Maybe you don’t want to wait for someone else to come along and make everything right for you. Maybe you don’t want to wait for a golden opportunity or to inherit money from an as-yet-unknown source or to be picked by others to move forward or to wait for your boss to retire or die so that you can advance.
The hero story can belong to all of us, not just a chosen few. It doesn’t matter what your story is or what your circumstances are. If you are seriously stuck and hate your job, or if you are hoping to make more of the satisfying career you already have, the keys are one and the same.
No matter who you are or what your situation is, it all comes down to one point: you always have a choice. You get to decide how you are going to play out your talent story and your role in it. Unless you default and give the power to someone else, it’s yours to decide.
When we make choices that are in accord with our hopes and desires, we generally feel good and get a surge of energy and commitment that comes from being in alignment and taking charge. This is not to say that we won’t have to deal with tough situations along the road. We all do. But when we hold true to our hopes, we can take the bumps.
Here are the elements to be the hero of your talent story.
Heroes have hopes.
Heroes have hopes and are willing to do what it takes to realize them. Every hero has fears too. Heroes confront their fears and act on their hopes. If they are on course and confront obstacles, they use their talents to find a way to deal with them. However, in the end, they keep moving forward.
Heroes recognize opportunities.
Heroes look for opportunities. Where others see dead ends, heroes see possibilities. When heroes see inroads, they take them. If they don’t see a way in, they enlist others to help create new solutions.
Heroes act.
Even when others are afraid to get involved and prefer to play it safe and watch from a distance, heroes find ways to make steady progress toward their objectives.
It’s important to note that heroes are not rabid risk takers. While they are willing to try new approaches, they (or the people who support them) usually have a keen sense of risk and opportunity. Indeed, some of the biggest risk takers, Silicon Valley venture capitalists, focus on how to wring risk out of new ventures to help them succeed. Therefore, we’re not suggesting that you bet the farm to develop and apply your talent. It’s your story. You’ll get to write it how you wish. We will help you to explore the healthy stretches that can lead to heroic results for you.
For now, think about how you’d like to become the hero of your talent. Thousands of people have enjoyed creating their hero stories in Talent Catalyst Conversations with generous listeners. You can too.
Photo by: Hoszi
