Use Your Strengths To Win More
Have you ever been in a situation where work seemed effortless? Well, you were probably in a situation that required you to use your personal strengths.
Socrates said "Know thyself." Socrates was right on the money. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses makes your success journey faster and easier. The better you understand what your strengths are, the better equipped you are to come up with a strategy that will help you win in life.
Success is pretty simple. In order to achieve success you need to find an arena you are suited to play in. After that, you have to have the guts to get started, the guts to endure through the challenges you'll inevitably face, and along the way have an attitude that you're willing to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to get the job done.
The first part of success is finding an arena you're suited to play in. In order to do that, you have to know your strengths and weaknesses. The better you know yourself, the more you'll know your potential for peak performance in any arena.
This concept applies in sports, in education, at home, in your personal and in your professional success.
Successful people focus on their strengths. Do you know yours?
In sports, knowing yourself is not as complicated. Your body type rules out many sports. Someone built like a linebacker will not make an effective wide receiver. I would not make a good sumo wrestler or a good jockey. Your speed, agility, jumping power, strength, and your specific skills further narrow what sport you might excel in.
If you've ever played football, your coaches tested you to determine what position you were best suited for. It saved time and it was plain smart.
In school, many counselors give aptitude tests to help students figure out what profession they might enjoy and be best suited for.
If you're in sales for a major corporation, you've undoubtedly taken personality tests when you interviewed for a job. The sales manager wanted to know if your personality matched the set of qualities found in the most successful salespeople.
If you're in management, you've probably taken similar tests so your boss would know whether you might have what it takes to manage others - and if you did, what management style you would have.
If I had not known what my strengths were, I never would have made it to the Olympics. As I tell my audiences, I was not a great athlete. My main strength was perseverance. I chose the sport of luge because I knew I could persevere in the face of challenges. I figured the luge was dangerous enough that there would be many quitters.
My strategy was to outlast the competition. I never would have been able to come up with a strategy if I had not known what my strengths were.
As an Olympic athlete, I'm always looking for anything that might give me an edge over the competition.
I've found that if something helps me become a better athlete it usually also helps me in my personal and professional life. Over the years I've taken many personality tests and assessments. I understand that the better I know myself, the more I can excel.
By learning what makes me tick, I've learned what my hot buttons are - so it is easier for me to motivate myself. I've also learned what turns me off and why.
Finally, I've come to understand my communication style. Knowing your communication style is of huge importance because 85% of success comes down to your people skills. For me this knowledge about myself is invaluable because it helps keep me out of trouble and it helps me be my best.
About a year ago I took a personality assessment that was light years better than any I had taken before. The information it gave me went into more depth than what I'd gotten from any other test I'd ever taken.
It was easy - 20 minutes answering a series of questions online. And in a few minutes, I got a detailed 20 page report on everything about myself.
The report was uncanny. It revealed things about me that I did not consciously know but that once I read them, I immediately agreed with. The report gave me insights about me that have helped me build my business and have helped me whenever I communicate with others - my wife, my daughter, my colleagues, my prospects, etc.
I've always worked hard. The knowledge from this report allows me to work smart as well. Bottom line, it has made me more productive. It gives me an edge. It helps me win more in life and at work.
Make it an Olympic Day!
Ruben Gonzalez is a four-time Olympian, a bestselling business author and an award-winning keynote speaker. Ruben will turn your next meeting into an Olympic event you will never forget. For information on how to bring him to your next event, visit PremiereSpeakers.com/Ruben_Gonzalez.
