Using your talent
Making the most of your talent is essential if you’re going to be the best that you can be.
There are lots of people who have found the way to make the most of their talent and also plenty who have lots of talent that has remained unfulfilled.
This tool will help you get focused on the things that will make the most impact for you as you make the most of your talent.
What will it do?
This tool will help you get focused on the things that will make the most impact for you as you make the most of your talent. It’ll prompt you to actually do stuff because relying on your talent is a high risk, low consistency, underperforming strategy!
Use this tool to focus on those people whose stories you know and to identify what, in your opinion, has made a difference. Use your answers to help you decide what you want to do to make sure you make the most of your talent.
It’ll take you 15 minutes to complete properly and you can re-use it anytime.
Three steps to take
Get focused on the things that will make the most impact for you
1. Identify talent and achievement
Start by thinking of three people who have lots of talent but have underachieved. Then also think of three people who you believe have really made the most of the talent they have. These could be friends, colleagues, people from school, celebrities, sports stars or anyone else. The more you know about them, the better this tool will work.
| Lots of talent but under-achieved | Made the most of their talent |
|---|---|
| 1. | 1. |
| 2. | 2. |
| 3. | 3. |
2. What are the differences between them?
Ok, now think about the differences between them. What’s going on in each case? What’s happening or causing the differences? What circumstances or reasons are you seeing? What are the people on the left doing that the people on the right aren’t?
3. What changes can you make?
Great, now come up with three things you can do to make you more like those who fulfil their potential rather than those who simply have it. (Remember that high performance isn’t for everyone, so if you’re happy where you are, stop doing this and go make a cup of coffee instead!).
| Actions | Specific things to do to make the most of my talent |
|---|---|
| 1. | |
| 2. | |
| 3. |
Your plan
Get a plan Stan. The basics you need to have in your plan are set out below.
Plan basics
- What are you going to do? This bit is easy – it’s the 3 steps listed above.
My actions:
- When are you going to start? You don’t have to be great to get going, but you better get going if you want to be great.
My start date:
- How often will you be doing it? Getting great has a lot to do with making things a habit.
Check-in frequency and dates:
Get serious
The difference between having a plan and making it work is about action. So get this in your diary now. Tell the people who need to know so that they can support you and won’t just think you’re being weird. Do it now.
Remember, it’s progress not perfection. You’re looking for gradual improvement, not for Rome to be built in a day.