The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
—Pablo Picasso
Those of you that are Leadership Journey alumni are very familiar with our term “magic dust”. For those that are not, think in terms of what you’re good at, what comes easy to you, what you enjoy doing, and what some would say is your gift.
Think in terms of how you would define a good work day. Consider:
- What gives you a sense of accomplishment?
- What unique skills and abilities do you possess that impact your level of effectiveness and sense of adding value?
- What qualities do you bring to your team or organization that others may not have?
- Are you able to integrate your gifts/strengths both in your career and in your personal life?
Our “magic dust” differentiates us from others and often guides us to the type of work or career we find fulfilling. It’s fairly easy and natural to identify what we don’t like doing, and we generally know what we are not good at, but we’re not always aware of why we feel we had a great day at work and in general just feel good.
This may sound funny, but we have worked with leaders that excel at what they do, are acknowledged and rewarded for their accomplishments, but they quite simply don’t LIKE what they’re doing!
Hopefully that does not apply to you! What made you choose the position you currently have? Do you find it motivating and energizing?
Having a career that utilizes our special gifts/magic dust is what we aspire for. Do you make others aware of those gifts? Better yet, do you use your gifts to help achieve results and to develop others? These skills and abilities are what we call “magic dust”.
Hopefully your leader is aware of your strengths, but they may not be aware of what you’re passionate about and the skills/tasks you enjoy doing most. Share it!
The ability to do the kind of work you enjoy most will energize you, increase your level of fulfillment, and add to your sense of purpose.
What’s your “magic dust” and how have you shared it? We look forward to hearing your stories
I think the foremost quality–there’s no success without it–is really loving what you do. If you love it, you do it well, and there’s no success if you don’t do well what you’re working at.
— Malcolm Forbes