Several months
ago, I saw a friend reading Strengths Finder 2.0 (by Tom Rath). Once I noticed
the book, I kept hearing about it. When I signed up for Magic Wand Collective,
reading the book and taking the tests to identify my strengths was part of the
application process.
The results made
an immediate impression on me, primarily because I wasn’t always living true to
myself. There were many times in my life when people would say, “Keri, you’re
so good at that.” I’d brush it off, “Yeah, yeah”. Rather than celebrating what
I was good at, I’d pay more attention to my weaknesses, and come down pretty
hard on myself for not excelling in those areas. As a result, I was telling
myself that my strengths aren’t worth anything, and my weaknesses were
unacceptable. A double negative.
When I read the book, and more importantly, took
the strengths test, I discovered my strengths. Of course, as is my nature, I then
wanted to see what my weaknesses are. At that moment, it dawned on me: even if
I were to give 100 percent into improving my weaknesses, they would still be
weaknesses. So I went back to my strengths and realized how strong I was in
them, and that’s what I should be concentrating on. I scored 95 percent on
those top 3 strengths: those are what I do well naturally, and that’s where
I’ve focused my energy. I shifted my perspective
from a negative, critical analysis to a positive celebration of abilities.
Acknowledging my
strengths and letting go of my weaknesses freed me from wanting to live in that
deficit of, “Why can’t I be more?” It helped me to live in the abundance of
what I did well. Now, by changing my attitude and perception of myself and what
a “strength” is, I am so grateful for my personal strengths. Everything is so
much better because I’m putting my energy and beliefs into something that is
good about me, and not worrying about my weaknesses.
Understanding my
strengths has changed my daily life. I choose and recognize abundance. My
strengths are an abundance that God has given me. Now I can live in abundance rather than dwelling on scarcity.
Strengths
and Business Success
In my business, I
realized that my mission statement needed to be fine-tuned, because when I live
in my strengths, I’m excelling in who I am. My mission statement and business
model needed to enable me to use those strengths. For example, I am an
Includer and Connector and I naturally want to include women and connect with
women; but I wasn’t using a business model that fully embraced these strengths.
Exploring my own
strengths has opened me up to live my business in the way I want to work it.
Before, I was looking at my business trying to run it following formulas that
worked for others. If those formulas didn’t work for me, I thought it was my
own failure. Now, I’m running my business my way, with confidence. And it
works! My business is thriving, my family is thriving, and other aspects of my
life are thriving because I’m celebrating who I am and living in abundance.
Today, I’m using my strengths to develop a
great company. I hope I’m creating something that isn’t cookie cutter and
following others, but taking what I’ve learned and making it my own. My hope is
to help women to design their own businesses based on their wants and
strengths.
Leading a team of
independent jewelry business owners, I encourage each woman to design her
business goals based on her strengths. In direct sales, it’s so easy for people
to get excited and feel like it’s a rat race once they get in. If they don’t
make their director’s “wow” list, if they don’t rank as a top sales person, or
if their name isn’t profiled by leadership, they think they’re a loser. I step
away from that. If I can help women see that my jewelry sales business can help
them reach their own personal goals, they’ll be happy. If they don’t make those
lists, it won’t be important to them because they’re focused on the goals that
are important to them, based on their state in life, personality, and family.
They are measuring their success based on their personal business plan and
they’re in line with their own goals. In
my line of work, success is defined by each business owner; we don’t have
to align our goals to other peoples’ goals or what a company has for their
goals. As a result, our strengths can lead us to fulfillment as women and
business women.
Discover
Your Strengths
I encourage you to
take the time to identify your strengths, or re-visit them if it’s been a while
since you’ve discovered them. Most likely people have been telling you where
you excel, and you’re brushing them off like I did. If you can just live in
your strengths, it won’t matter that you’re weak in other areas. Choose
abundance!
Richard Step’s test was the best I found,
because it ranked all of my strengths and did show me my weaknesses. The strengths
analysis are all about celebrating the positive, but I did find it helpful to
know my weaknesses because they help identify and turn away from major
commitments that require those strengths.
It’s remarkable
how all my personal goals and dreams already encompassed so many of my
strengths, and I didn’t realize it. The more I grow in those strengths and my
belief system, it just keeps getting better and better. I have energy and focus
to spend my time doing the right things.
--Keri
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