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.

Imagination Wins the Stanley Cup

After the dust settled at this years NHL finals, the winner came down to the team who imagined having it with more conviction. Convincingly, that team was the Pittsburgh Penguins, and they were lead by the imagination of their young captain, Sydney Crosby.

After accepting the Stanley Cup as the youngest NHL captain to hoist it, 21-year old Crosby confirmed the importance of both your dreams and imagination when he told NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: “It’s a dream come true… It’s everything you imagined and more.”

And imagine this scenario in his mind he did… Crosby has admitted to dreaming of hoisting the Stanley Cup too many times to count, although if you asked him, I’m sure he would admit it was a small price to pay to eventually be able to experience the feeling in real life. Dreams come true when you are passionate enough about making them happen.

People often want the results they can imagine but they are just not committed or capable of doing what it takes over time to achieve those results. To get the results we want in life we must offer up an equivalent of value in exchange. In Crosby’s case, it was his determination, resiliency and willpower that showed and told the universe that it was him who wanted this reality more than anyone else.

There are a lot of factors to be considered when it comes to winning a sports title. It can’t be based on dreams alone, because there are as many imaginations genuinely intent on winning Lord Stanley’s cup as there are players in the NHL. When there are multiple candidates and only one reality, like in sports or the lottery, the winner is the person who is imagines their success most clearly and confidently.

When it comes to winning things like awards, sports titles, and even the lottery, the winner is simply determined by the person who is able to demonstrate that they want it more. And why shouldn’t the Universe work on this principal? Deep down inside we all know that a reward system like this is fair, reasonable and beneficial for everyone.

For example, if you had a priceless antique that you had to give away, if given the chance to choose, you would probably prefer that the person already had some appreciation of antiques to begin with correct? Similarirly, if you had to give your prized pet away you would want to ensure it went to an animal lover over animal abuser. The Universe is no different, it wants to make sure our desires are genuine before rewarding us.

When you desire something but lack the willpower to get it success is unlikely. However, when your willpower and your desires are aligned nothing can stop you. People and professional athletes often become unstoppable when they use a crystal clear vision of success to drive their willpower. Anything you can conceive (desire) and believe (willpower) you can achieve.

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky used to imagine the puck going into the net moments before he shot. Tiger Woods, one of the most dominating forces in Golf wins because he imagines being the greatest golfer alive. Not only does he believe in his vision, he also has a clear definition for what exactly that means.

You can model the success of athletes like Crosby, Gretzky and Woods by taking a page out of their imagination playbooks. Take a moment and think about what your favorite idol, mentor or hero(ine) has done that you would like to do. How did they go about getting it done? How did they use the power of visualization to aid and assist them along their journey. How can you apply or adopt the same principals to help with your success?

I’m not sure the name of the team that will win the 2010 Stanley Cup, nor can I tell you who will be the captain to hoist it come June. What I can tell you is that as you read these very words the winner is already earning their right to win by first winning in the realm of imagination. If you can imagine it possible you can take steps everyday to make it possible.

Have you downloaded a copy of “The 7 Imagination Misuses” yet? In it I describe in detail the 7 most common mental blocks that prevent people from getting exactly what they want. How would it feel in your life if you could re-structure your subconscious so that is is programmed for automatic success? Get what you really want with alot less hassle with Subconscious Restructuring.