I’m Sharri Harmel, Chief Creative of the Extraordinary Women Circle and Community, as well as Editor-in-Chief of the Extraordinary Women Magazine.
I’ve been a coach for over 20 years and my dream is to create an even bigger platform so that all women can envision and then step into THEIR big dreams.
Our sole focus in the EW Circle and Community is to support woman like you to ignite their dreams!
And we do that inside the EW Circle, which includes the EW magazine, regular live conversations and workshops that address just what you need to stay on track with all your plans and dreams and the clarity to create the next version of your life.
Thank you for joining me and let’s get started!!
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Episode 69: Are You Tapping Your Strengths for YOUR BIG dream??
Some of you might be very clear on the business or project you want to start. But for many of us, it takes some deeper soul searching as we struggle through figuring out what business or project we want to start. We brainstorm, create mind maps, draw out options. We ask questions like what will be the product or service of my business? How will I bring that product or service to potential clients? Will anyone even be interested?
You might even be influenced by all the possibilities sent to your daily inbox promising success and income while you sleep. We are going through a time called The Great Resignation. And women, who have been weighted down by the personal and professional demands covid created, are overwhelmingly stepping into being entrepreneurs. Women like you, are thinking about every aspect of starting their own businesses.
Maybe you’ve started with ideas that you think will be easiest to market OR maybe you’re thinking about what you love and wonder if you can create a business around it.
But before you go there, I want you to start with your strengths.
Now when you hear that question …. what first comes to mind? Maybe it sounds like that typical job interview question or a coffee conversation when someone asks you what your strengths and weaknesses are.
In that context it might sound like….
And I’m good at managing people.
I’m a good cook.
I’m good with animals.
I’m good with numbers.
Now those can feel like strengths, but they actually are skills. But no, real strengths go deeper.
Real strengths start out as talents…. actually, our strengths develop out of our innate talents.
Your strengths are all about the specific way you think, the way you process information and how you make decisions. I’m a Gallup certified strengths coach and almost every single person I’ve ever coached once they see their strengths listed and we start to talk about them, they always say that they believed it must be something everyone can do. Not true!
Let me give you an example.
A few of my top strengths are what Clifton Strengths calls Activation, Ideation and Strategic. I use all of these in every issue and problem I face. And how does that work? Well, when a problem or a question is posed to me, I use my strategic thinking strength, coupled with my ideation strength – which means I see options and ideas that lots of people don’t….AND then my activation kicks in, and I’m the person that says let’s get started and we’ll make adjustments along the way.
This strength in particular isn’t always appreciated. When I worked in university settings, the people around the table would stare at me like I was an alien.
But I mentioned our strengths come from our innate talents. So, did I have these talents as a kid? You bet. I was the kid who figured out that if I brought coupons for grocery items from magazines and newspapers to the grocery clerk, I could get cash. Ah, those were the days. These coupons were like money. But was any other seven-year-old or eight- year-old doing this? No. Obviously it took a year or so before the marketing departments of the food companies realized that coupons without the requirement to purchase the item, could be only cash for the coupon holder.
So, my innate talents were present as a little girl and over the years those talents developed into strengths- specifically called Activation, Ideation and Strategic.
Now it’s your turn. Think back to your childhood…and ask yourself, what were you really good at as a kid? What did you enjoy doing as a kid? That’s important because kids don’t usually enjoy doing things that they aren’t good at.
Every single one of you were born with specific talents….and if you spent any amount of time using those talents, they become your strengths.
The Gallup Clifton Strengths assessment- puts strengths into four categories.
- Executing Strengths– these are all about getting things done.
2. Influencing Strengths– which are communication and getting people to do something type of strengths.
3. Relationship strengths– which are interpersonal strengths- like creating harmony, bringing positivity into situations
4. And finally, Strategic Strengths which are strengths that are around thinking and organizing information into possible outcomes.
The Clifton strengths assessment is super interesting and affirming. I encourage all of you to take it.
Now, another myth of strengths is that each job requires a specific set of strengths. Again, not true.
Let’s take three great chefs. Ina Garten, Julia Child, and Jamie Oliver. All are really good chefs, they’ve sold a lot of cookbooks, and all had cooking shows. But, when you think about each of them, right away you can see they have very different strengths.
So don’t constrict yourself by thinking you need specific strengths to do certain jobs.
But why is knowing your strengths important when you are figuring out the direction of your business or what kind of a business you want to start?
Because when you work in the sphere of your strengths, you’ll experience Flow.
I love flow and I’m sure you do too. That was a concept named by a famous psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I struggle to pronounce his name, but it’s listed in the transcript. Plus, his concept of flow is so famous, a Google search will take you right to his work.
Flow describes what happens to your concept of space and time when you are doing something you both love and are good at. This is when you are working in flow. You’re enjoying what you’re doing so much, you have no concept of time.
Athletes will refer to this as being “in the zone.” I would describe it as like being in another place and time and it totally aligns with that phrase, “You’ll never work if you do what you love.”
So, think about the things you do, the activities you engage in….
if you’re a writer, flow happens you’re your hands can’t keep up with your ideas.
Or let’s say you are a quilter or an embroiderer, and you start working and suddenly an hour or more has passed.
Or you’re in a strategy session and ideas are just coming to you … you can see it all moving in place in front of you and how it could be amazing … it’s super clear to you.
That’s when you are in flow….and you’re in flow because you’re using your strengths.
So, AFTER you brainstorm about a new project you want to start or a business you want to start or grow, your next question will be how many of your strengths will you actively be using every single day in that business … does it tap into your strengths every day if you were running that business.
Remember, you’re trying to create a career that never feels like work.
Now if you don’t know your strengths, either contact me or order the Clifton Strengths Finder assessment online. Once you take the assessment, you’ll get your full 34 strengths in rank order…focus on your top ten.
Those are the strengths you use all the time…. especially when you’re in your flow…. or what can be called your zone of excellent. Those are the strengths you will want to be using whatever you do…. life is too short for you to not use your strengths every day.
Now, I often get this question from my coaching clients, “Am I really all that unique or special?” Don’t lot of people have my same strengths? “
Well, you are special and unique. Gallup, the statistical source, claims that there is a one in 33 million chance that anyone shares your same top five strengths and in the same order. You absolutely ARE unique and need to celebrate just how unique you are!
So, embrace your strengths and use them as the cornerstone to design and stepping into YOUR big dream.
Outro:
Thank you for joining me today. If you liked our conversation, please give me a review, and do come back for more!
The Extraordinary Women Circle includes the Extraordinary Women Magazine, Conversations, and Workshops as well as this podcast to give you the tools to help you on your journey to live your dreams not just imagine them.
There is a lot of dream talk, but what makes me and the EW Circle different is I’ve been a coach- a real coach for over 20 years and ALL that experience helps me to create what you want and need. And because I’m a coach, I’m a super good listener, so your experiences, your wants and needs are what drives the content of the magazine, the conversations, the workshops and even this podcast!
This isn’t about using the famous or even the local celebrity or influencer as our guideposts…. This is about extraordinary women like you and me. Women who make things happen by figuring out what it is you want, and using your gifts, talents, and strengths to build what it is you want to create!
Starting February 1st, I’m offering a short, but power packed workshop titled 3 Weeks to Dream Readiness – and it’s absolutely FREE!
There are two ways to participate.
1. If you are in the EW Circle, you are a magazine subscriber. You’ll not only get the workshop free and my gift to you, but you receive a workbook, and have the option to submit questions as we work through the three weeks, even if you can’t be on live. Your question will get answered AND you’ll receive a recording of each live call.
2. If you choose to only sign up to be in the EW Community, which is our private Facebook group, you’ll get the workshop for free but not the workbook and not the benefit of submitting any questions.
So, from a value standpoint, you get SO much more when you subscribe to the magazine for just $29.99 and become a part of the EW Circle.
Go to Extraordinary Women Magazine.com and join us by clicking the subscribe button. It’s only $29.99, so do join us. I’d love to see you in the Dream Readiness Workshop.
Thank you for your precious time today and given I am now back in Boston; I’ll say See you soon!
And to my friends in Paris, Bonne journée.
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