Whether you recognize it or not, you have superpowers!
We each have something or a combination of things we can do better than others. When we live in this sweet spot, we feel fulfillment and offer the world something unique and different.
Many entrepreneurs build their businesses around themselves and their ideas. When we talk about building our ‘brand,’ we are really describing your unique qualities. Understanding and living in our unique abilities will make us more fulfilled and successful in business.
We choose a life of entrepreneurship to build a life we love, and the best way to live a life you love is to live in your strengths and focus on what makes you unique. I start all of my coaching with my clients by tapping into their own superpowers to design a life that they will truly love.
Key Takeaways
Recognize and tap into your unique strengths for fulfillment and success.
Utilize your superpowers to differentiate yourself and thrive in your business.
Embrace your individuality and leverage it to create a business and life you love.
Why unleashing your superpowers benefits your business
To Stand Out from the Crowd
One of the wonderful things about humans is that we are all different. Sometimes, we look at ourselves and don’t see our unique abilities, but I have heard it compared to a recipe. There are multiple recipes for every type of food, so just because you see a ‘recipe’ that seems to be the same as you, it does not mean it is. The ingredient list can be different, the exact combination of ingredients could be different, or maybe a different method exists to put them together. No matter how similar someone else looks to you, you have a special blend of ingredients that make you unique.
As a business owner, you want to capitalize on your uniqueness. As Seth Godin explains in Purple Cow (affiliate link), successful businesses sell something unique and different. In today’s world, where we are constantly bombarded with ads and products, we must find a way to set ourselves apart. Even if we sell the same thing, we must find a different way. For example, Logitech made comfortable and attractive mouse(s?), Pink Pots pink portable toilets, and Netflix sending videos to your home. None of these companies made something new, but they did it differently.
When you are clear on your superpowers, you can highlight them and use them to stand apart and create a business that people will notice.
To serve a specific niche like no one else
The saying goes that the riches are in the niches and that if you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one.
Let’s consider a travel agency. You could open a travel agency and say you will help people arrange travel anywhere. I lived in Germany for a while and loved riding my bike along the river bike paths. I could use my skills and knowledge of biking in Germany to create an agency that arranged river biking tours in Germany. Obviously, many people may not be interested in such a trip, but if you enjoyed biking, which agency would you call? I could niche down even further to types of bikes, level of luxury, etc. In any case, I would become known as the go-to source for bike trips in Germany. Over time, I may be able to expand by offering other trips in Germany or bike trips in other countries. Either way, by honing in on my strengths and interests, I am able to build a niche business that will attract customers.
The magic is that you are unique and can tap into your strengths and interests to do something different and remarkable to attract people to your business. The more you can niche into your unique abilities, the more you attract customers. You may not attract everybody at first, but you do not need to attract everyone to build a business, and your business will actually gain greater momentum if you focus on your niche.
To work from your strengths
You can provide a better product or service by identifying your unique superpowers and creating a business that capitalizes on your strengths. For example, the biking in Germany agency would capitalize on my love of bike trips as well as my strengths of organization and planning.
However, if I had no interest in Germany and just picked it because I knew it was a popular travel destination, I wouldn’t bring the same level of passion or expertise. When you are simply doing something because you can make money at it, you may not be able to do it as well as your competition. When you work in your strengths, you will provide a higher level of service for your customers, increasing demand for what you offer. You will provide a better value because you are an expert in that field.
Why you will benefit from living out your unique abilities
Your work will be easier
Life will be easier because you are doing what you are good at. As described in 10x is Easier than 2x by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy (affiliate link), life is simply easier when we focus on our strengths and let go of other areas. You start to realize that you don’t need to do it all, and you will focus on what you are good at, which requires you to spend much less energy for the same results.
When you work in an area that aligns with your strengths and passions, you open the door to experiencing flow states. Flow arises when the level of challenge matches your skills, inspiring motivation and engagement. Flow states are tied to peak performance and productivity, as your mind and skills fully focus on achieving your goals. By working in your strengths, you will find work easier and actually get more done.
The opposite of flow is friction. When something is difficult or new for us, it will create a lot of friction and slow us down. For example, when I was teaching in the German system and spoke middling German, it took me hours to comb through all the exam requirements for my students. However, when I moved back to the US, that same sort of research done in English took a fraction of the time.
Work will be quicker and easier when it taps into our developed superpowers and builds on our knowledge, skills and interests.
You will be happier
Another benefit of working in our strengths is that we enjoy our work, which energizes us rather than drains us. Working in your strengths leaves you feeling fulfilled and happy, not feeling ready to throw in the towel. The beauty is that what is good for you is not good for you, and we all derive pleasure by engaging in activities that match our inner superpowers.
When you tap into your superpowers, you will feel more fulfilled because you are doing what you were created to do.
The joy of building your own business is that you can focus on what is unique to you. While every job has aspects you don’t like, as a business owner, you can choose your work and outsource anything you don’t want to do. By choosing to work in your strengths, you will be excited and happy to work (and sometimes I get so lost and absorbed that I forget it is time to unplug!!).
Planning for success in business by using your superpowers
Find your strengths
Try taking a strengths finder like Via Strengths Test or Gallup’s Clifton Strengths. You can take either test for free, but I find the paid reports the most helpful because they give details about your working style and how to capitalize on your strengths in your work.
Another idea is to complete an Ikigai activity to help you hone in on where you can find alignment in your skills and interests.
Design a business using your strengths
Use your findings in planning for success in business to develop products and services that capitalize on your strengths. For example, my strengths are in learning and analyzing, so I built a business that allows me to continue to learn and research new things, break down what I learned, and share it with others. I did not choose a business where I needed to constantly meet and entertain people.
Eliminate or delegate what is not your strength
While developing our weaknesses and continuing to grow is good, we don’t want to waste too much time and energy in these areas. We can always build on our strengths and go deeper, which will be a much more effective use of our time. As we build our businesses, we can find other services and personnel to fill in our areas of weakness; that way, we can continue to maximize our strengths.
Additionally, just because you ‘can’ do something doesn’t mean you ‘should’ do it. For example, I can cook and clean, but by paying someone else to do that, those hours can be spent working on my strengths and become a much more valuable use of my time.
Book a call with me to uncover 3 objectives that capitalize on your strengths and will help grow your business. We will hone in on what actions you can take to build on your strengths and make a bigger impact in your business.
Start living the life you dream of.