Personal Strengths

There are two ways of getting something. Doing it yourself, and getting someone else to do it for you. So what happens when someone else is clearly far better at doing something than you.

This is why your strengths are important, becuase 99% of the time its much better just to do what you’re best at. You get more done, you can sell more and make more profit. Awesome.

What this also means is don’t just start any business because its painless. Anyone can clean houses and wash cars. That's easy. That’s why the rates are so low. Instead of thinking “what’s the easiest thing I can do”, think “what is it that I’m best at?” Learn to leverage your strengths, and win.

Real Strengths = Business Advantages

And business advantages mean more profit, less work and a better chance of fulfilling your vision. Do what you’re good at.

It’s like getting married...

If your still in your teens, its okay if you’re not married yet (hehe) but run with this idea. Which one of these do you think is more natural, more likely and has a better chance of success?

1. Decide to get married first - scout for partner, propose
2. Find a partner, build a relationship. Idea of marriage comes across, and its a good idea. So you do it, work hard and make it a long term success.

I hope and pray you chose the second one. You’re not desperate, are you?

Just like a marriage, with business its a really, really bad idea to play “just to take part”. Play to win, or don’t play at all. Because when you invest as much time and money you need to get a business, even a part-time business, you need to be committed to succeeding.

Why commit yourself to an ongoing struggle rather than something that’s comparably easier and way more fun?

So here comes a nasty, un-nerving question. Here goes...

What Are You The Best in the World At?

As Seth Godin points out in his book, ‘The Dip’, being the best in the world is seriously under-rated. It’s a serious question. What are you the best in the world at? Anything? Because in the world of Google and the rest of the internet which can index and rank you with billions of competitors in fractions of a second, boy does being #1 matter! Who chooses "the B team"...?

If you want a job, you have to be the best person for the employer at that time. You have to be the best in the world. Just like when you sell something - you are the best provider for your customer. You’re the best in the world. That front page story is the best story of the day.

But quickly, you need to know...

Good Grades Don't Make You Awesome

School aren’t about making you the best in the world. They’re about making whole classes of good grades. That's their purpose. So even with your flawless set of grades, you’re in a class of flawless - in other words you’re average. Good, but average. One of the ugly ironies of the school system...

Strengths = Talents + Experience + Education + Skills

It’s like sport at school.

Like you probably, my school offers a choice of sports from an early age. What happens is people choose the sport they like, they spend year after year of games sessions playing, practicing and learning the sport. The result is groups of people playing sports to an advanced level, and loving it!

They’re playing to their strengths (literally) - they’re playing the sport they prefer. In the position they’re best at. Every week. Strengths are built through talents, experience, education and skills.

What Is Talent?

Malcomn Gladwell wrote a book on talent. It’s called ‘Outliers’ and its basically about finding out about what makes the exceptional cases in the world. Its fascinating. Go read it.

What he essentially uncovers though is talent comes from hours of practice, and lucky opportunities. Here’s a great video summary:

Think of gaming. Studies show that teenage gamers are getting almost as much gaming time in as they are schoolwork, meaning most gamers are “talented” by the time they graduate. The hours of practice, plus the luck of having a console (or gaming PC) makes you talented.

• What Are You Good At?
• What Do You Have Experience In?
• What Have You Learnt About?
• What Are You Skilled At?

Its difficult in your teens, since you’re not necessarily old enough or had the opportunity to try lots of different things out and work out what you’re amazing at. Some teens will have a whole portfolio of different skills, whilst others won’t have accumulated so much yet.

Either way, you’re not thirty-something. You needn’t worry! That’s what this site is all about - building those personal strengths. By the time you are 30, and have netted years and years of actual business experience under your belt, imagine how far ahead of the rest of the pack you’ll be. Being young now can actually help...

Embrace Your Limitations

Limitations make things hard. You have to choose, make tough decisions and try really hard to make a profit. Those kind of practices put you miles ahead of anyone else. Listen to this talk about how a one-armed boy won a judo competition, by embracing his constraints...

Focus on Few Things, but kick-ass at them!

Jim Collins researched and wrote a book on "Good to Great". There are so many really important takeways, but one of his concepts he calls the fly-wheel. It takes a lot of effort over a long time, in one direction before something gains momentum.

Stick to doing one or two things frickin' well - master one or two strengths. Build momentum and go be the best in the world. Go be King.

The Strength of Your Plan B

You may be the best basketball player in the world; one trip or fall, one broken hand and you're nothing. What I think dictates peoples real strength - at the very highest level - is the strength of their plan B. What happens if it all goes wrong?

It helps to be self-competitive. If you're unsure whether you should do football or swimming in your afternoons, because you're good at both and find them a lot of fun, you're in by far the better position than the person who has to go swimming because they're not good at much else...

When it gets competitive, the strength of your Plan B is crucial. Besides, getting good at getting good at stuff is an extraordinarily useful habit ;)

Passion is the driving force behind your business, it'll keep you motivated and grow as you become more and more successful. Read about the benefits of your passion

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