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Love him or hate him, "Rocking Rod" Stewart is still, well, rocking and wowing fans worldwide. It’s hard to believe the guy is well into his 60’s.

My wife Deb and I actually saw Rod’s show a couple of years back. We were amazed with the energy and sheer quality of his performance.

So how do these top performers in the arts - or any field for that matter - keep it up? How does Stirling Mortlock break tackle after tackle for the Wallabies? How do Simon and Garfunkle still sing for 2 ¼ hours straight? How can Pink sell out 52 Aussie shows?

Well, it’s actually very simple; they’re not only good at what they do, they absolutely love it and seem to be immersed in their passion.

You’ve Got To Love It

In fact, I think, it’s darned near impossible to keep going and get better at anything if you’re not loving what you’re doing.

But hold it!

I’m not telling you to throw in the towel or resign if you don’t like what you do. No, more than that. I want you to really think about what it is you really love doing and design your life and your job so that you can do more of it.

In other words; how can you play to your strengths?

Because Playing To Your Strengths Is One Of The Keys To Living A Magnificent Life.

As we say at The Human Enterprise:

"The purpose of business is to give you more life, not to suck the life out of you."

And playing to your strengths definitely gives you more life.

Over the last year I’ve been delivering a lot more leadership keynote presentations. I can play to my strength of working with large groups of leaders without the administration and preparation (not my strength) that comes with long term leadership development programmes.

As you can see, you don’t have to dramatically change what you do to play to your strengths. Delivering more keynotes was just a small tweak to what I already do.

So What Is A Strength?

Good question!

Luckily, the people at Gallup have done some extensive research in this area, and identified 3 elements of a strength for us:

Talent - Something you are good at.
Passion - Something you love.
Investment - Something you just keep practicing and practicing.

From the above points it is clear that...

A Strength Is Not Just Something You Are Good At

This is only the beginning. But it’s not enough.

If I’m forced to, I’m very good at picking up typos (a talent), but honestly, I can’t imagine doing it day in, day out. I simply don’t love doing it.

Or take my wife Deborah as another example. She was dux at one time in her schooling, a real academic achiever. But guess what? The world of academia held little appeal for Deb. She is now an artist who lives colour, texture, movement, fashion and design. Deb has spent almost 30 years in the field; she’s very good at it and loves what she does.

So Is It Just Something You’re Good At And Love To Do?

No, that’s not enough either. You also have to put in the practice; literally hours and hours of practice, years and years of commitment. And the only way you’ll keep this up is if you love what you do.

Remember; you need the TALENT, a PASSION for it and you have to make the INVESTMENT;

Then What Are My Strengths?

Marcus Buckingham says that if you ask 10 people what their strengths are, 7 out of the 10 will say "I’m good with people" or some other rather ‘fluffy’ answer.

The sad fact is we often don’t think about our strengths, or if we are playing to them.

The good news though is that you can easily identify your strengths and there are 3 sure ways of doing it.

The 3 Sure Ways to Identifying Your Strengths

Let’s look at these upfront and then we’ll examine their application:

1. You look forward to doing it.
2. You are inquisitive about it and can’t get enough of it.
3. Doing it renews, re-energises and restores you.

1. You Look Forward To It

I want you to think about the week ahead and what you are looking forward to. Is it an upcoming presentation, a report you have due, visiting a client, coaching your team, running a meeting. Which upcoming activities excite you and really get your juices flowing?

As I said previously, I just love delivering leadership keynotes. The thrill of working with a group of 50 or more people is such a buzz for me. So much so that I’m now doing even more keynotes so that I have more to look forward to.

2. You Are Inquisitive About It

What do you spend hours on and just lose yourself in? When do you get so focussed and involved that the hours just slip by?

When your partner yells out in the middle of the night "Come to bed dear. It’s late." And you yell back "Yeah, Yeah. I’ll be there in a minute", you know you’re doing something you’re inquisitive about.

For me it’s 'the psychology of selves' and developing an awareness of my 'shadow'. The part of me that I don’t 'own'.

To learn how you can uncover your 'shadow' read our article "Your Leadership Shadow".

3. Doing it Renews You

Believe it or not, after a 6 week break over Christmas, I can’t wait to present my next workshop or keynote. I need the hit, I’m addicted.

Call me a show pony or a show off but I just love to run workshops and deliver keynotes.

I’ve taken the talent I had, added years of research and personal coaching, large doses of passion and now it’s my vocation, not just a job for me.

Do I get physically tired after all the travelling, being on my feet for 6 to 8 hours a day, often for 5 days in a row? You bet I do! But it’s physical tiredness. Emotionally and spiritually I feel renewed and restored, particularly if I’ve really helped someone transform their leadership (and even more so when it impacts their family).

Now it’s your turn. What restores you? What makes you feel renewed? What makes you feel strong?

The Bottom Line On Strengths

It’s amazingly simple:

A STRENGTH IS SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU FEEL STRONG.

So Don’t Waste Another Minute.

Time is precious. The clock is ticking. Find your strengths and play to them.

Sure it’s impossible to do this 24/7, but with a little reflection and effort it is possible to do more of what makes you feel strong.

Ask yourself the following questions and you’ll enormously increase your chances of playing to your strengths:

STOKE: How can I draw on them (your strengths) even more on a daily basis?
START: What activities could I do to tap into my strengths?
STOP: What can I drop that just doesn’t make me feel strong?

Now For The Really Exciting News

Only you know your strengths. Sure, your boss, the HR department, your friends and family can see what you’re good at. But only you know what you’re passionate about, what renews you, what makes you feel strong. It’s something inside of you.

So do you have the strength to make some changes? To really start playing to your strengths?

I made the call to deliver more leadership keynotes (strength) because it means a lot less administration (not my strength). It has made an enormous difference to my energy levels.

It’s Your Choice

Because you have to choose. Even "Rocking Rod" Stewart had to choose at some point. He was in fact a very talented footballer in his younger years. But he loved music too. Rod himself said (about football) "I had the skill but not the enthusiasm." I guess his strength was music. It made him strong and still does.

What is it that makes you strong? Play to your strengths.

Getting stronger by the day.

Paul Mitchell

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