It breaks my heart to see millions of millennials still chasing rainbows and hoping that the US government or a cartoon character such as Berne Sanders or crooked Hillary Clinton were ever going to change their lives.
Maybe it is time to grow up folks and grow some too and realize that no one is going to take care of you other than yourself if you want to build anything meaningful in your life….whether nailing a big corporate job or creating your own empire. NO ONE. So get used to it, life is not fair and this will never change.
Ever since the paleolithic era we’ve been fighting over scarce resources. Whether this was food, shelter or trendy sabretooth skirts.
Times have changed – but the essence remains the same; it’s resources we’re after.
Money mainly.
In the old days, we used to have a trading system where hunters would trade their catch with fishers for example. This is an equal exchange of value of differently skilled people.
The same concept still applies today. Money simply has made trading your entire life easier.
This system allows us to tap into the expertise of others. The more difficult the task, the more money they get.
Being able to do what others cannot is what makes you “valuable”.
Anyone can sell shoes, anyone can run behind a dumpster truck, anyone can sell fast-food. But not everyone knows how to build a house, lay electrical wiring or perform an open-heart-surgery. The more difficult and in-demand your skills are – the higher your value will rise.
If you want more income – You have to deserve it first.
How?
By building up difficult skills that are high in demand based on your strengths….Nothing else will do it
This means that the barrier of entry for competitors will be high (less competition) and you work in a field where your skills are highly valued.
Additionally, building on strength gives you an “edge” on others….Sounds sweet right?
So what are strengths? Have you ever asked yourselves this question?
Strengths are the things we naturally excel at – the things that come “naturally” to us.
How Do I Find My Strengths?
You find strength through self-analysis
The best way I’ve found to do this is by keeping a journal of my life in which I’m able to spot different trends. Over time you’ll be able to hone down on what you’re really good at.
Here are three ways to discover your strengths:
1. Self-Assessment
Here are some questions you should ask yourself when looking for your personal strengths:
- In what did I grow up around? Competence can arise from early practice, what types of activities were you involved in as a child?
- What do strangers compliment me on? You/your direct surroundings often notice your natural strengths faster than you do. Just ask around.
- What did I want to become as a child? What were the underlying trends?
- What have I been doing the last 10 years? Competence comes from doing a certain thing for a long period of time.
- What can I effortlessly talk about without losing drive? An interesting topic is most likely something you’re highly skilled at or highly interested in.
- What are the things I effortlessly excel at? What activities come easy for you?
- In what areas do I learn quickly? Some skills are perfectly suited to our temperament and therefore we’re able to pick these up much faster than others.
- Who do I envy/admire? Jealousy is a nasty but beautiful emotion as it shows us what we truly want. The same goes for admiration.
2. Reading
Furthermore, a great book that will help you find more strengths is Managing Oneself by Peter F. Drucker
Read the summary and define for yourself:
- Am I a reader or a listener?
- How do I learn best?
- Do I work well with others or do I perform better alone?
- Do I produce results as decision maker or as an adviser?
- Do I perform well under stress or do I need a structured environment?
Alright – what’s next?
3. Personality Tests
A great way to explore further is by doing some personality tests (although they are often too general – it’s quite likely that they’ll give you some more career-indicators)
Here are the ones I recommend:
- MBTI-test
- DISC-assessment
- Enneagram
Learn more about each type by simply Googling the results you’ve gotten.
Put all of these answers in a separate word-sheet and try to determine for yourself the answer to this question;
How can I combine my skills (based on strength) and my interests to solve a need for other people?
Going Deeper
In our current information society it might be not enough to be simply highly skilled in only one particular field. The combination of different, highly valued skills is also often what elevates your value.
Here’s some other tips to prepare for the future:
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Be Impeccable With Your Word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Don’t Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Don’t Make Assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
Keep track of global trends. Where is the world going and how can I prepare for this? Especially the technological boom is very prominent – stay ahead of the robots!
Work for yourself. Everyone will need to become an entrepreneur in the future
The world is your oyster …. Just because the past didn’t turn out like you wanted it to, doesn’t mean the future can’t be better than you ever imagined.
Essence
The world is an inherently competitive place. You’ll need an edge to become indispensable & the only way to become indispensable is to excel at things others cannot do.
Of course competence at a skill will lead to enjoying the activity more – enjoying it more means you’ll be doing it more which in turn makes you more competent.
It’s an endless loop.
Eventually you’ll start to LOVE it and it’ll become your “passion”. So don’t go searching for something until it “feels just right” but create it by building on strengths. Don’t waste time and energy on an endless passion-chase.
Note: Strengths are solely performance indicators (not unchangeable truths). So don’t obsess about them. You can still “be whoever you want to be”, but you won’t perform optimally if you build your life on weakness. It can be stretched – just not indefinitely.
So tell me; what are your strengths?
I hope this personal analysis is timely for you. There’s so much wasted time & energy (and frustration) in fields where we just don’t have a natural advantage in. And the world is simply too much of a competitive place not to use this.
Now that you know the basics, go for the kill and never look back.
The BEST revenge is “OBSCENE WEALTH”.
By : Ziad K Abdelnour
Ziad is also the author of the best selling book Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics (Wiley, 2011),
Mr. Ziad Abdelnour continues to be featured in hundreds of media channels and publications every year and is widely seen as one of the top business leaders by millions around the world.
He was also featured as one of the 500 Most Influential CEOs in the World.
