I realized a long time ago that there were many things I will never be good at. I also realized long ago that some of the things I was not good at I could learn to be better at if I was willing to put in some time and effort. I thought I would list a few of those things I’ve been able to get better at with effort in this article, and maybe you can relate and find a resource that will help you also.
Keeping a positive attitude: One major challenge of having the amount of abnormal, life changing events that have happened to my wife and I in the past 6 years is keeping a positive attitude. One of the ways I have found to keep my attitude pointed up is by reading great books like The Magic of Thinking Big and As a Man Thinketh. I find that spending 15 to 30 minutes a day reading or listening to a book that is helping me improve myself makes a big difference in how I deal with the various setbacks that might happen in a single day. Other books I recommend that I have found useful are: Wild at Heart, Go For No!, The Greatest Miracle in the World, and Peaks and Valleys. I encourage you to check out any, or all of these books if you’re looking for a pick me up.
Details, details, details: One of my great strengths is thinking up new and fun ideas, creating marketing around them, and then…loosing all the details. This is why I have found it extremely helpful to have a Virtual Assistant who can do all the little and medium-sized things for my business that I don’t have time to do. Whether it is creating some graphic artwork, or touching up my blog with some new advertising or photo’s, my VA is amazing. In my case my VA lives in India and due to currency exchange rates it is very affordable, and I have found him to be extremely reliable. I use a company called Odesk, it is completely secure and if you have things you just don’t have time or interest to do, I encourage you to outsource it… Timothy Ferris recommends outsourcing in his best-selling book, The 4 Hour Work Week. You can learn more about Odesk by clicking their ad at the bottom of my page.
Public Speaking: I love a good crowd and I love even more to entertaining a good crowd. But minutes before I take the stage I am always one cough away from loosing my lunch. I have found a ton of great resource available for public speakers, and a whole bunch of great books. I would encourage you, if you are nervous about speaking in front of crowds to join a small networking group and get used to giving your 60 second elevator pitch in front of a small crowd. As you gain comfort with small crowds stretch yourself and become open to sharing your message with larger crowds.
Remembering to Read: At the beginning of this entry I mentioned how important reading is to my attitude. What I failed to mention was how much discipline it takes for me to actually do the reading that I promote. One of the tricks I have to keep up on my reading is books on tape. I learned this trick from Michael Hyatt and have found it to be hugely helpful for me to be able to keep up with the latest books. I use it as my reason to go to the gym and do cardio. I can kill 45 minutes on the elliptical while investing 45 minutes with John Maxwell all through the magic of my iTunes.
The point of me sharing all this with you is that even though no matter how many times I read a mechanics manual I won’t remember how to change my oil, there are a few things in life that we can change simply by putting in the time and effort. As those weaknesses become strengths you will find a certain amount of pride in showing off your new skills and helping someone else overcome the barriers that you also had to conquer.
What weakness have you turned into a strength?
(The links above are affiliate links to books and tools I believe in and endorse, if you buy any of the things I talk about I will get a small commission that does not effect the price of your product. Thank you in advance for your support.)
