There is something in each of us that sometimes gets buried because somewhere along the way we were convinced it was not a worthy attribute to have and was not valued. We were told there was no place for the talent that we uniquely had to be allowed to flourish. So we bury it deep and let it go dormant. This is wrong.

I love this thought from Tim Ferris:

”It’s lonely at the top. Ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most time and energy consuming.”

I would go as far to say that not only are we convinced we are incapable, we are convinced to not even try.

One way to honor yourself and your unique set of skills is to position yourself on the playing field where they will be of value the most. A book called Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath does an incredible job showing how this works.

One example they use in the book to make this clear is the story of Rudy Ruettiger. No matter how hard Rudy played or practiced he would never find himself starting in the Notre Dame football lineup. Rudy lacked the skills and the strengths required to be a starter for the Notre Dame football program.

Rudy’s best strengths were drive for results, perseverance, and bringing vision/purpose to life. The skills he was trying to make strengths carried him as far as they could. His strengths were better served not on the field, but as a coach where vison/purpose and drive could be best brought to light. And Rudy had that naturally, he didn’t have to practice at it, it was just his DNA. Rudy went on to create Rudy International and is now one of the most successful inspirational speakers you can find out there. Accomplished as he was, he didn’t find that until he honored the best version of himself using the skills that were the best parts of what made Rudy, Rudy.

Just like Rudy, intially we try out for things using skills that are not our strengths. We give it everything we have only to get incredibly disappointed as well as frustrated when we don’t find long term expected success and fulfillment. Find and place yourself in your strengths and you will love what you do as well as add incredible value to a group.

Another tactic to honor yourself and uniqueness is to work on getting your specialized skill set in front of others by letting it be free. It’s hard to find your strengths. For others to see your best in the sea of images, words, and online information it’s even harder. It’s easy to get lost in the struggle of who you are with all the information you’re looking at and being told is what success should look or be. Use EQ, don’t use EQ. Be a driver, don’t be a driver and lead with compassion. And on, and on.

You need to keep yourself intact so others can see you for who you truly are and what you can bring, not trying to be something you are not that you picked up while reading on the web. No one will see your true talents if you are constantly fliting between one version of yourself and another. Feed what you are specialized in to make it really stand out. Sometimes you have to be true to your talents and let them have the time to be loud.

To recap don’t beat your head against the wall by trying to become something you’re not, and clear the white noise around you away so others can see your best self. Embrace who you are and what you bring to the table, there is a place for it and you can be successful being your best self. You just need the perserverance to find out where you can apply it and not give up until you do.

Thanks for reading and I hope the rest of your week goes well. Love to hear your thoughts and your own stories with the same stuggles if you would like to share.

Shawn