Jay Forte: How Will You Transform the World?
By Jay Forte
Wise words from Woodrow Wilson: "You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."
Live your best life. And in the process, your best transforms the world.
I believe we invent our world in each moment; our world is created by those who live in it at this exact moment. And, the quality of our invention is based on each of us knowing ourselves to be able to contribute our best.
We are born with our unique DNA - our unique combination of talents, strengths and passions. The more we know ourselves, the more we become acquainted with our gifts - those attributes unique to us. Our happiest and most successful lives are lives that use what we are good at and passionate about doing.
This uniqueness is critical. Because we are all so different, we constantly add color, texture, experience and impact to our world. The more we know ourselves, the more we live this great uniqueness and the more of it we bring to the world. Our world expands. Our world improves. This is how we create our world. This is how we transform our world.
I see that most people live only a fraction of their capabilities - either by choice or by being unaware; they know so little about themselves and their hardwired greatness. They either don't know how to discover what they are good at and what they are passionate about, or choose not to make the effort. The result is they do not access their greatness zone - that place of their greatest happiness - and therefore, do not bring their best to the world. You can't bring your greatness to the world if you don't know what it is.
Grace was an educator in a large international distributor. She spent the time to understand herself and pushed hard to land a job as an educator - a job that played to her talents and passions. She was enthusiastically connected to her students and intellectually connected to her role. Grace's classes frequently had a waiting list. She flourished in your job, which amplified her life. She knew her talents, passions and strengths and brought her best to her work; she inspired greatness from others. She raised the bar. She wasn't a national celebrity but was indeed a celebrity to many people she taught. She changed their worlds.
Identify several famous people who have committed themselves to their craft or area. Their talents allow them to be great at what they do. Their passion allows them to connect in an exponential way. The combination is a world changer. Think about Michelangelo, Robert Frost, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Emeril Lagasse, Charles Dickens, Abraham Lincoln, Da Vinci, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Babe Ruth...the list goes on. They were good at what they did and passionate about doing it. And in the process they added great value to the world. They created a more significant world. They transformed the world.
Now, identify several non-celebrities around you who have committed themselves to their craft. It could be a partner, spouse, colleague, teacher, pastor, friend or anyone else. Those who play to their greatness expand the world for all of us.
People who play small don't transform the world. People who don't know their talents and passions, live a fraction of their potential and their gifted lives. Not only do they miss out, but they also shortchange the world; they don't achieve their greatness and don't share that greatness to recreate the world in an exceptional way - each day.
Answer the following to discover more about your hardwired greatness:
* What are you good at?
* What are you passionate about?
* What is success (happiness) for you?
These questions start your process to discover the combination of gifts you were born with. You start to see your passions, talents and strengths. Use these be your best, bring your best and live your best. Besides having an amazing personal and professional life, playing to your greatness will also transform the world.
Jay Forte is a motivational and business speaker, author and workplace/life coach. He is the author of "Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition," "The Hunt for Opportunities Success Manual" and the on-line resource, "Stand Out and Get Hired." His new book, "The Greatness Zone - Know Yourself, Find Your Fit, Transform The World" is due out in Sept 2010. He trains and inspires people to rediscover their talents and passions to maximize their impact, contribution and happiness in both work and life. More information http://www.LiveFiredUp.com.