Key Questions to Uncover Your Strengths

Ask somebody “what are your strengths?” and you will likely get a perplexed look as a response. This tends to happen for one of two reasons: The person is too shy to mention their strengths, perhaps out of fear of looking conceited, or the person doesn’t answer, probably because they have not fully considered what their strengths are.

Let’s assume that you have no worries and hang-up’s about mentioning your strengths to others, but if you do, you will find Subconscious Restructuring of great interest. If you haven’t yet fully considered what your strengths are then continue reading to find out ways we can focus on uncovering strengths.

Usually our strengths come to us so naturally that we tend think everyone is or ought to be good at them. For example, we all read at a different speeds but yet we tend to think that our reading speed is the average reading speed for other most people. Similarily we may have some exceptional listening skills, artistic eye, or dancing ability that is laying dormant just waiting to be discovered.

The truth is that most other people don’t have the same strengths as you. You are unique simply because of the way you see, process and do things. The talents your see as common are usually one of a kind. Our unique way of seeing the world is an inherent strength that can be used to our advantage. Hone in your strengths and you can easily double your income or successfully build a business around them.

Did you know that country singing sensation Leanne Rhymes started at age 3? Tiger Woods, the guru of golfing generation started at age 7. The worlds most successful investor Warren Buffet credits this principle for becoming a billionaire. What is the success principal that these famous examples all started at such a young age?

Loverage. Simply said: Love what you do and do what you love. When you leverage the love you have for something in your personal and professional life the rest (i.e. the money) will come naturally. Tiger didn’t set out to be the top earning golfer of all time, he set out to become the best golfer of all time. Of course, if you win all the time as the best golfer, that also means you win the prize money. Gotta ‘Love’ that!

The golden rule of motivation is that we all like to do things we can do well, while none of us likes having to do things we can’t do well. You either spend time doing something you love or not. Make it a top priority to spend your time doing whichever makes you most happy. To find out what you like, love or enjoy you can start out with this question: “What motivates you to perform at your best and give your all?”

Once you know what motivates you you can use it to begin to drive your choices, influence your behavior and reprogram old habits. Discover your strengths and then find a way to unfold them in the direction that brings your heart the greatest satisfaction.

The following questions have been distilled from years of interviewing other people about how they derived their top talents and most successful skills:

· What do you do that when your done doing it you feel amazing, alert and alive?
· Have you ever done something that left you feeling more powerful, connected and energized then when you first started?
· What activities do you partake in that when you do them you feel an adrenaline high and when you’re finished you feel energized?
· Where do you most enjoy spending your time?
· What do I do where I lose all track of time?
· What do I most often give to others?
· What do I have the most fun doing?
· What do others look to me for help with?
· What comes especially easy to you right now?
· What have you done especially well previously?
· What skills and activities have accounted for your greatest successes to date?
· What parts of your job do you do better than other parts or other people?
· What do other people most often complimented you on?
· Where do you have the ability to become outstanding?
· Where can you perform in your profession or personal life to “distinction?”
· What do the people closest to me say I am passionate about?
· What are your gifts (unique skills and talents) that if fully developed and completely contributed would make a significant impact in your life, your community, and the world?
· How might you best put these skills into service to better strangers and loved ones alike?
· What ideas, things, places and/or people am I most inspired by?
· What personality qualities account for your greatest successes in life so far?

Take time at the beginning of your day to contemplate your answers to these questions. As you do this exercise over time you will become more comfortable with these questions and you will be able to answer them in more specific detail. In the meantime be patient with yourself and allow the answers to come to you when they do.

If you are still not sure what your strengths are you could probably benefit from the use of an “objective” mirror, such as someone who can see your perspective from a 3rd person point-of-view. What is elusive to spot for you may be plainly obvious for another person to see. Russ built his coaching practice on the ability to spot the “truth” and help his clients recognize it, release it and reclaim their potential.

If this is something that is of interest you contact Russ directly and ask about a complimentary Possibility Finding Session, or look into the possibility of using a mentoring program to help get what you need to done.

Manifesting Kute Blackson Part II

Today is the day after Kute Blackson first appeared in my life and mostly because my friend gave me his iPhone. The whole experience was a pleasant chain of events as I describe in my last post. Today I met a fellow Life Coach for coffee. It was great to get together with her, especially since we haven’t seen each other in almost half a year. 

Whenever we manage to connect it is always a genuine pleasure. We laugh a lot, inspire one another, and end up leaving feeling more enthusiastic and connected to spirit. Are these characteristics of friends important to you?  How many people in your life elicit these same qualities? It can never hurt to include more genuine people in our lives. 

Today was even more special than the adventures that usually unfold. My friend started the conversation by asking me an amazing question that can start a wonderful dialogue: “what is invigorating?”. When asked that question my mind immediately raced to all the exciting things that I’ve done since I last seen her. With many months in-between us only the soft whisper inside my head was heard saying, “Kute”, “Kute”.

By honouring my intuition I began to tell my friend the story of how I acquired my new iPhone and ‘stumbled’ across this lovely person on YouTube, Kute Blackson… As I mentioned his name and how I wasn’t even sure if I was pronouncing it correctly, I could feel my friends attention level shoot up. I could sense that somehow there must be more to my words when a small tear surfaced at the corner of my friends eye.

I went on to tell her that Kute felt like a bretheren, and was a newly discovered ‘hero’, and how my intention was to meet him. Oh boy… little was I prepared for the story that she was about to share back! Since it was her turn to talk, she began to describe a recent business venture that she is absolutely loving. She works with a business partner that had just returned from a spiritual type retreat only a couple days ago. The spiritual retreat even had a name, it was called “the liberation experience” and it was with none other than Kute Blackson!

Wow, in only a day’s worth of intention I was connected to Kute by only two degrees of separation! Absolutely fantastic! The story gets even better as it turns out that this business owner had arranged for Kute to come to my city for a ‘private’ teaching in her business, but if I heard the story correctly, apparently during a meditation Kute was nudged to ‘go deeper’ during his time here. Now, he is apparently offering himself to the business employees, family and friends as a service of love. Man this guy is deep! 

So the rumour is that soon Kute will be in my city and whether he realizes it or not, I am part of the reason of his coming. I believed that I would connect with him this year, and it looks like once again the Universe shows its unwavering commitment to manifest my intentions. 

I think it is important to add that at this stage, since I haven’t even had the pleasure of meeting him yet, I do not want to put too much emphasis or attachment (read=ego) on making it happen. Right now my only job is to allow and acknowledge the divine brilliance of the Universe, and celebrate the wonder of ever unfolding possibilities. Will it happen? Will I meet Kute? Only time will tell, but I will be sure to let you know if it happens.

March 28, 2009 Update: Well it has happened… a meeting of the hearts, a greeting of the minds. Kute Blackson and Russell Small have officially met and this manifestation has come to full fruition. Click here to read Manifesting Kute Blackson Part III.