Category: Work Life

Each of us is born with a unique set of natural skills. The challenge we all face is recognizing and developing those skills to their fullest potentials – thus, creating our Talent Advantage. An unused talent is just potential, nothing more. A talent that is recognized and applied is a true TALENT – something at which you excel, receive recognition from others and is satisfying to do. It’s your Talent Advantage.
Have You Found Your Talent Advantage?
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is easy to lose sight of your Talent Advantage and get caught up in pursuing activities that are not supported by your natural skills. How is this possible? Doesn’t it seem that we would gravitate to careers, environments and relationships that use our Talent Advantage? The truth is we are often unaware of our talents, or we dismiss them as “nothing special.”
Ask yourself the following questions:
* Do you truly love what you do?
* Did you consciously choose what you do without consideration of money or benefits?
* Do you find the environments where you function (work, home and play) supportive and encouraging?
* Are the people around you helping you get what you want out of life?
If you answered “no” it is very possible that you have lost sight of what your Talent Advantage is, or you don’t recognize how to apply it in your life. Consider the following.
A Lesson from Nature
In the 1940s George Reavis wrote a fable titled The Animal School that told of a time when the animals of the Great Forest decided to organize a school. The school adopted an activity curriculum consisting of swimming, running, flying and climbing. All the animals took all the subjects.
As you might expect the ducks were excellent in swimming, but they made only passing grades in flying, and all of them were very poor in running. Since they were slow in running, they had to stay after school for remedial running practice, and they had to drop swimming in order to practice running during their swimming class time. This continued until all the ducks’ webbed feet were very sore and they were only average in swimming. But average was acceptable, so nobody worried.
The rabbits started at the top of the class in running, but did not do so well in swimming so they had to come in early every day for special practice. The teachers were concerned about the rabbits’ high activity level so they were made to walk everywhere instead of running or hopping.
The eagles were definitely problem students. In climbing, the eagles beat all the others to the top of the tree, but they insisted on using their own methods to get there and were quite stubborn about it. The eagles said clearly it was the goal that mattered, and it was quite right for eagles to get to the treetop by flying. They were diagnosed as having oppositional-defiant disorder and put on a strict behavior modification plan.
At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceedingly well, and also run, climb and fly a little, had the highest average and was valedictorian.
How We Lose Our Talent Advantage
Because the animals described in the story were not practicing and utilizing their natural skills they lost their Talent Advantage. Giving up natural skills in order to acquire other skills is clearly a silly pursuit for the animals.
Yet, there are times when many of us do just that – lose sight of our Talent Advantage:
* Like the ducks, we are sometimes forced to focus on what we do poorly. In the process we forget what we are really good at doing.
* Like the rabbits, we stop developing our natural skills so that we can fit in with others.
* Like the eagles, we don’t always understand the environments where our natural skills shine, which makes us appear contrary.
* Like the eel, we’ve all probably accepted high praise for average behavior a time or two.
Each of us has talents and skills we know we are naturally gifted at doing. When you put aside your natural skills in order to focus on acquiring other skills, you lose sight of what makes you excel. Like a duck trying to survive on its running skills, living life outside your Talent Advantage is possible, but results in average-to-mediocre performance, frustration, a sense of purposelessness and physical exhaustion. You can do it, but why would you want to?
Claiming Your Talent Advantage
You have a natural birthright to our Talent Advantage. You have abilities for which you have innate potential that are just waiting to be used. Sure, they may require a bit of development, but you will find that efforts spent on your talents are productive, meaningful and rewarding
Why not start today? Claiming your Talent Advantage begins with consciously choosing to do more of what you do best. Give some thought to what you do well. Then look for opportunities to do those things more often!
About the Author:
Lynda-Ross Vega: A partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., Lynda-Ross specializes in helping entrepreneurs and coaches build dynamite teams and systems that WORK. She is co-author of Vega Role Facilities Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit www.VRFT.com

Let me clear in what I am asking so we’re on the same page. I mean do you put time, energy, and money into your own personal growth and in the growth of your business?

Why am I asking this question?

I’ve seen a trend over the years developing as a result of marketing with so many free giveaways. Offering free teleseminars, bonus gifts, intros to upcoming programs, sample sessions.. are all important ways we introduce ourselves to new people. It’s a viable marketing practice that has merit.

In a conversation with several colleagues on new business paradigms, we wondered:

1. Are we giving away too much for free? The more people give, the more people want. Without having a boundary of, “Enough is enough!” that you stick to, many people will come back for more and more and more. Each time you give more, you raise the bar of other people’s expectations that can become insatiable. What was initially offered as a gift now becomes an expectation that is often discarded as having real value.

Do you treat the things you pay for the same as the things you get for free?

2. Have we educated potential clients and customers to expect receiving high value freebies all the time just to get something for free? Personally, I stand behind creating high value in anything that has my name on it whether it is free or not. It’s also one of the ways I market my business and many people get on lists just to get something and then opt-out. I’ve been guilty of that myself. Attracting the right and perfect clients who are the right fit is the goal of everyone who is in business.

3. Do people feel a sense of entitlement to receive what others have invested years of learning and cultivating for free? A good friend of mine relayed a story of a client who told her she registers for programs and at the end of each program, she asks for her money back for a variety of reasons. This tactic allows her reap the benefits of the programs without paying for it. Copying and distributing proprietary material without permission or compensation to the owner is another form of theft. What goes around….

4. Have we become a society of takers; looking to get as much as we can for the least amount of time, energy, and money? Do you joyfully pay people for their services, products, and programs knowing that you’ll benefit in the end if you take advantage of what they have to offer? Do you always look for the discount or try to bargain the person down like a nickle and dimer? Approaching life from “what’s in it for me” is one of the surest ways to block the flow of abundance into your life.

5. How are people assessing value? By the dollar amount or by the potential of having a life-changing experience? That’s the difference between looking at things as a cost and expense or as a value and investment in themselves AND their future.

Can you relate to these questions?

Several years ago I was contemplating registering for a program that a good friend of mine told me about. I was at a turning point in my business and I had been bumping up against some emotional blocks that were rooted in old beliefs. When I calculated the total amount of airfare, hotel, and registration costs, the figure was around $3500 for the 8-day program. Let’s also add in traveling, meals, and time away from my business. My initial reaction to my friend was, “WOW that’s expensive.” because I was looking at the program as a cost and expense rather than an investment in ME, the potential healing and personal transformation, and the benefits to my business. I realized that was the largest investment I ever considered making in myself. That was eye-opening. Wasn’t I worth it?

She replied, “What is the investment clients make when they hire you to coach them individually or to register for one of your programs?

Would you expect them to pay for what you have to offer if you don’t value the skills, talents, and experience others have cultivated?” Yikes.

Her questions caused me to look at how I judged the value others placed on their programs and services. How could I expect potential clients to value my services if I begrudged others prosperity for their contributions?

So, I registered for the first program and went on to do two more over the next six months. Saying yes was one of the biggest and best investments I ever made in myself.

On Facebook last week here is what someone wrote in response to my invitation to one of my Compelling Conversations interviews, which is FREE:

She wrote: ”There are much too many of these teleseminars out here on FB and not one of them help! It is all about the money.”

Here is my answer: “The really good ones offer a lot of content value. Being of service to others to improve the quality of others’ lives is at the heart of most presenters I know AND we are also running a business. It’s what each person does with the information that makes the difference. The question I would ask you is, How comfortable are you in marketing your own business and asking people to pay you?”

To grow yourself, you must invest in yourself.

To build a thriving business, you must invest in growing it.

To have a great life, you must be investing in growing yourself and your business

Making wise choices in where you invest your time, energy, and money is prudent. When someone has a potentially life-changing service, product, or program that calls to your heart, invest in yourself and say YES. Do it because you are worth it and because everyone you know will benefit for the person you become.

1. Forgiveness Healing Work. 99.99 % of the time the person or situation we are the most upset with is US. Getting angry at ourselves or others is a common way we hold onto the past and drag it around. Forgiveness doesn’t mean excusing or forgetting what happened, it means coming to acceptance and peace with the past and our humanness so we can move forward. Being unforgiving blocks flow because it blocks love. Love magnetizes abundance and good flowing to us. Read my article on How Forgiving Are You?

2. Unconscious limiting beliefs. How you feel about yourself consciously and unconsciously is the energy operating at all times in what you are manifesting. The stronger the emotional charge, the faster we manifest either what we desire or what is undesired. And before we attract what we desire, we first attract its’ opposite. Read my post: The Law of Opposites.

Affirmations and declarations can be effective in working with the conscious mind but they don’t effectively create the shifts on the subconscious because our egos get in the way. Working with modalities that bypass the conscious mind such as Theta healing and hypnosis (there are many to choose) have helped many to transform and release beliefs, resolve the past, and open the flow of abundance.

3. Ego vs. Soul. Who are you listening to – your head or your heart? Are your choices and actions motivated by fear or are they Divinely inspired? Do you follow your intuition and instincts or do you override them? If you’ve grown up being taught to ignore your inner wisdom, cultivating a relationship with your soul will help you to make choices that align with heart.
We are spiritual beings in a physical form. When you align with your spirit to use your ego as a tool rather than identify with your mind as “who you are” and the expert to guide your choices and actions, your life experiences will take on a deeper meaning and fulfillment.

4. Clear the energy zappers. Where is your energy going? We put up with, accept, take on and are dragged down by people’s behavior, situations, unmet needs, crossed boundaries, in-completions, problems and even our own behavior. Examples: anything you are avoiding, anything is need of repair or replacement, unreturned phone calls correspondence, bills, debts, clutter, unspoken words (stuffing feelings), and boundaries. Some things take time to clear and can be handled is smaller steps. Energy zappers create clutter and block flow.

5. Fear. Anxiety, worry, fear.. is generated by the ego and reinforced by the messages we receive in our day to day life. Spiritual practices, walks, in nature, meditation, loving, healthy relationships, feed and nurture us body, mind and spirit. When you’re focused in fear, your attention is on the future. Coming back to the present, practicing sincere daily gratitude, being loving and generous with others, cultivating faith and trust, and conscious breathing are ways to shift from fear to a more centered, empowered space.

6. Resisting the healing and growth experience. Stop fighting against where you are. Stop judging where you are to be a bad or wrong place and asking, “How do I get rid of this feeling or situation I don’t like?” You are where you are! And there is a purpose to what you are experiencing even if you don’t like it. The more you fight your feelings and situations the more energy you give them to hang around. “What you resist, persists.” Instead, consider what the feeling or situation might be trying to tell you or teach you.

And, we become impatient when things don’t happen fast enough or the way we want especially when we are feeling fear and urgency. In addition to the Law of Attraction and other governing principles, another powerfull law is the Law of Divine Order and Timing. You timing for something to happen and the Universe’s timing may not be aligned. That’s where faith and trust comes in AND following your intuition.

Learning how to live in harmony with these universal principles and how to leverage your knowledge of the laws so you can align in thought, belief and behavior in respect of these laws, is both empowering and remarkably effective. (This is one of the steps we teach in Aligning with Destiny program)

7. Your Relationship with Money. Do you see money as a big monster who disappears and makes you suffer or a loving friend who wants you to have we everything you desire? Do you feel anger and blame towards the power money seems to have in your life and in the lives of others? Your attitude, beliefs and relationship with money affects how it shows up in your life. Check out Morgana Rae’s workbook and CD’s for insights and strategies to become a money magnet.

My final point: If you have been consistently investing time, energy, and money in growing yourself and you business, and you are feeling frustrated with your life, what’s missing that might help you break through?

We can get so close to our own stuff that we are unable to see what’s going on and help ourselves get through certain things especially if it means feeling pain or discomfort. One of the biggest reasons people don’t get the assistance they need is because they say, “I can’t afford it.” That message comes from your ego!

If you are continuing to get most of the same results, you can’t afford not to get the help you need. And I understand how prickly the money topic is for people today.

Every successful entrepreneur I know works with a team of people including coaches, mentors, accountability buddies, and mastermind groups. If you aspire to play a bigger game, you gotta stretch out of your comfort and surround yourself with the people and resources you need to succeed. Life is a journey of courage!

The bottom line is how badly you want something and whether you are really willing to do whatever it takes including making financial investments in yourself to have a more prosperous future.

These are incredible times to step into the next and highest version of who we are meant to be.

Are you in or out?

Passion – What lights you up and brings you joy? What juices you and gives you the most energy? What makes you feel the most vital and alive? Our passions motivate and inspire us to take action. Without passion our life can become mechanical and empty.

Deep desire can give us the courage to take life –changing risks with determination and power in the face of fears and uncertainty.

Fulfilling Your Life/Soul Purpose – Having a sense of why we are here and what we are here to do gives meaning to our life. Making choices with a sense of purpose helps us to regain perspective when we feel confused, doubt, and fear. Our purpose reminds us of who we are when we slip into the dramas and details of our life.

Commitment to Go the Distance – Stretching beyond the limits of your comfort zone and walking through the discomfort without running back to where you were is essential. Change can be very uncomfortable and brings up a lot of different feeling and behaviors that many seek to get rid of block rather than to embrace. As you begin to spot the subtle ways you sabotage your dreams and desires and stay and don’t give in to that sabotage, you can feel pretty vulnerable and raw at times. Comfort zones give the illusion of safety; a safe haven where we can hide. If we are not moving forward, we begin moving backwards. Being able to recognize your personal patterns of sabotage empowers you to make choices that will motivate you to keep going.

Solid Support and Accountability – Who keeps you on your toes? How many times have you been excited about doing something, felt ready and committed to your goals and dropped the ball within a few weeks, days or even hours? Surrounding yourself with people who can be objective, uplifting, encouraging, and forthright to cheer you on, challenge you to be great, kick you in the butt when you’re stalling, help you stand strong when facing fear, remind you of who you are when you forget, and hold you accountable to your purpose, passions, and vision makes a huge difference in going the distance and achieving success.

Having accountability keeps you moving steadily forward with your goals/intentions. When we fulfill self-agreements, we feel in integrity with ourselves. When we break promises with ourselves, we can use self-condemnation as a means to beat ourselves up. The fact is that when we deliberately set up accountability such as buddying with someone else for a common purpose, hiring a coach or mentor, or joining a mastermind group, the probability of success goes waaaaaay up.

Over a month ago I decided to focus on making specific changes to commit to a healthier lifestyle. I had tried numerous times to eat healthier, regularly exercise and meditate with limited success and generally take better care of my body. I’d start out gung ho and in a matter of weeks, days, or even hours, I was sabotaging myself by using food to manage my stress or self-soothe.

So, I started working with an accountability buddy who also wanted to be taking better care of her health. We each decided what changes we wanted to implement and we committed to one week as a beginning point. Over 5 weeks later we are going strong. We’re raised the bar for ourselves a few times and we check in twice a day using an accountability form that state 4 intentions. We answer the first two points and email to each other every morning. Every evening we answer 3 & 4. No cutting and pasting answers so we are truly making the commitment each day

1. Today I am accountable for:
2. To accomplish this I have to:
3. At day’s end, how much did I accomplish?
4. Was there anything that prevented me from achieving my outcomes?

To receive the benefits of support, you must ask people for help. If you are usually the one who helps others and have trouble asking for or receiving help you are blocking love. To be a great giver, you must also be a great receiver. It’s a circle. Love is our natural state as spiritual beings. To deny love from others or to yourself is a way to starve your soul.

Have a Strong Self-Care Regime – Think of taking care of your body, mind, and spirit as an important element to your inner foundation. When we feel “fed” we can show up for the people, responsibilities and situations that we most care about with our best SELF.

When we are depleted, over-extended, hungry, lonely, or angry, life becomes more burdensome. To check when you might be out of balance or in need of some self-care pronto, here are some common signals: taking things too personally, beating yourself up, irritability, over-reacting, resentment, anger, overwhelm, confusion, distracted, stressed, or tense. Ask yourself, “What do I need right now? What is my body asking for? What have I been ignoring?“ Then DO IT!

Attitude shifting tools – What helps you shift into a better thinking and feeling place? I’m not talking about ways you “get rid” of your thoughts and feelings so you can avoid them. Stuffing thoughts and feelings can weaken our bodies and self-esteem so that we open ourselves to potential illness, psychological problems, depression, and unhappiness. I believe it’s important to have your thoughts and feelings without “building four walls, a roof and setting up permanent residence”. Having tools to shift out of negative self-talk, fearfull thinking, ruminating about the past, worrying, anticipating problems and challenges in the future costs you a whole lot of energy and peace of mind.

My attitude shifters include:
1. Adopting an attitude of gratitude
2. Bringing my attention back to the present moment
3. Appreciating all that is right in my life including people, my cats, gifts and blessings
4. Meditation helps me get centered and connected to Source
5. Keeping my self-care strong to include fun! Am I being too serious and do I need to lighten up?
6. Doing something to help another
7. Remembering who I am, what I am here to do and experience. Asking, “What is mine to do today? How can I be of service? What gives me faith? In what do I totally trust” are questions that help to shift from feeling fearfull and out of control to a more peacefull, connected space.

Taking Inspired Action – Listening to and following your gut instinct and intuition to guide your choices and actions can bring amazing opportunities into your life. It takes courage to take leaps of faith when we are motivated by fear. Inspiration comes from within; from our Divine “inner knowing” urging us to step into the unknown with faith and trust, often without a safety net. Our mind is an instrument with the ability to reason and assess situations that support us in making logical, sound choices that can motivate us to action when things makes sense.

The key is bringing inspired guidance and logic together so that we are following our heart and making sound choices that support our dreams and desires. When we stretch out of our comfort zone and our ego freaks out, we can easily disconnect from our spiritual core if we do not use our tools, resources, attitude shifters, supports… to come back to our SELF.

Be realistic and take one step at a time. Bring compassion and loving patience as your partner in your journey. And remember to celebrate each step of success along the way. Small steps lead to big leaps!