Latest news with #strengths
Forbes
21-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Hidden Advantage That Separates Thriving Founders From The Rest
The hidden advantage that separates thriving founders from everyone else Millions run their business never discovering their unique strengths, pouring energy into fixing weaknesses while their natural talents remain untapped. They follow conventional paths, checking boxes created by others, wondering why success feels so exhausting. Your greatest competitive advantage isn't some secret strategy or breakthrough idea. It's you. But specifically: the parts of you that shine without effort. For years, I tried to be the perfect all-rounder, stretching myself across every role from content creator to strategist to account manager. The breakthrough came when I finally recognized my natural strengths in simplifying complex concepts and creating systems. Once I built the business around these strengths and hired for my weaknesses, we grew rapidly, and had a successful exit. Don't do more. Do less, but better. Ignore your weaknesses and focus on your strengths Most advice tells you to identify weaknesses and fix them. This approach fundamentally misunderstands how exceptional performance happens. Extraordinary results come from being exceptionally good at a few things. Here's how to get them: Your natural talents feel easy to you. So easy you might dismiss them as unimportant or assume everyone can do what you do. They can't. The abilities that come naturally to you are your ace cards in business. Perhaps you build connections effortlessly while others struggle with networking. Maybe you spot patterns in chaos while others see random events. You might explain complex ideas simply while others complicate simple ideas. These innate abilities are valuable clues about where you'll create your greatest impact. Write down three things people regularly compliment you on or ask for your help with. Look for the patterns. Start leaning into those strengths now, and find out just how unusual they are. Having potential creates responsibility. But responsibility can either feel like a burden or an adventure. Choose adventure. When you think about what you could accomplish with your gifts, approach the question with childlike wonder. Get genuinely excited to discover what you're capable of, rather than pressured by expectations. The difference is subtle but profound. Both paths acknowledge your capabilities. But one creates expansion while the other creates contraction. One feels like play. The other feels like work. Play every day. Your best work happens when you're having fun. Once you identify your unique advantages, create systems that mean they work on autopilot. If you excel at connecting with people but struggle with follow-up, hire an assistant to handle the details. If you generate brilliant ideas but get bored with implementation, partner with someone who loves execution. If you're a gifted writer but hate marketing, find collaborators who complement your talents. Becoming self-sufficient in every area is surplus to requirements. Instead, create a business ecosystem where your strengths can expand at scale. Your weaknesses are opportunities to collaborate with those who have complementary talents. Stop trying to be someone else. Double down on what makes you special. What if your supposed weaknesses actually contain hidden talents? Maybe you're "too sensitive." That sensitivity gives you emotional intelligence others need. Perhaps you're "too obsessive" about details. That precision creates quality that stands out. You might be "too curious." That curiosity asks the questions that find valuable answers. Stop trying to change. The very qualities you've been told to fix are your competitive edge when properly channeled. When I was told I was "too intense" earlier in my career, I stopped fighting it and instead found contexts where intensity created value. Your perceived flaws hide your greatest gifts. Every day you have the choice: use or lose your natural talents. Start each morning by planning your schedule around them. Only do things that leverage them. Delegate everything else. Track when you feel energized versus drained to know more about your strengths over time. Protect your genius zones fiercely. Say no to projects that don't align with your natural talents. Stop doing things that consistently drain your energy. Every hour spent in your zone of genius creates exponentially more value than an hour spent compensating for weaknesses. Visualize yourself operating at your peak. Play your own game: make your strengths known Building success on your unique strengths means finding your unfair advantages, approaching potential with curiosity rather than pressure, creating systems around your natural abilities, turning weaknesses into strengths, and establishing daily habits around your talents. The path to extraordinary results starts with recognizing what already comes naturally to you. Stop wasting energy trying to be someone else. The world needs the one and only version of you. Change your life in 14 days with my step-by-step guide.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Aquarius Daily Horoscope Yahoo Life Astrology: July 06, 2025
Your ability to see people's strengths, and especially how those strengths can mesh with those of others, makes you the perfect candidate to help organize a massive group activity today. Find out how you and your partner rate with the ultimate compatibility report, your Love Score.
Forbes
24-06-2025
- General
- Forbes
Master The Art Of Self-Advocacy
Self-advocacy starts by cultivating a shock-absorbent, insulated core, where your worth, values, and strengths are kept as safe and unshakable as possible. Self-advocacy starts by cultivating a shock-absorbent, insulated core, where your worth, values, and strengths are kept as safe and unshakable as possible. This requires understanding related facets of yourself, such as what you're willing to sacrifice and what's non-negotiable. Reflecting on what you want to achieve in five years may bring helpful clarity to the process. Self-advocacy calls for owning your story and life experiences, including the fruits of your labor and the consequences of your actions. Store these in your shock-absorbent, insulated core, as well. Expose them to others when it's your choice and strategically appropriate. I'll never tell you this process is easy, but I will insist it's worth it. It's especially important for women and anyone from other underrepresented groups. The spaces where we must campaign hardest for ourselves, such as the workplace, were not planned with us in mind—proof that we're needed there. But the workplace can be confusing. People seem to speak in code you're not meant to understand, or play games without clear rules. Sometimes it's like being back in grade school, where cliques embrace some and shun others. Sometimes, it's like you're in Oz. Imposter Syndrome One of the biggest obstacles between a person and success is imposter syndrome, whispering that you're a fake, that promotions, merit raises, and commendations you've received were flukes, or that you're conning everyone and can't get away with it forever. It's self-sabotage that's hard to fight because the only one who hears that voice is you. Starting out, I coped with imposter syndrome. It was hard internalizing that I was qualified to contribute my ideas and warranted in pushing back when I saw a need. Finally, it hit me: Feeling like an imposter had nothing to do with me; it was about organizational structures built with no intention of someone like me ever being there. These were places designed for other people's success, where I would have to work much harder for the same or even lesser opportunities. Once I viewed reality through this clearer, more powerful lens, I realized my voice was needed to improve that space for everyone. Mentors and Sponsors A mentor providing straightforward advice or feedback can help you build confidence, identify your values, and set boundaries. Some companies have employee resource groups (ERGs), which can be sources of mentoring, and some will help match you with a mentor. If a mentor sounds like a good idea, and there's no mentoring program at work, look around for someone you respect who has achieved the level of success you seek and understands the system. Suggest to human resources that a group be established, and consider volunteering for its steering committee. Sponsors are another option. Sponsors are typically connected to corporate leadership development efforts and advocate for employees. A sponsor speaks to higher-ups on your behalf - people whose attention you might not have gotten on your own. Ask your human resources department if sponsorships are available in your organization. Speak Up and Write Up Self-advocacy requires you to know not only your worth, needs, and wants but also your rights and to communicate those things clearly. Be prepared to talk about yourself, including the value you bring, especially if an opportunity arises to speak with a higher-up. Keep your resume updated. Give serious consideration to any opportunities for advancement, comparing them to your skills, experience, and career goals. Don't expect to meet every item on the job posting's preferred qualifications list, and if your gut tells you the job's a fit, dive deeper. Learn interviewing and compensation negotiation. When interviewing, emphasizing your value is—again—key. If your employer or a prospective employer extends an offer, remember that your value should be reflected in your compensation. Do your homework, know what you should be paid at your level and with your skills, and prepare to discuss it unapologetically when the time comes. Role-play with a mentor or friend until you can self-advocate more confidently, and remember that we don't always get everything we want. Don't take it personally if an interview or salary negotiation doesn't pay off as hoped, but make sure there was no violation of your rights. Examine all aspects if something about a job or the compensation is more than slightly off the norm. It's all self-advocacy, it's a life skill, and you can do it.
Fox News
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
A Father's Mission to Advocate For the Autism Community
Danny Combs' son, Dylan, was just two when he was diagnosed with autism. Although Dylan wasn't able to say 'I love you, Dad' until he was six years old, he had started building complex LEGO sets by himself, with no instructions, three years prior. In speaking with his son's therapists, Danny wanted to highlight the fascinating skills his son possessed — but the primary focus was always on what Dylan couldn't do, not what he could. In response, Danny set out to create a program that focused on the strengths and capabilities of young people with autism — which is how TACT, Teaching the Autism Community Trades, was born. He joins Ben to talk about the incredible impact TACT has had thus far, and why we must fight injustices facing the autism community. Follow Benjamin on X: @BenjaminHallFNC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
