Tips & Insights for Top Performance

In their new book, Now, Discover Your Strengths, authors Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton suggest that we tend to focus on what needs to be “fixed” with ourselves. Then, they demonstrate how fluid and successful life is when we set aside our shortcomings and truly leverage our own strengths. The book illustrates how knowing your personal strengths, and recognizing the strengths of those around you, can help you build a dynamic and successful organization, network, or team.

An even bigger BONUS is that you get a personal code for an online survey that identifies YOUR “top five inborn talents”! This benefit is worth every penny you spend on the book! Identifying your top five strengths will change the way you look at life. This assessment is unique from the many other assessments out there (i.e. Myers-Briggs, DISC, etc.). With the “strengths” information in hand, you will be able to apply the theories presented in the book on a day-to-day basis.

I HIGHLY recommend this book: it is a refreshing concept that moves you forward by focusing on the positive and teaching you how to maximize your full potential!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Strategies for living our purpose and expanding awareness for life, people and the opportunities of each day:

1. Evaluate your gifts and talents: What gifts and talents do you have that you enjoy using? These are things that you rarely mind doing, where you find yourself engaged, motivated and inspired at just the thought of it. Everyone has several of these and they come in many forms. i.e. listening, hospitality, service, brainstorming, creativity, analysis, compassion, logical assessments, music, kids, big picture perspective, implementer, task driver, laborer, specific skills, etc. List 5 gifts and talents you have. For a fun exercise, there is a FREE “Discovering My Spiritual Gift” assessment tool at www.treeoflifenc.org (under Resources).
2. Evaluate the opportunities you have today: What is going on in the near future where you can put those gifts and talents into action? How can you share those with others and be an encouragement for them? What would you love to do that would actually give you more energy by being involved and using you gifts? List 3 ways you can use your gifts and talents in the next week.
3. Stop doing things that do not work. What do you know that you are doing that you want to stop? Stop smoking, stop eating too much, stop cutting yourself down, stop complaining, stop needing, stop over-promising, stop worrying. Whatever you are doing that feels uncomfortable for you that you know you should stop should be halted. This will increase your attractiveness and consequently boost your confidence!
4. Do something that is radical for you. This is a process of breaking out of a rut. People are very attracted to people who are always innovating and continually doing new and different things. Play around with ideas and identify something fun that you can start doing that will support you in trying something new and different.
5. Stop comparing yourself to others. Identify the standards that are important for your life. Use these to benchmark yourself. If you are constantly comparing yourself to others, you will always feel inadequate and miss the great gifts you have to offer.