Others Over), Harmony, Connectedness, Strategic. Their StrengthsFinder (tm) profile reveals your top 5 themes, and you can get back in touch with something dear to you. Getting in touch with what you were meant do and then building your life around it brings deep satisfaction. It's like finally coming home.
Using this assessment jumpstarts finding your passion. It's online; URL and code are in the book, available in bookstores.
EXAMPLE: I had a coaching client Sam take the assessment. He was miserable selling insurance. His profile: Positivity, WOO, Empathy, Communicator, Activator. He hated paperwork (Activator) and believed he couldn't sell. Positivity greases any wheel; Empathy meant he was sincere, Activators need to move fast; Communicator...? He was born to sell and didn't know it. He'd been focusing on his weaknesses as we're taught to do. He needed a bigger playing field, to embrace his strengths and be self-assured, and a different product to sell.
Now he's soaring.
It's typical that the person does not "believe" their assessment at first because we just don't know our innate talents. Coaching can pick up where the book and the assessment leave off -- where do I go from here?
You may get some revelations. I did when I took it.
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Susan Dunn is a personal and professional development coach, writer, and speaker. She helps her international clientele find their passion. Email her for FREE ezine.
