Podcast appearances and mentions of don clifton

In this episode, we delve into the transformative power of CliftonStrengths, an assessment designed by Don Clifton to reveal your unique strengths DNA. Join us as we uncover how understanding and leveraging your CliftonStrengths can lead to greater engagement, productivity, and overall well-being.Our special guest, Allegra Stein, brings a wealth of experience and insight to the conversation. With a career spanning the Peace Corps, Teach for America, and over 12 years of coaching and mentoring practice, Allegra is a certified YouMap Certification Trainer, and has worked with the Strengthsfinder tool as part of a holistic approach to coaching. Whether you're seeking personal growth or aiming to empower your team, CliftonStrengths provides a roadmap to unlocking your full potential. Tune in for actionable insights, that will help you harness your innate talents and thrive in every aspect of your life.Learn more here: Get involved! What Is Intentional Optimism?Core Values ExerciseCore Values CourseCheck us out on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/8d9TRmak_04 Please leave us a rating and review!Apple: just scroll to the bottom, choose a rating and write a review.Podchaser (Android): you can go to this link here and leave a rating and review! https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/intentional-optimists-unconven-1406762  Skillshare: Spark your creativity. Get 40% Off Annual MembershipDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

I'm not a financial advisor; nothing I write in Superpowers for Good should be considered investment advice. You should seek appropriate counsel before making investment decisions.Remember, you can watch the Superpowers for Good show on e360tv. To watch the episode, download the #e360tv channel app to your streaming device–Roku, AppleTV or AmazonFireTV–or your mobile device. You can even watch it on the web or YouTube.When you purchase an item, launch a crowdfunding campaign or invest after clicking a link here, we may earn a commission. It's an easy way to support our work.Devin: What is your superpower?Paul: My favorite superpower, my favorite personal talent or strength, is what Don Clifton and the Clifton Strengthsfinder would call ideation.Paul Allen, serial entrepreneur and founder of Ancestry.com, is building on his history managing massive databases to develop a proprietary ethical AI model he's deploying in several fields, beginning with Citizen Portal. The new company monitors public governmental meetings, from school boards to the Supreme Court. (Full disclosure: I'm a crowdfunding investor in Citizin Portal.)Soar is a parent company Paul founded to develop the proprietary AI engine that underlies Citizen Portal and other companies in the works. “Our vision for PURE AI is an acronym for personalized–you ought to be able to control the AI and design it according to your needs–uplifting–it ought to be wonderful to interact with and joyful to use–and then responsible and ethical,” Paul says. “A lot of companies talk about responsible AI and ethical AI, but we like the personalized and uplifting as well.”Paul shares the vision for Citizen Portal:The vision of Citizen Portal is to use AI to empower citizens to become informed and engaged about every issue they care about at the local, state, and federal level. If you think about the difficulty of being a citizen right now–do we trust our leaders? Do we know what's going on? Are we happy with the $34 trillion debt? I mean, there are lots of issues that make you feel like the country is not going in the right direction.Paul notes that part of the lack of trust is the rapid decline in local journalism over the past 20 years or so. Two or three decades ago, local papers had reporters at virtually every public meeting. That is no longer true. Citizen Portal can monitor all public meetings that are accessible digitally–which is a vast majority today.Citizen Portal is now conducting a crowdfunding raise under Regulation Crowdfunding via StartEngine.Paul shares his thoughts about crowdfunding:I literally love the American Jobs Act from 2012–finally, the SEC in 2016 launched the rules for crowdfunding. But I love the idea that average people can invest in a startup company that has a lot of promise, and obviously, billions of dollars have now been raised across the industry.Paul will deliver a keynote address in the opening session of SuperCrowd24 on April 17. To learn more about the offering, visit startengine.com/citizenportal.Paul has built Soar to take advantage of his superpower, ideation, enabling him to apply the core technology across a broad suite of applications.AI Episode Summary1. Paul Allen, the founder of Ancestry.com, is introduced as a "rock star entrepreneur" and is currently working on a new venture called Citizen Portal.2. Citizen Portal is an AI-driven platform designed to empower citizens to become informed and engaged on issues at the local, state, and federal levels, addressing the decline of traditional media coverage.3. The platform has imported and transcribed 600-700,000 hours of public meetings, making the content searchable and accessible to citizens.4. Paul's vision is to fill the void left by the diminishing newspaper industry by giving citizens firsthand access to government proceedings and facilitating a new generation of informed citizens.5. The ethical AI model used at Soar, called PURE AI, focuses on creating AI that is Personalized, Uplifting, Responsible, and Ethical.6. Paul plans to launch around 15 corporations in the next 2-3 years, including Faith Portal AI for religious content, Learning Portal, and Workplace AI Portal, aimed at improving human capability and decision-making.7. Family and Friend Portals are also in the pipeline to help enhance relationships, countering the rise in loneliness, stress, and isolation exacerbated by platforms like Facebook.8. Citizen Portal is currently running a crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine to further develop the platform and strengthen democracy.9. The platform aims to create a personal voter scorecard by indexing content from elected officials and opposition candidates, providing personalized, issue-based insights for voters.10. Paul attributes his success as an entrepreneur to his superpower of "ideation," the ability to come up with new ideas, which he pairs with executing strengths and building teams to bring ideas to reality.How to Develop Ideation As a SuperpowerPaul is a primary reason we call the show and the newsletter “Superpowers for Good.” An expert in personal strength development, Paul and I–friends for decades–met for lunch four or five years ago, and he explained how he appreciated the superpowers questions I asked guests. That ultimately led to writing the book, Superpowers for Good, and the show's rebranding.Paul shared his struggle with his ideation superpower in the early days of the World Wide Web: I had what I called dotcom syndrome. That is, for any word in the English language, I would just close my eyes and put a .com on it, and boom, a business model would pop into my head. Here's what the product or service could be. I bought a high-speed satellite dish in 1995 in Provo, Utah. I was probably the first person [there] to have high-speed internet. I would stay up till 2 or 3 in the morning studying thousands of other dot coms to find out their marketing strategy, their product strategy, what niches they were in, and how were they getting funded. I had a folio knowledge base with over 3,000 copy-and-paste things about what I discovered about internet companies.Paul advises changemakers: “Don't take advice from other people unless that advice lets you play to your strengths.”By following Paul's example, you can strengthen your ideation ability. With practice, you, too, could make it a superpower that would enable you to do more good in the world.Remember, however, that, as Paul suggests, research into success suggests that building on your own superpowers is more important than creating new ones or overcoming weaknesses. You do you!Guest ProfilePaul Allen (he/him):CEO & Board Member, Citizen PortalAbout Citizen Portal: Citizen Portal is a non-partisan, AI-powered platform with $426,200 in pre-seed funding and a seasoned leadership team aiming to revolutionize civic engagement, revive government transparency, and transform American democracy. Citizen Portal is on a mission to transform democracy with an AI-powered approach. We are reshaping civic engagement and education by providing Americans with up-to-date, accurate, newsworthy information straight from the source. Citizen Portal utilizes AI to index, transcribe, and summarize meetings and hearings at all levels of government. By providing access to video recordings of school boards, local, state, and federal meetings, Citizen Portal helps to empower citizens, journalists, and advocates to know what is being said by their elected officials and done in their government.Website: citizenportal.aiX/Twitter Handle: @CitizenPortalAiCompany Facebook Page: fb.com/profile.php?id=100093227401453Other URL: startengine.com/citizenportalBiographical Information: Paul Allen is a visionary tech entrepreneur and evangelist driven by a desire to help individuals live their best lives. Paul has founded eight companies. He calls himself a “platform entrepreneur” since his products are usually built on top of the latest tech platform or wave, such as CD-ROM, the World Wide Web, mp3 audio, or Facebook. For the past several years, Paul's focus has been using machine learning and artificial intelligence to help individuals and organizations reach their full potential.In 1990, Paul founded Infobases, whose mission was to digitize and publish the world's most important books on CD ROM with a full-text search engine. This endeavor led directly to Ancestry.com—Paul's best-known company—which sought to gather and publish the world's genealogy records, family trees, and memories on the internet to enable everyone to discover their heritage. Over 100 million people have learned about their family history at Ancestry.com.Paul's teams have a history of building viral products. MyFamily.com (1998) attracted millions of users and, for a time, was the fastest-growing online community on the web, as well as the top photo-sharing site in 2000 and 2001. Paul's We're Related app on Facebook (2007-2010) gained more than 120 million users in two and a half years. From 2012 to 2017, Paul worked with Gallup to promote the StrengthsFinder assessment (now called CliftonStrengths) from the Washington, DC headquarters. As the “Global Strengths Evangelist,” Paul helped increase online purchases of the assessment and supported a global community of strengths coaches. Today, more than 30 million people have taken the CliftonStrengths assessment. Paul's most recent creation is Soar.com, a company whose mission—once again—is to uplift humanity. Paul is a strong advocate for using AI in positive ways, specifically to enable individuals to become the best version of themselves. When excellent training is paired with AI-generated feedback on actual performance, leaders, managers, founders, and individual contributors can achieve excellence faster than ever before. Soar is an AI Studio that will form more than fifteen separate corporations to bring PURE AI (Personalized Uplifting Responsible Ethical AI) to many fields, including education, faith, government, health, finance, medicine, law, family history, and the workplace. Eventually, Soar will enable people to build and customize their own AI assistant (think of Jarvis from Iron Man or Janet from The Good Place) to help them learn, grow, make better decisions, and maximize their time on Earth. Paul's influence extends beyond entrepreneurship. He's a sought-after keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, teaching the importance of family stories and personal strengths in shaping one's identity. A lifelong learner, Paul has amassed a vast library of thousands of books. In fact, Paul's dedication to learning extends to his teaching roles in Internet Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University. He's received numerous accolades, including Ernst & Young Utah Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 and MarketingSherpa National Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008. Paul is a fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association and was named a Cyber Pioneer in 2010 by the Cyber Law Section of the Utah State Bar. In 2016, he was the honored alumnus of the BYU Humanities College, having graduated in 1990 with a BA in Russian. Most recently, Paul has been featured on The Pulse of AI, The Briefing with Steve Scully, The Business of Learning, and The Adventures in Machine Learning podcasts.Paul and his wife, Christy, reside in Missouri. They have eight adult children and five grandchildren.X/Twitter Handle: @paulballenPersonal Facebook Profile: fb.com/paulallenLinkedin: linkedin.com/in/paulballen/Instagram Handle: @paulallendcUpcoming SuperCrowd Event CalendarIf a location is not noted, the events below are virtual.* Impact Cherub Club Meeting hosted by The Super Crowd, Inc., a public benefit corporation, on February 20, 2024, at 1:00 PM Eastern. Each month, the Club meets to review new offerings for investment consideration and to conduct due diligence on previously screened deals. Everyone is welcome to join the free events.* SuperCrowdHour February with the CfPA Executive Committee: This free event on February 21, 2024, at 1:00 PM Eastern, features President Brian Christie, Vice President Jenny Kassan, Secretary Brian Belley and Chair Scott McIntyre. Learn how you can join and make a difference. Earn rewards!* SuperCrowdBaltimore, March 21, 2024. This in-person event at the B&O Rail Museum features some of Baltimore's prominent citizens and community leaders. Save 30 percent with the discount code “SuperCrowd.”* SuperCrowd24, April 17-18: This two-day virtual event is our biggest event of the year. Don't miss it. Save 50 percent with the discount code “SuperCrowd.” Paul Allen will deliver a keynote address in the opening general session.* SuperCrowdChicago, June 12, 2024. Save the date! More information is coming soon!SuperCrowd Community Event CalendarIf a location is not noted, the events below are virtual.* Successful Funding with Karl Dakin, Tuesdays at 10:00 AM ET * Leveraging Donor-Advised Funds for Climate Investing, Raise Green, February 15 at 11 AM ET* Neighborhood Economics, February 26-28 in San Antonio, Texas* Crowdfunding Professional Association Webinar Series - March 13, 2:00 PM ET* Investment Crowdfunding Demystified, Crowdfund Better, March 26 at 2:00 PM ETIf you would like to submit an event for inclusion on our community calendar, click here. Get full access to Superpowers for Good at www.superpowers4good.com/subscribe

En la actualidad Luis ejerce dos profesiones y ambas están relacionadas con energía. La primera la ejerce como Ingeniero de Petróleo y Gas Natural desde hace 20 años en la cual utiliza la energía que proviene de los recursos naturales. Y su desafío en esa industria es ayudar a desarrollar a profesionales que produzcan la energía más barata posible, abundante y confiable, resultando ser un elemento clave para el florecimiento y la esperanza de vida de los seres humanos. Y la segunda como Ingeniero de Talentos desde el 2021, labor que está relacionada con la energía que proviene de los seres humanos y más específicamente de sus talentos. Para describir su trabajo como Ingeniero de Talentos a Luis le gusta parafrasear a Don Clifton debido a que sus palabras son compatibles con sus valores personales y profesionales: “La mayor profesión de todas es ayudar a la gente a crecer... o al menos ayudarlos a tocar la excelencia en algún momento de sus vidas y se convenzan de que son competentes”.Luis Resplandor: Aprendedor | Desarrollador | Conexión | Maximizador | Idear

On this episode of Leadership Level Up, founder and former CEO of Ancestry.com and current Soar.com CEO Paul Allen joins Jeff and Brian to discuss his leadership journey.Allen openly admits that early in his career he “made every mistake as a leader.” As the founder of a startup, he was thrust into a leadership role without ‘climbing the ladder of leadership.' Characterizing his early forays into different markets as disruptive, Allen has taken a new approach in more recent ventures.Trading his disruptive approach for servant leadership, Paul Allen says he is having the time of his life cultivating a workplace culture founded on conscious leadership and an abundant mindset. Allen believes that a servant leadership style, influenced by psychologist Don Clifton and others, and an emphasis on individuals learning their individual strengths, create conditions where no problem is too complex for human solutions.Listen now to learn how Paul Allen specifically implements his leadership philosophy and gain insights into the ways you can apply the lessons he has learned to your own leadership style.----MEET YOUR GUESTPaul Allen has founded and served as the CEO of many companies including Ancentry.com and currently serves as the CEO of Soar.com. He has also served as a senior advisor for Gallup. Initially focusing on internet marketing and strategy earlier in his career, Allen now thrives in the AI space. Allen's current mission sets out to create AI services that assist individuals in countless ways. With the understanding that AI offers unprecedented access to large sums of human knowledge, he looks forward to helping individuals use these capabilities to reach their potential and find solutions to today's problems.Allen graduated from BYU in 1990 and currently lives in Kansas City.

On this episode of Brunch with the Branches, Thomas is in charge of the drink of the day, and It was the Yeah Man: Frozen fruit, fruit ice pop, Bacardi Black Coconut Rum, pineapple and Mango juice. Kim shares how her drink brings her joy. [3:28] and Thomas talks about the book First, Break All The Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Don Clifton for the branch recommendation this week. [4:18] We welcome and introduce our guest Veronica, and she introduces Cliff [13:08]. We spice things up this week with our main topic as we talk about romantic  [17:12] and platonic [20:06] relationships. We shift into a discussion about Polyamory and Cliff shares a little about the polyamorous lifestyle  [49:22]. We wrap up this week's pod with a conversation about doing what works best for your relationship [1:09:52]. We share our socials [1:32:00]. Our guest Cliff does the toast this week  [1:34:41 ], and that's this week's episode!    Follow Us at:  @rcandyman850 & @RCandyman on twitter  @Kimberly.branch.56 & @BranchKimberly on twitter @brunchwtbranchspod & @BrunchBranchPod

A Life of Transformation: Marj Barlow, PhD, is a historically-significant therapist, global business change leader, and self-care advocate. Most famous for her pioneering leadership at Interface Carpets, the world's largest, commercial carpet manufacturer, and the first global manufacturer to try to reach net zero and net regenerative environmental impacts. She built that success off of an identity rooted in family, Faith, science, psychology, and her own experiences. In this podcast, editor Chris Searles wanted to 'envision transformation' from an American/Christian historical perspective, so he asked Marj to share about her early life. Born and raised in rural West Texas in the 1930s, mother to five, and more, Marj knows transformation. This interview is part of AllCreation's collection, Envisioning Transformation.    Learn More MarjBarlow.com The Pocket Grandmother The Possible Woman Interface eco-sustainability legacy  Listen to part 2 of this interview. References Owens, TX  The Great Depression, 1930s Fundamental Baptist (West TX) Texas Baptist History , A brief history of Fundamentalism Religion in Early Texas  cream separator (1935), driving a tractor (1939) Canyon, TX; Kingsville, TX; The King Ranch; Austin; Corpus Christi (1940s-2010s) World War II, 1940-1945  Plastics engineering, 1945 BBA, opportunity for uS women 1945 Quantum physics, 1950s  Rev. Carlyse Marney, Gov. Alan Shivers, 1950s Clifton Strength Finder, Don Clifton, 1960s Positive psychology, 1960s    Cleburne County community therapy  Jean Houston   Mystery of what love is  PROGRAM0:00    Welcome & intro 3:00    Marj shares about her childhood 10:00    Adult life at 1515:15    A Baptist, quantum-physicist, first husband  21:00    Single mom with four children at 3424:30    Becoming a counselor & second husband   32:30    Massive American culture shift 38:00    New life as a therapist42:00    How her beliefs have evolved  respect for more pious people exploring other Faiths, different pathways  social life sampling other Christian denominations Jean Houston   Life after death science  Quotes I think that's all we have, is our story -- and everybody's story is very important to me. So I try to help people join what I call ''The Triple A'' and become the Author, the Actor, and the Audience of your life story. You're the only one who will watch your story from birth to death… I help people get their story into a form they can live with.Each human being is unique and very significant. We are God in action -- and it is our sacred privilege to travel a lifetime and learn how to love.. Who are you really? What could you be?Each little child is to be unfolded, not molded. Thanks for listening. This podcast is 1 of seven interviews from our Winter Solstice 2022 collection, "Envisioning Transformation." It was produced and edited by Chris Searles. 

We are all leaders in some area of our lives whether it's in the office or at home. How do we know if we are good leaders or the traits that could help maximize our strengths? Listen to this conversation to remove the limiting beliefs and define leadership for you. If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co . And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:What does it mean to be a good leader? How you learn to be kind to yourself How to properly understand and utilize your Strength Finders resultsDefine your limiting beliefLearn to master your mindset and your heart set Episode References/Links:Strength Finder 2.0Kevin Kepple IGUnlock Your Freedom PodcastKepple Coaching Website  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.Be It Till You See It Podcast SurveyUse this link to get your Toe Sox!ResourcesWatch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable PilatesSocial MediaInstagramFacebookLinkedInEpisode Transcript:Lesley Logan  How do you say your last name Kepple?Kevin Kepple  Correct. I do that too.Lesley Logan  I swear I'm a professional.Kevin Kepple  I do that too. Like, "Oh wait." ....Lesley Logan  All right. So I'm like I'm just gonna tell you right now it was, this podcast is a party. And also our guests, Kevin Kepple has so many lines, so many words, so many nuggets, so many gems that I'm that I don't even know how we're gonna quote them all because there's so many good ones that I cannot wait for you to hear in your ears. So if you are listening to this while drafted an email, may I suggest that you hit pause on that email. And you take some time walking with this podcast or grab a notebook because Kevin Kepple is someone who like all of us, started off at one thing, is doing another thing and found, found the best way to be the person that he is. And y'all I'm going to tell you right now, one of those nuggets is about being more not doing more. Oh my gosh, I cannot wait to hear how you be more instead of do more after hearing his words, this podcast, our conversation. I have so much gratitude for Kevin and hope you enjoy this. Let me know how you take the this podcast away, what your test takeaways are. If you answer those questions he gave you at the end they're so great, they're so brilliant. In fact, they're questions you can like literally write down somewhere copy and paste every time you need them. They're freaking great. So without further ado, here is Kevin Kepple.Hey, Be It listeners. Okay, I'm super excited because this man who are you're about to hear is really awesome. Talk about being it till you see it, they have so many examples and that they truly are walking the talk. And so I have Kevin Kepple here and I'm really excited to share with you his amazingness. So Kevin, who are you? What do you do these days?Kevin Kepple  What? What's up, Lesley? As you said, Kevin Kepple, you know, I get to work with lots of different types of leaders, usually executives, or business owners, and really help them create more access to happiness and aliveness. And, you know, if we want more, it's not about doing more, being more as the goal and just really helping them be more of the natural genius that they have. And stepping into that so they can serve at really high levels and their own unique expression of amazing.Lesley Logan  Okay, so many things to love about that. And of course, you know, I love the being more like, I mean, you're at the right podcast for that. But how did you before we get into being more? How did you get into this? Like, was this something that you started out right away? Or how did you start to see that, like, leaders out there needed to stop doing so much and being more than they were doing?Kevin Kepple  Yeah, I mean, I woke up one day, when I was a kid, I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And it was so easy, and (Lesley: Who are your parents?) everything worked out perfectly. No, I wish. No, no that isn't true. You know, I, like a lot of people have had you know different jobs, I went to college, got out of college, and happily ever after. Right. And I got a job that I was good at, but then have a lot of joy in and expose lots of different types of leaders, you know, they're teachers, sports, corporate career, other jobs, and there's good leaders, and there's bad leaders. And I just remember being really frustrated when in one day, when I had a, the VP of the company was screaming at me and profanities. And I just feel like there's got to be a better way to lead people. And so I've got a lot of contrast of what not to be, which is great, right? Really grateful for that. And, he's doing the best he could with what he had. I worked in different types of professional sales roles for years. And I worked at enterprise software sales for a number of years and worked in financial services as well. And I was winning the trips and all that good stuff. And I got promoted, because that's what happens when you do well at a job right, you get put in charge of people like that makes you a good leader, for some reason.Lesley Logan  It's true. That's exactly how it goes. They just go, "Oh, this person sells a lot. So let's put them in charge of people."Kevin Kepple  Yeah. They must know how to tell people what to do, which is not leadership, right. And I've, you know, I figured out that I really enjoyed helping people, you know, like, be more without making it feel like less, like, that's always the goal. And you don't have to win my way to win. Matter of fact, you know, you're not going to win my way because we're never going to be creative making copies of other people. And I'd love to go further faster like whatever I'm doing, I want to maximize it. And so I was working with a coach. And I remember he asked me what I liked about my job. And this dude was awesome. He was in the Secret Service for almost 30 years. And he kind of looked right through, you know. (Lesley: Yeah.) And he's like, "What do you like about your job?" And I'm like, "Well, I love this. And I love that. And da da da." He's like, "Hang on, hang on." He's like, "Stop." He's like, "Dude, I don't think you'd like your job. You keep saying I love." He's like, "You're not even looking at me. Your body language is all wrong, your tone is all off." He's like, "Just one thing you like." And I had a lot of trouble getting there. And it's really like helping people, you know, the people that were on my team, I caught up in them just find the best, most authentic expression of themselves. And I'm like, okay, but that's such a small part of what I get to do, you know, like, and, like I really knew I was in the wrong place. I was on some trip, and there was like a teaching part we had to go to, and they were talking about tax codes. And I was, like, 30 seconds, I was ready to get out of there. I'm like, I think I'm really gonna slam my hand in the car door, then sit here and listen to this, because at least I have something to do think about ...Feel like I won a trip. And I've had to listen to tax codes, great.But I knew I was in trouble because I looked around and people were really excited. Like, everybody's like, engaged and into this and I was like, "Okay, there's definitely been some sort of a mixup." I'm not supposed to be here. And a coach is like, "Dude, what do you want to do?" I was like, "I want to help people." He's like, "Everybody wants to help people." And some form, he's like, "How do you want to help people?" And I had no idea and now he's like, dude, long story short, he's like, "I think you'd be a great coach." And then the limiting beliefs kick in and all the fear, right? I'm like, well, I don't really struggle because like, now if you throw a rock, you hit five coaches, right? Like they're everywhere. And you know, this was years and years ago, and ...Lesley Logan  Now if you throw a pebble, you'll hit seven coaches. (Lesley and Kevin laughs)Kevin Kepple  Yeah. Follow into. But, you know I really simple I just made it the intention, like, "Hey, you know, like, I want to find something that supports this dream." And there's a little bit more to it, but fairly simple. And I looked on LinkedIn, which I didn't do frequently, and I saw an opportunity with this international multibillion dollar company that's based in Dallas where I live, and for a national sales and leadership coach, and I'm like, "Hey, that looks cool." And so I took that job. And the only requirement was I had to move to Chicago. And I was really smart about it, though. I was like, oh, wait till after winter, and I moved in May. I didn't know Chicago does extra winter. So it (Lesley: Yeah.) was still snowing at May. It was really great. I worked for them for about three years. I got to really coach and train people all day, every day and work with powerful people. And I really learned how to do it, I do it at a high level and stepped over started my own thing years ago. And it's all good, now.Lesley Logan  Yeah, I mean, I'm sure there's all it's got its own journey because working for yourself, it's its own thing to learn. But what I what I find, which I like love, like, "I want to work myself." And like it is actually as hard as working for someone else is just a different kind. But I what I love about this is like you, you challenge yourself to like put yourself in a position to be for someone to see you and to see like, what, like maybe what you weren't seeing because I think a lot of us talk ourselves into the jobs we're in, or like I'm just I'm really good at this and like keep getting promoted. I I literally had to quit a job. So they would stop promoting me because I like if they promote me one more time. I'm gonna say yes. I can't stop. I can't stop. So I think like, you know, I think it's I wish I had as a secret service person going you don't actually do you know, you don't like this job? Did anyone ever tell you? So when you sort of go into leadership coaching, what is it that you see? Because like, there's a lot of people in leadership roles who actually want to be in these roles. And there's a struggle because they want to they think doing more is the thing. So what do you think makes a good leader? And what is it different for each person? Or what what is this, what is something like a sign that someone should take like, "Oh, I'm a good leader."Kevin Kepple  Is anybody following you? Right. Like, because leadership's not a position like you can be the President of a company and not be a leader, you know, leaders like an action really. And, you know, leadership is different than management, management is telling people what to do. A powerful leader is going to inspire and empower people and inspire me, you stimulate me to action, you power me, you give me knowledge and tools of how to do it, you know, but winning with my gifts, not winning your way. And I think that just no, are you telling people or are you asking? It's probably the simplest way to know if you're exhibiting leadership or just simply management because you're telling me what to do this not leadership has told me what to do.Lesley Logan  That's so fas... that's the best description I've ever heard. I'm like thinking of every single, like, my brain just went to every single boss I'd ever. (Lesley laughs) And like, um, and it's so cool, because that means you don't have to get a promotion at work to be a leader in your in your role.Kevin Kepple  Yeah, and dude, anybody can be a leader, like, you know, like, god bless moms, like we wouldn't be here without moms, like one of the hardest leadership roles in the world. And you know, you're like, I went to a four year olds birthday party this weekend. I was like, man, it's like, they're all drunk and on drugs, like they were all over the place. And that Spiderman there and little kid walks up to Spiderman. And he goes, "My favorite superheroes is Batman." I was like, "Your, that's leadership right there, buddy. Speaking up for what you want." You know, but I just think it's, it's a behavior. It's not a position. And, you know, like somebody's watching you, period. And there's like, certain leadership traits for sure, you know, that you can pay attention to an increase, but really, it's just about, you know, how are you showing up?Lesley Logan  And so when you were stepping into this new role, was that an easy thing for you to figure out? Was that something natural for you? Or did you actually like have to, I don't know, like, get lessons on on and leading versus managing.Kevin Kepple  I think I'd spent so much time thinking about it, and just always really gravitated towards leadership positions, whether it was played baseball and hockey for a long time. And, you know, it's not always I don't need to be the one in charge. But, you know, quite often, you know, leaders are going to emerge just because of the behaviors they're exhibiting, etc, etc. I love to read, and I love to just study people who are successful and see what they're doing and how I can use that to help people you know, through my own style, and had some really great, so there was, of course, a learning curve, and they're always learning, right, like, I don't know, is the most powerful phrase I ever learned how to say it took me three decades, but I finally got there and learned how to mean it. But just watching other people, you know, like, what do they do well? Like, what are they doing that I shouldn't be doing? You know, that contrast is so powerful too. And just being really, I think just being really kind as opposed to right was one of the best things I learned how to do like kind of myself as opposed to right about what I was doing wrong or kind of other people and just learning to not need to be a certain way to be okay. I think that allowed me to evolve pretty quickly.Lesley Logan  Yeah, that kindness to ourselves, um, That's not something, I feel like, I feel like maybe going back to those little kids at a birthday party, maybe there's a natural kindness that they have. But somehow, at some point, we stopped getting, stopped being so kind to ourselves and we start putting others maybe I don't know, I've been out of the corporate world so long but putting other people and being nice to them versus being kind to them, but nice to them at least versus ourselves first and I wonder, I mean, you really can't be a leader if you're not being kind yourself because you're gonna make mistakes. So how did how do you learn to be kind to you?Kevin Kepple  I think it's, you know, the great skill, right? Choosing love over fear. It's like, you know, if I'm be in love, that's I'm gonna attract more love into my life, or that's like unconditional love. Not romantic, necessarily. But unconditional love. It's like not because like, everything we've ever done was motivated by fear, love, if you look at every decision you've ever taken, I guarantee you, you can boil it down to one of those two and fear can wear hats, right? Guilt, anger, apathy, shame, pride, all those are fear based, right? Forceful behavior. And love is love and unconditional love means like, I love me, no matter what happens. I love you, no matter what you do. Like, I don't have to like you to love you. Right. And that's, that's why we get married. So we can practice that with our in laws, right? I don't know how to ... (Lesley laughs) Yeah. That's a joke. (Lesley: One of my in laws listens to this podcast.) We're not talking about you.Lesley Logan  We're not talking about you. (Kevin: You're cool.) Other people's in laws, though, those ones. (Kevin: Yeah, on TV.) That is, well, thank you for sharing that, because what a great example of like, of a kind of love that we are practicing in our lives. Like, I think some people may I know some of my listener that can be so hard on themselves, they may not realize that they're actually practicing unconditional love in different ways. And, and there's a difference between liking someone and having love for them. And so giving ourselves credit for where we are in practice, and, and, you know, an honoring that because when you can see that you are in practice, and you can practice again, and you can show up another day. So when you work with leaders, like what is your what is your first thing? Do you observe them in practice? Do you like be a fly on the wall in their office? Or like, what's your process?Kevin Kepple  Here's what's wrong with you. (Lesley and Kevin laughs) And we're gonna need more than an hour, you know. No ...Lesley Logan  Just my assessment.Kevin Kepple  That's fun. That would be fun and really hard at the same time. But, the first was a start. So have a certified by Gallup with the Strength Finders tool, or ...Lesley Logan  Oh, we're gonna talk about that, that's my freakin favorite tool ever. Keep going. Keep going.Kevin Kepple  Yeah. It's so phenomenal like that right there. I mean, it's a cheat sheet into your elite levels. And it's not a complete portrait of your character. It's like, "Hey, here's what you do really well. But even maybe more important, here's what it looks like when you give all your power away." And like, what a cool gift, it's a cheat sheet into your, you know, extremely high levels of satisfaction and performance, whatever. And, like, we all know that everybody's different, right? But we always look, I'm gonna look at the world through her eyes, and you'd look at the world through her eyes as yourself, that's not gonna do you a lot of good. But if I can look at the world through your, like natural patterns of behavior and high energy, and you know, exceptional performance, like, that's really cool. And, you know, I think probably the greatest gift for Strength Finders was, if I had permission to be me, like I told you, I was working in finance, and I hated Excel. I hated it tax codes. Like, "I think there's something wrong with me." Like, "No, dude, you're just not built to like, that kind of thing." And that's totally cool. So I start with that, because, I mean, just one conversation with somebody, you can shift people so fast. You know, like, if I tell you, Lesley this, if I tell you, Lesley that, you may hear it, but if you see it differently from within, right, cite from within insight, like that's how you create lasting change. And, like, it's such a cool thing, because at this juncture, I've worked with 1000s of people with the Strength Finders assessment. And it's always like, so onpoint, people are like, sometimes when people get their results, like, "Well, this just isn't right." Like, it's usually because they don't understand it. And once I explain it, like, "Okay, that is me." And you know, we think we want or we don't have but then when you start looking at the things that aren't natural for people like, like, "Do you want to do that?" Like, you know, like, woo - winning others over is a strength, right? A lot of people who don't have it, like I wish I had woo. I was like, I have like an incessant need to talk to everyone shake every hand in the room, "Do you want to go talk to everybody in the room?" Like, "Oh." But people with woo like, "Yes," you know, and like, that's cool, man. There's nothing wrong with that. If you're built that way.Lesley Logan  I'm laughing because I'm 100% introvert and woo is in my top five. And it's exhausting because it's like, I can't leave. I need to go lay down.Kevin Kepple  There's somebody over there on the other side of the warehouse, I haven't talked to you. Yeah. You guys are so good because you protect the rest of us though. (Lesley: Yeah) Because y'all can actually get energy from that. And like, it's really fascinating to watch the people with woo work, and I was I use that specifically because I know I knew that you had to have it. As soon as we got on I was like, that's woo because you made me feel really good.Lesley Logan  Well, thank you and also I think like, also our strengths if we like leaning into them a little bit. Like I knew there was a time when like, I was not winning someone over. I was like, "I'm gonna stick around in this relationship till I win you over." And it's like, "Oh, actually, maybe it's just not that into me." Yeah, that's a, that's a story for another day, everyone. But here's what's here, you're gonna get a kick out of this. This is this is how much Strength Finders like matters to my husband and I. So we were on a first date that he didn't know he was on. And he just told me, he was going through a divorce. And I was like, "Okay, that's this person's not really going to be dateable." But then we started talking about, like, the businesses we ran and all this stuff. And he had a band. And he worked for a startup. And I had written a book. And he mentioned he's like, "Oh, have you heard of Strength Finders, 2.0." And I was like, "What are your top five?" And he pulled out his top five, I pulled up my top five, we've three that overlap different, different orders, and the top five, but three out of the five. And then he was like, "Do want to get out of here?" And so that was like, that was our way of getting together. (Lesley and Kevin laughs) But it is those in your you're correct in how it really makes you understand yourself. And like who you are so much better because I could not understand why there were certain things that would just like, I would go all end with light me up. And other things that I'm like this like, but like one of my top five is significance. So it's like, it has to matter. (Kevin: Yeah) It has to be important. And then I also have activator or positivity, woo and connector. And so it's like, those are I don't know which order they're in. But like, I feel like significant significance was in the top three and activator and connector on the top one up there. But like, I just I was like, oh, this is why like, I literally meet someone and I have to connect them over here. And I do like, I really love doing that. And my husband has told the story on the pod before. So if you've heard it before, I want your hearing again, but Kevin hasn't. He was trying to figure out how he like, why in the band he was the one making sure they all got paid and making sure all these things and he couldn't really figure out like, what, what like, made him up. And when he did that. He's like, "Oh, this is why I'm the person who does this at work. And this is why I do this." And it really helped him understand that he had transferable skills, not just in a band, but also in a business. And so now he's the CEO of our companies. But like how cool that a test like that could actually go oh, this is why you're so like, this is what you can do in another company. You don't have to just go while I'm in a band, you know.Kevin Kepple  Yeah, but that's such a great point you know, like, we're all different. We know that. But do we actually own that? And like, I have an older brother, he's two years older than me, but like, I always joke that like, "Dude you're born like 70 years old." He's like, "Always been like very wise and responsible. And just like, cartoons are stupid, that would never happen." Like, I'm like, "Dude, we're like four years old man ..." (Lesley laughs) And he's so serious. And I used to compare myself to him, right? The comparison game, we'd like to look at other people so we can feel inferior or superior, right? The worst game anybody ever plays? And I'm like, well, I can't do the things he can do because it's number one strengths, deliberative, it means he's slow. He's methodical. Assess every risk before I even start. And to you and I who have activator really high. We're like, dude, I got bored and quit listening. I just want to jump off the cliff, build the wings on the way down, right, whatever that looks like. (Lesley: Yes.) Don't give me instructions. Like that slows me down. I have to come back and ask for him later. But just don't give it to me up front. Just let me get started because ready, fire, aim is such an effective strategy for us. (Lesley: Yeah.) Just we're different ...Lesley Logan  Yeah. Oh, I hope my whole entire team listen to this because they I'm like, "I have this idea." And then they're like doing the whole project management. And I'm like, "I'm already, I'm already 17 steps ahead." I've already asked them. They said yes, these people are going to do this. And they're like, "Wait, you have moved to the process." And I'm like, "No, because I want to know quickly if this plane is gonna fly or not." Like, I don't want to build it (Kevin: Exactly.) and then it doesn't work.Kevin Kepple  ... with activator, what we get is that WTF look a lot because we start so far ahead of starting point is like, if somebody asks you to explain the alphabet, you're like, yeah, it ends with y and z. Like, wait, what? And it confuses people. And it's not like smart or dumb. It's just like, we're ready to get to the end. And we can begin with the end of mine really easily. And it's so powerful and so good to have people around you that can do the processes and support you and help you find the things that oh yeah, maybe we should get insurance but ...Lesley Logan  Well, you know what is also great about them because they are listening to us. Sometimes the idea is really fucking awesome. And it goes great. And then we need to fly again. So it's really nice when they're like okay, here we can just like repeat, rinse and repeat. (Kevin: Yeah.) Oh, this is so so okay, so people you have people do this and then you have them have them understand their strengths better. And, and then in turn, hopefully that helps them take these next steps as a leader just owning who they are as opposed to trying to be something that they're not in their role.Kevin Kepple  Yeah, absolutely. And really just helping, you know them understand like it's one of the cool things about strings like your natural sources of energy. And energies can be in different, right? Like it's power, it's our natural power. But, you know, gravity is super powerful, you know, you and I don't float away to the moon or whatever, right, thanks to gravity. But if we go up to the top of my house and jump off, we go crashing into the ground, right? It's not malicious, it's just going the way I direct it. So with my strings, I need to make sure they're pointed the way I want, you know, like, significant, you mentioned that one, I have that one fairly high too. And that's a really great strength, because it's about my make an impact, make an impact on other people, make an impact in the world, make an impact on ourselves. And that's the balcony. Right. The the good version, you know, that, that negative space on that the basement, if you will, you know, the basements like when I make things really important that aren't that important, right? And so, you know, maybe even making it all about me, right? The the the monster comes out, and then like, you know, just pushes people away.Lesley Logan  I feel like I'm getting a therapy session, everyone, because I'm like, oh, I do, do that. That is a bet. That is not so great.Kevin Kepple  But what's the wild with that assessment? Okay, so, Gallup, I love you guys. They're the ones who created Strength Finders, but like your marketing, people need to have a talk. I mean, you'd have a little heart to heart here.Same with their website.Yeah, their website, they just redid it a couple of years ago. I'm like, somehow it went regressed. But they rebranded Strength Finders to Clifton Strengths in the middle of the pandemic, because that's what you do when you have an assessment. Somebody's taken 30 plus million times you change the name to something even more obscure that nobody understands. Don Clifton was the guy who created Strength Finders, like thank you, Don in heaven. But you know Clifton Strengths assessment doesn't really help me understand what it is. And now it makes it harder to find for people. So StrengthsFinder is CliftonStrengths, same exact assessment. And they package it where you can buy the top five or all 34. (Lesley: Yeah.) And so like when I went to Gallup years ago, "They're like you have any questions?" I have lots of questions. And I'm like, "Why is competition not higher for me? I feel like I'm the best at Strength Finders." And they're like, "Yeah, it's number six." I'm like, "But it's not my top five." And so here's how you read the report just for you guys. Here's how you find your dominant strengths, your dominant strengths go all the way down to 10 11 12 or 13. Somewhere in those three numbers, like out of the again, 33 like plus million times I've done this. So you read when you read the top 10 in your head, you read the definition, it should sound like this. Yeah, that's pretty much always me. Either after 10, after 11, after 12 or 13, it stops and it stops. And it sounds like this, instead of being pretty much always meets. Well that sometimes me but not always. So you just draw a line right there. Everything above that line, those are your dominant strings. So even like 12 or 13 can be as strong as one sometimes. And just because of the way they package it though a lot of people don't understand that and myself included in the past. So ...Lesley Logan  That's interesting. I did the top 34 because I wanted to find a new assistant. And I didn't want to find another me because I knew I would like love someone else who was like me. I would love someone I got that'd be so much fun. But I'm an ideas machine. (Kevin: Yeah ... And what about the details?) Yeah, and those no details, correct. I mean, I married someone with a detailed up I thank God, but, um, but uh, but I made sure we have everyone who like has to be on my team. We like do their Strength Finders, and they have to like make up for the bottom. There's gonna be someone who can make up for the bottom. Because otherwise it's like, where's that thing? I don't I just threw up put in this folder. I don't even know. (Kevin: I got bunch of this.) Yeah, those folders.Kevin Kepple  It's funny, but you know, it's important to understand, it's not like a complete portrait of your character. It's your natural talents is all that this shows you and at the bottom is not weaknesses. It's just released express strengths. Like harmony is number 34 for me, like doesn't mean I can't get along with anyone. Right? It just means that I move fast. So I don't always wait for everybody to see what I'm doing. I see empathy at 34 all the time. And especially if it's a woman I'm working with the last, "Was that bad?" Like did that means you're a serial killer? It's really bad. Like really? Like, no, just like, super empathetic is not the end of the world. Does it mean you don't have empathy? It just means it's not like a dominant thing for you. (Lesley: Yeah.) And it's no big deal. And you know what, like, talent is not rare. Not at all. Like, I've never seen a blank report like nope, no talent for you. Sorry. Like, what's rare is people who have developed this talent into a genius they can leverage on demand. And genius has so much less to do with genetics than it does with habits. You know, get into the habit of being your most excellent self, whatever that looks like. And that's the trick right there. So simple, but not easy.Lesley Logan  So when you learned so far, because now everyone's taking this test while they're listening to us, and they don't do that you really want to be by yourself because they had to time test. But, but when you when you kind of like got into your strength, how did you lean into them without, you know like, is there is there a way of like leaning into them more or is their way of like, okay, I'm gonna exercise this strength more honoring those because I think you know, it's easy for people to go, oh, empathy is my worst one. I'm going to make that one better. It's like how did you stay in your in your zone?Kevin Kepple  That's a great question. There's probably a very eloquent way of saying this question that I get asked like, every time we were taught this or worked with somebody it's like, and like, so the basement is like our negative behavior, like when we're making it all about us with our strengths. Like, for instance, maximizer is my number one strength. Maximizer in the balcony is like, just fascinated with elite, like, whatever, like, mastery looks like in this, whether it's a person I'm working with, like, Lesley, like your champion is, I was so excited to be on your podcast, like I listened to it before I reached out, because I want to be around somebody, I feel like a master. And like, You're definitely a master at being with people and just do what you do. And that's really attractive to a maximizer, because I wanted to just be around it, so I can show you some of that for me and help people like her or whatever. And that's obviously really healthy getting to like just elite levels. The basement on maximizer is nothing's ever good enough, right? Like, well, let me just make it a little better and a little better. And it's like, how did you even get dressed today? If it's not like absolutely amazing, you know? And so it can be very picky. And so the question that people ask, like, how do I get out of the basement, once they understand the language, right? You know, it's like our blind spot. And like, man, it's really simple. Stop making it all about you, right? Because if I'm solely focused on me, then like, that gives the ego a lot of time to jump in. And, you know, the BCD is, you know, blaming complaint and defendant and fear and worry, and all those like, behaviors that take a lot of energy, but bring us little rights is an addiction, you know, like addictions all have the one thing in common, like repetition, but no payoff. And you know, people get addicted to that stress filled negative space of worrying, Kevin included in the past. And so the really the way that you can lean more into these is understand what good looks like, but also understand what you know, the basement looks like, so that, you know, what I'm aware of, I can actually do something about, you know, what I'm unaware of, that's the dangerous stuff is unaware behaviors that are just patterns in my life that take me away from what I want. And, you know, like, I can't give what I don't have, if I don't understand my strengths, and I can't use that not at the highest level. But Gallup has a great podcast, actually, if you can find it, like, they hide it somehow. But it's, it's phenomenal. I think it's called Clifton Strengths, they just rebranded that to after seven seasons. So they, they're really crushing it. But it's awesome if you do find it, because it's like 10 minutes of one strength. And you know, just like pick one a day a week. But I mean, like with anything else, like it's so important to make new decisions, like so often people make this judgment, like, oh, this is how it is like, even if it's a good thing. And whatever you like judged as being a certain thing, like you're no longer evolving there. It's like static, right? (Lesley: Yeah.) And so like, every time I go back and read about maximizer, I learned something new. Even though I've worked with this tool for years. It's still a new version of me. So I need to make new decisions, right? (Lesley: Yeah.) What, what is the next level of this look like?Lesley Logan  Oh, my God, I now have a new podcast. I'm gonna listen to it and be obsessed. But I also think that I've never heard of the terminology like the balcony in the basement. And I kind of love this because Brad's going to listen to this because we'll do a recap on you. We talk about you on air ... You have to listen to it. But like, now I can just go, "I'm in the basement. Leave me alone. I'm in the basement. I need to get out."Kevin Kepple  Sometimes we go into the basement, too.Lesley Logan  I feel that. I feel that. As an activator, I felt like that's really ... Oh my gosh. So this is I think this is really cool. So you, how many people are you like, coaching on leadership? And is this something you're doing all the time? Like is this like a you work with like one on one people? Are you just going over people's quiz like it's not a quiz? It's definitely a test. But like, are you are you going over these like individuals or with teams? How do you work with this?Kevin Kepple  That's a great question. So a few different ways, I do a little bit of one on one coaching, but not very scalable, because there's only one me. So I have actually some coaches that support the work that we do. So I have a good team underneath me that can extend out and do a little bit more one on one. But then I do a few different types of groups host a mastermind group for entrepreneurs and business owners that is really want to go further faster, you know, like minded people and like minded journeys, and I love that we're all co elevating together and also do some corporate work, I work with a couple of different CEOs, and then work with their leadership team as well. And just helping them really to, you know, be better, faster, smarter, and build a better, more powerful culture and really just lean into the gifts that God gave them to go out and create whatever their version of amazing is. And so long answer to a short question.Lesley Logan  No, but I find it fascinating cuz of course, my brain was like, well, do you like, do you make sure that there's a bunch of different strengths represented in your mastermind. Like my other and then another thought, because a bounce was like, are you ever do you ever do that with the CEO and their leadership team and realize, "Hey, you've got like these people doing like, the wrong roles." Do you ever like move people around so that they can be more aligned with their strengths or you kind of just help them find balconies in their roles with what they've got?Kevin Kepple  I mean, if they do internal shuffling, that's, you know, I don't really do the consulting piece as much as I have. But I really prefer just helping people figure out whatever it is that's, you know, stopping them slowing down standing in the way. Because it's like, when we're happier, we perform better period, right? (Lesley: Yeah) And we're all innately happy, we're just covered up with all this BS, it doesn't matter. And so a big part of what we do is know, like, limiting beliefs, right? So simple, but a lot of people just don't understand it. Even if they've heard the phrase, they don't, they don't know what's limiting them, right? And helping people learn to master the mindset and the heart set. Because so many people give away all that power, right? It's just the mindset, it's all they use, right? It's all logic and reason. I'm like, dude, your mind is a fraction of your being. Like, you don't have to use it all the time. Like when I sit down, I don't use my legs. Not much, right? I don't need to use my mind constantly. But if I'm trying to use reason and logic, where there's no risk and reason and logic, right, I'm eliminating all that. And I'm going to stick to the known and I'm going to crawl through life, like very slowly. But when I can go through the gut, right? That intuition, that knowingness, like, I know what's for me, like, I knew this podcast was for me. I knew the space was for me, right? And then I go into the heart, like, where's the energy? Where's the love? Like, dude, I love your attitude, your energy, the way that y'all do recaps. I'll heard y'all doing one. I was like, "Is that something they do all the time?" (Lesley: Oh, yeah.) Then the basement came out. And I'm like, "Hey wait, they're gonna do that about me." And I'm like, "Wait, that's awesome. I think it'd be really cool." And then like, go into the head for the planning, right? And then I did want to leverage that mind to create the plan. And then I use reason, then I use logic, right? Once I've already like, you know, gone through the, like, most infinite parts of me down here. And so if that makes sense ...Lesley Logan  Yeah, that's so far, there's, like, 17 things I wanted to touch on. But one of the things I love the beginning is you, you are not being everything in in that role, like, of course, you could probably consult for them, you can make it part of your package, but you are actually like, going, "This is what I actually do. This is what I really like to do. This is where I really excel and doing it." And this, and that's good. You know, I think a lot of times, I'm, as we coach people, they're like, "Well, I can do this, and I can do this, I'm gonna do all these things." And I'm like, "Okay, and you're gonna, that's exhausting. Do you really want to spend that much time with people do? Do you know how much time you just said, you're gonna make sure that person you're selling it to?" So I think that's because so because I think a lot of people would do that. So I love that you shared that because I hope it gives people listening permission to like, like, it's not limiting, because now you have like, it's like more energizing to do what you do by just giving yourself like, this is a thing I like to do.Kevin Kepple  Yeah, I mean, that's such a great point. You know energies, like, either there. It's not right. Like, we feel really good about things, or maybe they take our energy away. And that's a really cool thing again about this assessment. It just shows you your natural sources of energy. (Lesley: Yeah.) And you know, just like, "Hey, I've got this predisposition for doing this. So what does it look like when I invest time learn about it and actually using it?" And that's how your superpowers and it's so funny, like, I work with this tool, so many different amazing people and asked this question, probably 200 times, like, "Hey, tell me your top strengths." Like with somebody I've already worked with for a decent amount of time. They look at me, and I look at their phone, or they start going through their papers. Like waiting, waiting, and they finally fall, "Okay, oh my gosh, I can activate her and I got this. And I got that." I'm like, "Dude, do you think it would be awkward if we were walking down the street, we met Superman. And we asked him what his superpowers were. But he had to look at his iPhone and tell us he could fly like these are your superpowers? Don't you think you should just take the time to memorize them?" Like, and you know, like Kevin included because my coach will one point was like, "Hey, what are your strengths." And I pull it off the shelf? I'm like, blow the dust off.Lesley Logan  Yeah, I I love thinking of it like that. And I think I hope everyone listening goes and gives himself the test, if you haven't, or dusts off the strengths if you have and, and, and dive in and get to know yourself a little bit more. Because when we, the more we know about ourselves, the easier it is to, like, lean in and be ourselves and be that for others. And I think that's I mean, that's kind of how you be it till you see it.Kevin Kepple  Yeah, exactly. And know that so I read that in a good book once.Lesley Logan  All right, we're gonna take a quick break, and we're gonna find out how we can find out, how we can work with you more.So Kevin, where can people find you, follow you, share their superpowers with you?Kevin Kepple  @kevinkepple on Instagram or LinkedIn. Unlock Your Freedom Podcast with my name. Yeah, really any social media wherever you like to go. Yeah, just reach out if I can help and I love helping people. I've got a question. Let me know. If you're wanting to take the assessment by the way, it's kind of hard to find. We were talking about just Google Clifton Strengths Assessment purchase. That's what you put in like ... (Lesley: Put and purchase.) Yeah. It's gonna get you to the right place.Lesley Logan  We'll put the link below and if you don't know, everyone, it's really easy. You can just swipe on up and like my team puts all these links, including how to get to Kevin, how to get this podcast and all that. So but yeah, it's, it's also very interesting if you buy it for other people then you have to figure out how to find that purchase, but you can it's possible we we've done it. (Kevin: Yeah) So well have that their. So Kevin, we ask everybody be it till you see it. Bold, executable, intrinsic, targeted action steps people can take to be it till they see it.Kevin Kepple  Yeah, what a great question. I think like keeping it really simple, right? Leonardo da Vinci, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Like such good advice. So ask yourself two questions like, "What do I want? And why do I want it?" You know, what am I passionate about creating right now? What absolutely I love? And then why? How can I mix generosity into that? Because passion is a little selfish sometimes. And don't ask how. Because if you knew how you'd already be doing it, what do you want? Why do you want it? And you know, just without judgment, like what's slowing me down, what stand in the way was stopping me and find somebody powerful like Lesley pay her money so that she can help you go further faster, because you will always go faster with a really powerful coach. That is really really lethal, beautiful combination of a big heart and a big brain. And that's definitely what Lesley Logan is. And so I would highly suggest find somebody like her to take you wherever you want to go.Lesley Logan  Oh, my gosh, Kevin, well, like attracts like, so same to you. Thank you. These are great questions. Everyone, how are you gonna use these in your life? Let us know tag Kevin on Instagram, tag the @be_it_pod. Share this with a friend. Take your test, share your top five with us and your friends because the more we all know about ourselves, the easier it is to be it till you see it and if we're all doing this, I'm like, "What a better world we're all living in. So much easier." So thank you so much and until next time, Be It Till You See It.Transcribed by https://otter.aiSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You can subscribe and listen to every episode of the "Unleash the Awesome" podcast at https://gambrill.com/podcast .  0:58 "The Ultimate Jim Rohn Library" on Audible.https://amzn.to/3WKv2xp . 1:06 Try Audible via this special exclusive offer...https://gambrill.com/audible . 1:35 "Discipline is Destiny" by Ryan Holiday on Audible.https://amzn.to/3zXoyBL . 7:15 Jasper - Create amazing copy, content, blogs, and even books 10x faster with Jasper's AI tools and templates.https://gambrill.com/jasper . 8:10 "Coronavirus 2022: It Doesn't Matter What You Think - It Matters How You Respond" - Episode 21 of the "Unleash the Awesome" podcast with Dave Gambrill.https://gambrill.simplecast.com/episodes/coronavirus-2020-it-doesnt-matter-what-you-think-it-matters-how-you-respond . 12:35 "Now, Discover Your Strengths" - by Don Clifton and Gallup (followup to Strengths Finders).https://amzn.to/3zSn4bR . 13:44 "The best investment you can make is in yourself." - Dave Gambrill 13:46 Warren Buffet says investing in a Dale Carnegie public speaking changed his life. - YouTubehttps://youtu.be/k7gXaPY524I?t=30 . . . . . . . . .  Want some help deciding what tech tools to use in your business? Check out Tech Tools Tuesday.https://gambrill.com/ttt . Come join the conversation in our communities... Digital Marketing Mentorship with Dave Gambrill Facebook Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/dmmdavegambrill . Digital Marketing Mentorship with Dave Gambrill Telegram Channelhttps://gambrill.com/telegramdmm . And let me know what you thought of this episode and what you'd like me cover in future episodes over on Instagram.https://www.instagram.com/gambrill/ .  #unleashawesome #mindset #personalgrowth #toolset #entrepreneur #success #skillset  #publicspeaking #digitalmarketing #coaching  #trainer #creatoreconomy #process #systems  #gambrill #davegambrill  #warrenbuffett #investing #psychology #dalecarnegie #strengthsfinder #gallup #ryanholiday #discipline #personaldevelopment #talentdevelopment #audible #jasperai #jasperart #artificialintelligence #copywriting #jimrohn   CONSUMER NOTICE: You should assume that I have an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the providers of goods and services mentioned in this broadcast and may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

We are continuing to explore ourselves this week. I am highlighting 2 more assessments that will help you as you discover your path. The Enneagram has beginnings hundreds of years ago, but the most recent system is around 100 years old, while Clifton Strengths is only about 23 years old.  I want to inform you of many ways that you can find out your strengths and then use them to create an amazing life.Book I StudiedThe Road Back to You--Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne StabileEnneagram QuizFree Clifton StrengthsGallop Clifton Strengths--Paid test and info

Now, Discover Your Strengths: The revolutionary Gallup program that shows you how to develop your unique talents and strengths The 20th anniversary edition of Now, Discover Your Strengths comes with an access code to the Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment. This updated assessment includes reports and resources that go far beyond the standardized reports of the older assessment by providing you with personalized insight statements unique to your specific combination of strengths. Many people have little sense of their talents and strengths, much less the ability to build their lives around them. Instead, they are raised and taught to become experts in their weaknesses — and spend their lives trying to fix them — while their strengths lie dormant. Led by Don Clifton, the Father of Strengths-Based Psychology, Gallup created a revolutionary program to help people identify their talents; develop them into strengths; and enjoy consistent, near-perfect performance. Twenty years ago, Gallup released Now, Discover Your Strengths to bring this program to the world. At the heart of this book is CliftonStrengths, the assessment that is the product of decades of research and hundreds of thousands of interviews to identify the most prevalent human strengths. CliftonStrengths reveals 34 dominant talent themes that you can translate into personal and career success. To develop this assessment, Gallup conducted psychological profiles with more than 2 million individuals to help people around the world focus and perfect these themes. Since Now, Discover Your Strengths was first released two decades ago, more than 20 million people worldwide have taken the CliftonStrengths assessment. The 20th anniversary edition includes a unique access code to take CliftonStrengths — previously known as StrengthsFinder 2.0 — which is a significantly more robust program than the assessment that appeared in the original edition of the book. This web-based assessment analyzes your instinctive reactions and immediately presents you with your top five themes. Once you know which of the 34 themes you lead with — such as Achiever, Activator, Empathy, Futuristic and Strategic — the book will show you how to use your top themes for your own development, for your success as a manager and for the success of your organization. With accessible and profound insights into how to turn talents into strengths, and with immediate online feedback from the CliftonStrengths assessment at its core, Now, Discover Your Strengths is one of the most groundbreaking and powerful business books ever written.  

Many people have little sense of their talents and strengths, much less the ability to build their lives around them. Instead, they are raised and taught to become experts in their weaknesses — and spend their lives trying to fix them — while their strengths lie dormant. Led by Don Clifton, the Father of Strengths-Based Psychology, Gallup created a revolutionary program to help people identify their talents; develop them into strengths; and enjoy consistent, near-perfect performance. Twenty years ago, Gallup released Now, Discover Your Strengths to bring this program to the world. At the heart of this book is CliftonStrengths, the assessment that is the product of decades of research and hundreds of thousands of interviews to identify the most prevalent human strengths. CliftonStrengths reveals 34 dominant talent themes that you can translate into personal and career success. To develop this assessment, Gallup conducted psychological profiles with more than 2 million individuals to help people around the world focus and perfect these themes. Since Now, Discover Your Strengths was first released two decades ago, more than 20 million people worldwide have taken the CliftonStrengths assessment.

In the final episode of my three-part series on planning your career, I lay out a road map on how to use your strengths to improve your career and have a job that you love. I explain the background of the strengths movement and why working from your strengths doesn't necessarily mean neglecting your weaknesses. First, I talk about how you can identify your strengths and how to tell the difference between a strength and a talent. Once you know what your strengths are, you can work on developing them, following the formula of investing time in your skills to develop and utilise them. I then move on to discuss talents, which have three dimensions. Listen to find out if your natural talents are located on the balcony or basement, and where your talents lie on the spectrum of raw to mature. I'd love to hear from you, particularly if you learnt something from this episode or if you felt like you had a breakthrough! Please reach out to me as I love reading your messages and don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you don't miss an episode. Timestamps [1:08] My upcoming Vision Board workshop [2:55] Don Clifton and the strengths movement [5:00] The philosophy of the strengths movement [6:34] How can you tell if you're operating from a place of talent? [8:24] I explain the difference between a talent and a strength and how to move from a talent to a strength [10:40] A common misconception about the strengths approach [12:53] The first stage of developing a new skill [15:04] Conscious incompetence: the second stage of skill development [16:43] Being a conscious competent [18:40] The final stage of learning a new skill [20:15] The three dimensions of a natural talent [21:54] Balcony or basement? [23:45] The talent spectrum from raw to mature [25:40] I want to hear from you! [25:55] Don't miss out on the three-hour Vision Board workshop Sign-up link for the Vision Board Workshop Free community for sensitive professionals to rise together -> themintambition.com/community Ready to advance your career without changing your personality or drowning in an overflowing to-do list? Get my Monday morning emails, and I'll help you overcome impostor thoughts, be seen as a leader and advance your career. All while showing up with an authentic, positive presence. Instant access at -> themintambition.com Want to cleanse out all those tricky impostor thoughts? Grab my Impostor Cleanse Kit for a set of four goodies that'll increase your confidence at work -> themintambition.com/impostor-cleanse-kit Need a step-by-step blueprint on how to confidently advance your career (even if you're not 100% sure you're ready)? Get my 3-month career advancement Blueprint -> themintambition.com/blueprint Looking for your next leadership book to read? Get my Ultimate Guide to Leadership Books for a curated and organized list of over 200 of the best leadership books out there -> themintambition.com/ultimate-guide Want to go deeper and work together? Step 1: Get on the wait list for the ~FREE~ Self-Advocacy Made Easy Summit: Learn from 12 industry experts on how to feel confident speaking up for yourself, your ideas and your career -> themintambition.com/summit Step 2: Figure out the strategic next step for your career (even if you feel totally stuck in indecision) so you can STOP feeling stagnant at work and START advancing your career -> themintambition.com/ignite Step 3: Grow key leadership skills to confidently advance to your next career level. Not only will you feel confident advocating for yourself, you'll be seen as a leader by your peers and senior management. Get on the wait list for the next cohort of the Powerful Presence Society Bootcamp experience -> themintambition.com/pps Connect with me on Linked in -> www.linkedin.com/in/lizstjean Contact me > hello@themintambition.com

It's another season of Live EPIC: Youth Development & Leadership. In this episode, I introduce the concept of Strengths Based Approach to youth development based on the pioneering work of Don Clifton the founder of Strengths Finder. According to Mary Reckmeyer, author of Strengths Based Parenting, a strength is the result of taking that talent and with investment – skills, knowledge and practice – using it to consistently provide near-perfect performance in a given activity eg analyzing information. This is an introductory episode into the benefits of focusing on strengths. Segue Music by John_Yasutis from Pixabay[Inspiring Cinematic 3681] Intro & Outro Music by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay [we confidently go to victory 12006] --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/darryl-bodkin/message

While Ari braves the wilds of Texas, Chris is joined by Greg Peccie, Curator of Mammals at the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens! Greg shares how his animal career started (as it does for so many of us) with a moment of awe at Sea World, how his leadership skills grew during a long stretch at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (where he became the life-long mentor to Chris' wife, Bethany) and his excitement to work with the team at his new job. Greg talks about the importance of clear expectations and accountabiliy, the dangers of "overshooting your joy," his goal of never becoming 'the creepy curator,' and helping people to become the leaders they wish they'd had. Didn't want this one to end - we'll have Greg back soon for sure! Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! Resources from the show: Simon Sinek resources for leadership: http://www.simonsinek.com It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy - by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff Strengthfinder - by Tom Rath and Don Clifton

Jaime Levy, Ux Strategist, Speaker and author of UX Strategy: Product Strategy Techniques for Devising Innovative Digital Solutions available in 6 languages and now also on Audible You can find Jaime on LinkedIn and on jaimelevy.com   ----------------- Katty: I've been watching your career trajectory, and I was super excited to see that you had written a book, UX Strategy and that the audio version has just come out. So I wanted to have a conversation about you, about the book, and how you started your path. One thing that I've noticed is this trend of reinvention with you from a designer to a strategist to an author to a public speaker to a professor, and how all of that's going to come together for you. I just found that fascinating, so I'd love for you to talk about your origin story and what's steps you've taken to come here. Jaime: Let's see. Well, I guess it started even before the browser when I was creating my floppy disk magazines, and I was a graduate student at NYU, and just really interested in nonlinear storytelling.  And then trying to invent this new medium like it was just this total insane dreamer thing. And I guess because of the floppy disk I made, I actually finished it, and then I successfully brought the product to market by selling it. A floppy disk that opened into a HyperCard or Director presentation. I know for all the newbies, they're like, “What are you talking about?” Don't worry, you don't need to know this old-school stuff.  But you know it used to be really hard to make interactive presentations, but the upside of all of that was that you could be the first or you could do something that is only mediocre in design. But because it was the first it was like “yay.”  That was how I started out. I was a horrible interface designer and a horrible coder. But I just kept pounding on these floppy disks, and then, the short version of it is Billy Idol bought one, and then it got launched as a commercial endeavor and then I got my gigs at EMI records and Viacom. And it all just kept going from there you know to eventually, doing an online magazine, and then getting a creative director role and just constantly working.  I really believe that if you just keep working, and applying yourself, and learning new things, that eventually you'll connect and get whatever it is that you want. Some job, or some gig, or an opportunity. And I think that relentlessness to persevere was something that has stayed with me, and I actually need to kind of manifest it now as I'm starting the next chapter of my career.  Before UX, it was called interface design and then after interface design, then it was web design and then after web design, then we had information architecture and interaction design. And by the time I got back to LA after 9/11 and the dot com thing crashed in New York, as well as, San Francisco and LA, I came back here and it seemed at that point I needed to focus.  And I should mention early on as a result of the (floppy) disk I was asked to be a part-time professor at NYU, and I did get flown around the country and the world, to speak at conferences, and I think like when you have that success when you start out you think that's normal. And so for me, it's just been catching up with my old normal, and it's a curse and a blessing, and the blessing is obvious because you're like, oh, I just want to continue to be a public speaker, I want to continue being known or recognized for my work. But the negative consequences, it's an addiction, it's like a high that you set here and you think, Oh, I always have to be at this level of an overachiever. And so, you know, in that sense I feel like I didn't engage in my own personal life, you know because I sacrificed it for my career so much and didn't really like relax into it until my 30s when I got back to Los Angeles. Katty: Interesting. I saw you actually speak about it in one of your talks. I think was your Brazil talk about being an overachiever and what that means and constantly trying to do things, new things, or do things in a new way. I found that fascinating, it went through that same reinvention theme that I recognized in what you were talking about. So thanks for sharing that. So you mentioned, the new chapter, a new iteration of Jaime. Jaime: New? It's in progress. So, you know, I did my first book and I did really well with the first book. I was insane to write a book. That was so crazy. But I just felt like UX strategy was so interesting and even though nobody was paying me to write it, you certainly don't make money off of the book. I just was like okay I'll take a year and a half and spend my savings and write a book and sit in the library. And it was really rewarding.  And so then when it came time to do a second edition, if I want to be current I did that. And I did it during the lockdown so that was kind of a good thing to do when you can't really go teach in a classroom or go run workshops in a public space. But basically, my book is now out in the second edition and is being translated into languages, and I just found out it's in German and Italian, and Portuguese this time, you know, on top of the other six languages and that's really exciting.  But the thing with the book is you need to promote it, and you know and you need to go do things to market it. Whenever you make anything whether it be a floppy disk or a website or an app or a book or you're marketing yourself as a public speaker, it's one thing that you do it, but the other half of it is in order to be successful, you just got to market yourself or your product. And it's fine when I get paid to do growth design and markets and run experiments to market other people's products. But I think, I'm kind of at least right now, I feel I'm just kind of over-marketing myself. All of a sudden I feel like, ah, can't life just be simple again? Let me just get a job ideally as a UX strategist and, you know, and that's it, let things quiet down.  And so you can say it's an existential post-midlife crisis, or maybe it's a phase but I just had a job interview with a company that I hope I get, and they were telling me that they just had written an article related to this subject about so many people basically looking at their careers and saying, “Do I even want to do this?”  I feel like COVID Hit the reset button for a ton of people and so now I'm less killing myself about, “Oh wow, I'm really not going to go crazy promoting this book because I don't feel like it? Is there something wrong with me? Or is it just like maybe I just have to accept to let people read the book. I hope they like it.” And if people ask me to speak fine, but you know, I think it's like at a certain point you have to say okay where's friction and friction is trying to go tour and do workshops at what we hope might be the end of the pandemic but isn't. You know, it's like I suffered the same fate as people who, you know we're in an orchestra, you know, or who had movies that came out. So I'm in great company of people who made their money by doing things for the public and in person and now that you know, there's no UX conferences really planned. I'm speaking at the one in Estonia, one, this year, zero last year zero the year before, you know. So it makes you say what am I going to do now? Katty: You're right, it definitely has been a reset button on many fronts. We've seen this so much with so many other candidates that we work with who are re-evaluating “I've been doing XYZ until now, do I still want to do it, do I still want to live here?” Just really evaluating everything, but I totally hear you about the book because I also wrote a book during this pandemic. I had been working on it for three years, which was far too long but that's just the length of time that it took. The circumstances where we found ourselves allowed me to finish it, so I am grateful for that. That was the silver lining in this crazy year and t it allowed me to finish it and get it out. But it's just sitting there and it's nowhere near where it needs to be... but it is what it is. It's a story I needed to get out. I got it out. Now, if people find it, awesome, and if they don't then we'll cross that bridge.  Jaime: What's your book called? Katty: It's called The Butterfly Years, and it's just my personal story dealing with grief and has nothing to do with Artisan Creative and it has everything to do with me. Obviously, as somebody who's running a company, it is going to have to come to grips with having to manage grief and make that work otherwise it permeates everything. Katty: If it helps people out there, it's there. If somebody is going through it and they need to hear somebody else's story who's been in the same boat. Then I've done my job.  Katty: Yeah, So when I heard that you had done your second edition and you had just done an audiobook. I thought you know I want to talk to her and see how that whole process was for her.  Katty: Congratulations on your interview and I hope that it ends up being the right next thing. Jaime: I hope so too. That would be great if my first interview turned into a job offer. Katty: Putting out the good vibes. Jaime: They were very surprised because it was a UX strategy position and I didn't have anywhere in my portfolio that I wrote it. I didn't want to say that I literally wrote the book on UX strategy because then they think oh she's not humble or she's too experienced so I didn't mention it. They saw something in there and I'm like, “Oh yeah, I wrote a book kind of related to UX strategy.” and they're like what's it called, I'm like, UX Strategy. I can't even own it. I can't even own it, you know, I'm just like, ahh so shocking. Yeah, you know, I want the opportunity to practice what I preach. Enough, running around with the same lectures and enough training.  I've done so much training in the last year, I think sometimes we just need to go back and forth and be okay with it. I'm not saying I'll never do workshops again, I just need to take a break from that part of it or and pursue it. So yeah hopefully something will come up for me that is enjoyable. Because I think it's important to have a job if you like and what I was shocked by when I looked at the job market this time was, oh my god there's 8,624 UX jobs in this country and 30 or 40% of them are remote, and there's actually jobs advertised for UX strategist title. It used to just be me and two other people. I don't know if my book helped define the industry but it seems like when I read the job description, it had everything that I wrote about in my book so it's a really exciting time that there's so much opportunity out there. Katty: Yeah, for sure. I'd love for you to maybe help define that a little bit, because obviously, we hear you know there's on the design side of it, UX there's XD. Now it's customer experience, employee experience. Can you talk a little bit about that I know for just what I've heard you talk about before, it's really the research and the strategy is the precursor before you even get into the design part of it. And I learned that thinking time is so important to be able to do that? Can you talk a little bit about that? Katty: A little bit of both, actually. Jaime: Sure. So I basically define UX strategy as the intersection between product design and business strategy. So business strategy is the top-level vision of an organization. How do we make money, who are our customers? You know business is defined, ultimately by their customers.  So they have a vision and the vision might be a platform, multiple products, a suite of products, or one product. And then it's like how do you really elevate that product, and bring it to market? So that when people have that first whiff of it, they're like, smells awesome. And so when I started doing discovery phases back in 2008, 2009 for Schematic and for Huge, I really fell in love with it. Because I love doing competitive research. So interesting, I mean who doesn't want to get paid to research the marketplace? And I loved the idea of finally getting to do user research. And so that was when I really became interested in it and realized that there was nothing out there that told us how to do it. I would just make things up as I went along and as I moved from different organizations, I would clean up my deliverables and take them to the next level.  And then when Lean Startup came out--People don't think of Lean Startup, as a product strategy methodology but I certainly do. It's this idea to build the smallest version of your product, get it in front of your target customer, learn from it, whether it be an alpha or prototype, extract data from these learnings and learn from it, and then iterate.  All of a sudden the discovery phase became not something like Waterfall; first, we do discovery, then we do the implementation, then we do usability testing and find out at the very end that not only does our product suck but nobody wants it. It was insane. And now all of a sudden, the discovery phase became something that can be iterative and cross into the implementation phase, and you can start building products and doing strategy, and testing it and validating it in much smaller loops all along the way. So that's what's really exciting is an opportunity to run some kind of experiments to knock out, to do rapid prototyping, to use whatever it is like sketch XD, other prototyping tools to get business concepts in front of the target users, and start doing user research that's more focused on validating a value proposition, versus, you know, is this thing usable? Even if it's really usable, but nobody wants it, then who cares if it's usable, right? Katty: Yep. Very good, and with plenty of products out there with great usability but they're sitting on the shelf. I probably have a few of them. Katty: Fantastic. You talked a little bit about this but I think, given where you are going, pivoting, and where you see the future to be for you at this juncture. What can you share with people who are either just starting out in their career path? And/or because of this past year, lost their positions, and they have to reinvent themselves. Where is it that you dig down deep to find that inspiration and that determination to just say you know what, this isn't working, let me figure out where it is that I want to go? Jaime: Yeah, I think just to be honest it's very different for someone like me with two to three decades in the industry versus somebody who's starting out. So I wouldn't give someone the same advice I would give myself, there's definitely different things going on. I can remember very well when I was starting out and the same feelings that I have now are similar. My dad gave me this great advice. When you're looking for a job, or when you're starting on your career, and when you interview with people, you want to be careful that you don't have this flashing L on your head. Loser, loser, loser.  Because people will spot this lack of confidence or low self-esteem, you know, and it doesn't matter how successful you are, or have been, like me. Because you can still have low self-esteem or imposter syndrome, and so, it's like you need to somehow put all of these fears of I suck;. I'm not gonna make it; I'm an imposter;I am so crazy that I thought I could do this film, to begin with. I'm too old or I'm too young or my portfolio doesn't have X, X, X.  I have to constantly work on this, to this minute, which is spinning a much more positive narrative in my head that, “No, no, I have something of value to give”. And then putting that negative energy into therapy, exercise, whatever you need to do to take care of yourself, but I still to this day, put it into how can I showcase my work, what's missing? You know, look at my portfolio. Okay, it has all this but it's missing, you know, this one deliverable. Well, I better make it, fake it till you make it, you know, and figure out a way to like get it in there.  And the funny thing is is they may not even ask for it on that job interview, but if it's like this thing that you think is missing, then it's going to be flashing the L on your forehead and so to me, it's like puffing yourself up and what is it going to do to make you confident for these interviews and if showing your portfolio and getting excited around the storytelling of your UX design which, it still is for me, then get that into your portfolio and any missing things.  Don't spend eight hours a day looking for a job, spend four hours and the other four hours teaching yourself a new tool because there's always going to be new things to learn. And if you're not open to learning new things, up until, you know, your 50s and 60s, then whenever that is where you're not open to new things, you better be at that last job that you're going to station yourself at, because the industry, I promise you, just keeps on changing. You know it's amazing. Katty: Gosh. Great advice. I think for all levels of career and years in the industry and also not even to have to do with business. I think for anything where we tend to sometimes focus in on the thing we don't have versus on the things that we do have it's just such a great lesson to say you know what to say we have to reshift that mindset.  There's a great book that I read a couple of years ago by this woman called Sally Helgason, and it's called How Women Rise, and she talks a lot about specifically women and how we get into this mindset of, oh, but you know what, let me work harder because I'm missing this 10% thing and not focus on the 90% that I have and it's just crazy. I see it all the time. I see it, not just in candidates I see it in myself. And putting myself out for a conversation or a talk or something and if I don't get it's like, oh, that's because I didn't talk about this. You know what, maybe just wasn't the right thing. So, yeah, great lesson. And I think also that that whole thing also speaks of desperation, and I think that that comes through, so loud and clear, it erodes the confidence that would naturally be there if somebody has worked on their craft. Jaime: Yeah and we need to in this field of product design or research, ultimately we're making something that we need to upsell, at the very end, even if it's to our boss and say yeah this is awesome, you know, and it's like, oh my gosh if we come to it from this place of fear, we're never going to sell it.  So I think it's easy to focus on the negatives for a lot of us, and we can't afford to do that in our field because we're always upselling our work. Katty: Yeah. Have you ever taken the StrengthsFinder assessment? Have you ever done that?  Jaime: No, I don't even know what that is. Katty: It's similar to a DISC or Myers-Briggs. But it focuses on your strengths. The reason I like it, we do it for our company and we talk about our strengths all the time. Its created by Don Clifton, and is now as part of Gallup and it's a personality assessment. The reason for him creating this was that he felt people focused on their weaknesses, and not on their strengths. The whole thing is about what are your top five strengths and let's lead with your strengths and not focus on a thing that is number 30 something for you, let's focus on the things that you're really good at and then find someone else who your bottom five is their top five and then collaborate. So it sounds like it's just human nature that we go there. If we could learn not to go there, it would be less, I think less of a headache for all of us. Katty: Crazy. So, I know you're teaching, you're doing online courses, you mentioned that you're doing a talk in Estonia. Are you doing that in person, are you doing that virtually? How are you managing your time and all the different places you need to be, or how did you manage your time and all the different places you need to be? Jaime: Yeah, I don't know how I'm managing my time right now yet. I'm still waiting to see where a bunch of things land. But the Estonia conference is the first onsite conference since COVID, since March of 2020. Well, basically there's very few conferences in the beginning of the year for the first quarter anyway.  So, anyway, it's Web Usability Day I think is their legacy name. But it's a one-day conference and then there's workshops, three days prior to it. It's in Estonia, it's very affordable, it's gonna bring in like a massive crowd of UX professionals. A lot of new ones but people mid-level and all over the place. And they're coming from Estonia, but they're also coming across the Baltic from Finland, and a couple of other Baltic states. So, I'm closing the conference, I guess I'm kind of headlining it, and then my workshop is one day right before that. So November 25th,iis my UX Strategy Workshop and then November 26th is the conference. It's a Thursday, Friday, so but I'll be in Berlin back in November, and then I'm doing a couple of talks, just private ones where I'm flying in. And then going back to Berlin and then I'm going to do this thing in Estonia.  I am so over this idea of more online workshops. I think they're a joke, sorry guys, but the whole point of conferences was to get people together physically in a space to network and touch base with other people and build relationships. And it seems I've done a bunch of these fake conferences, and it doesn't feel the same, they never pay and it's a joke. So I'm not into those anymore.  I'm really stoked that these people you know, the COVID cases are extremely low [in Estonia]. I've had my third vaccine. already so I'm totally going. I won't be taking too much risk but definitely, I'm really excited to be around humans and doing my thing. Katty: Yeah, humans, human connection. I'm traveling internationally for the first time since March of last year as well, and I'm going to Mexico and then to Dubai. But, I have to navigate the whole PCR test thing because I'm not going to be in the States for three days before I go so I got to figure that part out. Jaime: Yeah. It's a crazy time. I can't believe really what happened. How much the pandemic just changed everything, it's just, it's shocking. Katty: Are you seeing that in the world of products, are you seeing what's happened with a pandemic impact, whether it be design thinking or about how people are approaching research. I would imagine that it's changed how people are looking at how they go forward. Jaime: Yeah well, everything's online now. When I left Huge back in 2009, 2010. It was because I didn't want to drive in my car in rush hour to agency land in Culver City, and I didn't want to work in person, I wanted to work from home. So I've been working remote since 2010 and it's not new to me, and Cisco Systems when I worked for them as a UX strategist, everybody was a remote workforce. So finally, the rest of the world is catching up with us and learning that it is possible, and even outside of product so I think it's opening up opportunities in many ways. But, the negative consequence, and I felt this when I taught my last course at Claremont University, was that my students who were graduating, were just getting internships, but they're online.  At Facebook or wherever, and at any point in your life where you need human contact, and you need the nuance of someone kind of seeing that you're confused, and you need mentoring or you need to get the confidence to ask for help, we need that to be in person. I feel like the people that are getting the worst end of the deal is the college graduates, the people who are just starting their career who have to start it by themselves in Zoom rooms. Hopefully, there's going to be some way that it isn't just this experience of online collaboration, because I just feel even when I had my second or third cat life of getting into the UX world, I can't even imagine that I would have had the trust and camaraderie that I had with people at Schematic who came over and showed me how to wireframe when nobody was looking. So hopefully maybe there's some way that people can reach out and have people to connect with for that kind of support since they can't get it in person. Katty: The whole mentoring piece of it. Yeah, taking somebody under your wing. It's harder to do it this way. Yeah, you're absolutely right. I have some nieces and nephews who started their first year in college last year. You've worked really hard to get into the school of your choice, but you don't get a chance to really experience that. So now as a sophomore, they're getting to experience it for the first time because now some other classes are in person. So really interesting to kind of watch this new generation of those who are starting and those who are graduating, it's just a very different world, for sure. Jaime: Yeah it's crazy. It's really crazy and maybe five years from now we'll look back on that and go, Oh man, it was so great, why didn't we just do all that remote work and it was so easy. But it is weird, I just got off the phone with a client and he's just saying that he's not leaving the house and he doesn't want to get the vaccine because he almost died from a vaccine from something else a long time ago, so he's just like staying in his house for his whole life. And I just, I feel in our field where we're designing products for customers and users, it's like, “Nah, we need to have human contact and get out there.” When I'm feeling really low, I reach out to a friend and I have to dump, and say “Ugh”, and have them tell me. I just hope we don't lose everything as a result of this, online world that we live in now. Katty: I don't think so. I mean I certainly hope not. I do feel that there's a hybrid version of it that's going to be more pronounced. I mean we went to such an extreme this past year, I do think there's going to be a hybrid world in front of us. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but little by little I think we'll fall into place. Let's end on a couple of inspiration pieces. Where do you get your inspiration? Jaime: My inspiration now is probably-- I consume a lot of film. I like to have a big impact. I actually went to the movie theater, on Sunday, by myself, bought a ticket to go see Ich bin dein Mensch, I'm Your Man, a German film about a man robot who was built to learn on what a woman wants and then they program him to be the perfect partner. It was amusing, to walk into it, to have it open up and see all of Mitte Berlin and see the TV tower and see the food and see inside the flat. I miss Berlin so much right now, I felt like when I got out of there  I had just gone to Berlin. It just reminded me of all these tiny little things. So I get a lot of inspiration from being able to transport myself into different realities physically and through film, and right now, traveling is limited,but I definitely get my inspiration from seeing other cultures, other ways to live.  I lived in Berlin for most of the pandemic, and it took months, but after being there and away from here for so many months it really-- when you experience other cultures, it makes you appreciate and also find things you don't like about your own culture. But I feel like having perspective is what inspires me. Katty: Love that, and for creativity to bloom, do you need that spark of inspiration for creativity to happen, or is there another thing you tap into when you sit down to write or to do another wireframe or to create, what would you tap into for that? Jaime: I don't know, I wish I could answer that. I don't know. I spend my days at the computer then I go and walk on a trail. It's extremely important for me to get out and walk in nature and I do that every day and I listen to the same 3 podcasts. The New York Times Day thing, The Berlin Briefing, and then Doug Rushkoff's Team Human And that stuff, while I'm like in nature and walking around listening to these podcasts, again, I guess I feel transported and I feel immersed. I think that when I leave the house, and when I come back, whether I'm jogging or listening to music and weird experimental atonal music that nobody would like unless they're into weird music. That helps me really reset the crazy stuff we're telling ourselves in our head or just like being in a mundane moment. I think sitting at a computer for more than four hours, not healthy for me.   Katty: I love that. Both for creativity and inspiration, it's not going to happen nine to five necessarily looking at a little screen. To be able to get out of this and just get other influences. I find nature so healing in so many ways and my ideation just goes off the roof when I'm out and about. Jaime: Where do you go, where do you get your nature?  Katty: My favorite place is Point Doom in Malibu. It's a very easy little hike, but you are at eye level of the pelicans flying by. It's just the most incredible sensation sitting there and you see these majestic birds flying right at your eye level. So whenever I can, whether it's a birthday or an anniversary or something special, that's where I like to go.    Jaime: Nice. Yeah.   Katty: Well Jamie where can people find you?   Jaime: People can find me on LinkedIn, @Jaimerlevy. I'm on Twitter, I'm not tweeting so much. I was told I need to get on Instagram but I'm like, “What?”. And then Jaimelevy.com and then the book userexperiencestrategy.com. I'd love to just mention if people don't like to go walk in nature. I recorded my audible book at this great studio in the valley, where I grew up, and it's me reading my book and doing some impressions of myself, and it's a lot of stories and so far the reviews have been really favorable. And so if you're not a big reader like me I hate it, I don't really like reading. I can read an article but long-format, not so good. Check out my audible book if you're not sure go to userexperiencestrategy.com and listen to the first two chapters and try it on. But I'm really excited about the audible, you know for my book I self-produced it, paid for it, and it's mine. So that was important to me, you know.      

Amy Rowlinson shares her reflections with actions from these recent podcast episodes:   221 Power of Vision with Carey Conley & Laurel Wilson 222 Future of Speaking with Maria Franzoni 223 The Gift of Conflict with Jo Berry 224 Being Human with Gary Hosey 225 Moments of Truth with Steve Catchick   KEY TAKEAWAY “Remember where you are and who you are today is as a result of who you were and where you came from yesterday. Who you choose to be and where you choose to go depends on you right now in this moment.”   BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS* Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill - https://amzn.to/3ChVPWk Loving What Is by Byron Katie -  https://amzn.to/2X6UXW7 The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga - https://amzn.to/2X43Xe5   The Courage to be Happy by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga - https://amzn.to/3DXJkRW Strengthsfinder 2.0 from Gallup and Tom Rath by Don Clifton - https://amzn.to/3qpQ3Qk     ABOUT THE HOST - AMY ROWLINSON Amy is a Life Purpose Coach, Podcast Strategist, Top 1% Global Podcaster, Speaker, Mastermind Host and Property Investor. Through coaching and workshops, Amy works with businesses to Focus on WHY to create people-centred environments, by improving productivity and employee engagement by focusing on fulfilment, values and purpose.   WORK WITH AMY Amy inspires and empowers entrepreneurial clients to discover the life they dream of by assisting them to make it their reality through their own action taking. Helping them to focus on their WHY with clarity uniting their passion and purpose with a plan to create the life they truly desire. If you would like Amy to help you to launch your podcast or to focus on your WHY then please book a free 20 min call via www.calendly.com/amyrowlinson/enquirycall KEEP IN TOUCH WITH AMY Sign up for the weekly Friday Focus - https://www.amyrowlinson.com/subscribe-to-weekly-newsletter   CONNECT WITH AMY https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyrowlinson/ https://www.instagram.com/focusonwhy/  https://www.instagram.com/amy.rowlinson/ https://www.facebook.com/RowlinsonAmy/ https://www.facebook.com/focusonwhy/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/focusonwhy/ https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@amyrowlinson   HOSTED BY: Amy Rowlinson   DISCLAIMER The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.  *As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

026. Ellie McKinney of Ellie McKinney Photography is a destination wedding photographer and educator who offers mentorship for photographers and business owners. Since 2011, Ellie has strategically planned, set goals, and worked tirelessly to create a successful, profitable six-figure business where she is able to serve her clients well AND sit down at a table for dinner with her family every night.  In this week's episode of “Priority Pursuit,” Ellie shares insights and offers practical steps to help you to create a six-figure business and live the life you love by discussing the following topics:  What does it mean to make six-figures & why does it matter? How do you get started creating a six-figure business?  Decide if creating a six-figure business is what's best for you. You can find a more detailed version of this episode's show notes at: https://victoriarayburnphotography.com/ Mentioned Links & Resources Ellie McKinney Photography  - https://elliemckinney.com/ Find Ellie on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/elliemckinneyphotography Find Ellie on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/EllieMcKinneyPhotography/ Find Ellie on Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/elliemckinneyphotography/boards/ Facebook Community for Photographers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/189357975311908 “Episode 011: How to Build Your Team as a Creative Entrepreneur with Jessie Roseberry” https://victoriarayburnphotography.com/build-your-team-as-a-creative-entrepreneur-jessie-roseberry/ Sprout Studio - https://getsproutstudio.com/ Canva - https://www.canva.com/ Bitcoin - https://www.bitcoin.com/ Pixieset - https://pixieset.com/ Strengths Finder 2.0 by Don Clifton: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=strength+finder+2.0+book&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_2  Receive 50% Off Your First Order with Photographer's Edit - http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/pe/  Save 50% on Your First Six Months of Quickbooks Self-Employed - http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/quickbooks/  Receive $20 Off Your First Pair of Rothy's - http://victoriarayburnphotography.com/rothys Join the Priority Pursuit Podcast Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/179106264013426 

In this latest episode, Kristen reviews:The Forever Transaction by Robbie Kellman BaxterThis book discusses different ways businesses can approach subscription models. Though it may not be focused only on Customer Success, there is a lot of useful information in there!Next month, Kristen will review Now, Discover Your Strengths by Don Clifton. The new episode will be available on October 7th, 2021.While she has some books in mind for the rest of the season, she'd love suggestions as well. Email kristen@thesuccessleague.io with any questions or ideas. As always, thanks for listening!

This is the final episode from My Favorite Things series. I hope you all have enjoyed getting to know a little about my habits, my lifestyle, and the things that really give me life!We are talking all about STRENGTHS today!The global strengths movement started six decades ago when Don Clifton posed a simple question:"What would happen if we studied what was right with people versus what's wrong with people?"With a life mission to help others after WW2, As he was researching on how to help people, he realized that all of the psychology books he could find were about what is wrong with people -- he couldn't find a single one about what might be right with people.Don spent the rest of his life researching and inventing ways to help people maximize their infinite potential. To understand not only who they are, but who they can become.From this, the Clifton Strengths Assessment was born. Gallup (think gallup polls) partnered with Don Clifton's organization a super scientific, mathematical way to assess how someone's strengths can be determined. It looks at your preferences, your natural abilities, and the things you are innately good at. Since then, over 25 million people have taken the test. They have found that in the 25 million + people who have taken this assessment, that people who focus on their strengths- what is RIGHT about hem… instead of weaknesses- or what is wrong with them… Are 6x as likely to be engaged intheir job6x as likely to strongly agree with the statement that they have the opportunity to do what they do best every single day3x as likely to report having an excellent quality of lifeThey have more confidence, are more likely to achieve goals, report higher energy, better sleep, feelings of happiness and joy, as well as the laugh and smile more.They also state that they worry less, have less stress, less anger, less sadness, and less physical pain.There are 34 strengths total. They fit into 4 domains.Executing StrengthsInfluencing StrengthsRelationship Building StrengthsStrategic Thinking Strengths RESOURCES:Strengths Finder 2.0 Book (with code inside)https://amzn.to/3yuVU7fGallup Apphttps://apps.apple.com/us/app/gallup-access/id1011970469Strengths Coaching Grouphttps://unleash-your-strengths.mn.co/share/k_AYt-91D1JJRz3YSee you next time!XOXOKourt

What strengthens you?  Are you able to do that most of the time at work or in your personal life? What do you think of when you hear the word “productivity”? Some might think it means being busy.  And if it only means busy and not what strengthens you, this will lead to stress, overwhelm, and burnout.  Productivity is accomplishing those goals that strengthen you and are meaningful.  Enjoying the quality of life you want, having meaningful relationships, and doing things that feed your soul. References in this podcast: Marcus Buckingham & Don Clifton, Now Discover Your StrengthsDamon Zahariades, The 5-Minute Productivity Hack That Will Revolutionize Your WorkdayGet my book: Minding Your Time: Time Management, Productivity, and Success, Especially for IntrovertsContact the host of Quiet and Strong :David HallAuthor, Speaker, Educator, Podcasterquietandstrong.comGobio.link/quietandstrongdavid@quietandstrong.comTwitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedInTake the FREE Personality Assessment:Typefinder Personality AssessmentYou may also like:Quiet & Strong Merchandise

This episode features Grant Gregory, the retired chairman of Deloitte & Touche and founder of DoubleClick. In his Tugboat Institute® talk, Grant describes how Don Clifton, his longtime mentor and the creator of StrengthsFinder, taught him the principles of positive psychology and the practice of strengths-based leadership that allowed him to expertly recruit and develop talent across complex organizations. Listen in and learn how to find, engage and cultivate employees that will thrive and excel in your business.

“The excitement of what my next 20 years will be like is what fuels me everyday” - Denielle FinkelsteinIn this episode host Portia Mount talks to Denielle Finkelstein, entrepreneur and co-founder of The Organic Project. A startup focused on providing women and girls with organic, eco-friendly period products. They dig into the most important lessons Denielle learned as a corporate executive working with some of the world's largest retail fashion brands, and what ultimately led her to leave corporate America to co-found a startup and become a champion for destigmatizing how we talk about periods. Have a question or comment? Email us at themanifista@gmail.com.Resources Mentioned https://toporganicproject.com/The Organic Project on IG (link)More on Period Poverty (Global Citizen, Period.org) Strengthsfinder by Don Clifton (link)Becoming by Michelle Obama (link)Five Minute Journal (link)Unicorn Headband similar to Denielle's although we did not find the exact same one (link)

Die Sendung 29 im Überblick 00:00 SHOW INTRO Florian Städtler 03:02 Don Clifton und die Clifton Strengths 04:07 Die fünf Coaches von 3C3 07:45 Was ist eigentlich Coaching? 09:36 Persönlichkeitsmodelle und -tests 10:52 Was die Clifton Strengths so attraktiv macht 12:17 Begriffsklärung: Talent, Können, Stärken, Kompetenzen 14:47 Wer oder was ist Persönlichkeit? 15:58 Positive Psychologie: “Schönwetter-Coaching”? 21:01 Und was ist mit den Schwächen? 22:52 Wenn es hilft, ist es sinnvoll? 24:26 Nutzen in der Arbeitswelt und für Unternehmen 26:09 Stärken stärken in der Krise 30:51 SHOW OUTRO Florian Städtler   Das Community Radio für Neue Arbeit und Wirtschaft Expedition Arbeit präsentiert sein Community Radio für Neue Arbeit und Neue Wirtschaft, moderiert von Florian Städtler. Jeden Montag erscheint dieser Podcast und präsentiert Nachrichten und Meinungen rund um Themen aus Arbeit und Wirtschaft. Die Inhalte kommen aus über zweihundert ausgewählten Quellen und von den Expedition Arbeit-Mitgliedern selbst. Immer mittwochs um 18 Uhr treffen wir uns in einer einstündigen Zoom-Online-Session und diskutieren die “These der Woche”. Mehr Informationen zur Mitgliedschaft findet Ihr unter intrinsify.de/mitglied-werden.  Wer als Mitglied oder Interessent:in auf dem Laufenden bleiben will, der ist herzlich in die LinkedIn-Gruppe "Expedition Arbeit" eingeladen. https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8998011/   Show Notes zur Sendung 29 Mitglied bei Expedition Arbeit werden? Hier geht's lang, bis die neue Expedition Arbeit-Website an den Start geht: https://intrinsify.de/mitglied-werden  Don Clifton, Wikipedia-Eintrag https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_O._Clifton  Clifton Strengths Assessment - Angebot auf der Seite von Gallup https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/de/253688/CliftonStrengths-Funktionsweise.aspx  3C3 Coaching-Netzwerk https://www.3c-3.com/de  Annette Ott bei LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/annette-ott-9a2b2b19b/  Carmen Brucker bei LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-brucker-42110021/  Kirsten Laasner bei XING https://www.xing.com/profile/Kirsten_Laasner/cv  Sabine Baumann bei LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabine-baumann-398383192/  Sherif El-Henaoui bei LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/helping-successful-professionals-rediscovering-themselves/  Coaching, Wikipedia-Eintrag https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaching  “Persönlichkeitsmodelle und Persönlichkeitstest”, Buch, Herausgeber Walter Simon, 2006  https://www.amazon.de/dp/3897496364/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_PJ6M3FDMX0X09NAQCW5P Die Gallup-Studie (US Employee Engagement Trend in 2020) https://www.gallup.com/workplace/313313/historic-drop-employee-engagement-follows-record-rise.aspx   Positive Psychologie, Wikipedia-Eintrag https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_Psychologie  Persönlichkeitstheorie, Wikipedia-Eintrag https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pers%C3%B6nlichkeitstheorie    Allgemeine Links zu Expedition Arbeit Ideen, Anregungen und Kritisches an die Redaktion: florian@expedition-arbeit.de  Expedition Arbeit-Mitglied werden www.intrinsify.de/mitglied-werden Expedition Arbeit - Offene LinkedIn-Gruppe https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8998011/ Community Management und Host Community Radio: Florian Städtler bei LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/fstaedtler/  Redaktionsleitung: Wolfgang Pfeifer https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolfgangpfeifer/  Sprecherin Zwischenmoderationen: Stefanie Mrachacz https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanie-mrachacz-436392112/  Schnitt und Mix: Yannik Mattes https://www.linkedin.com/in/yannik-mattes-9b0993206/  work-X Festival https://work-x-festival.de/  Aktion "Von der Uni in die Zukunft der Arbeit - die Projekt-Skizze (bitte ggf. aktuellste Version nutzen!) findet Ihr ebenfalls sowohl in der LinkedIn-Gruppe als auch bei Yammer (dort gibt's eine Gruppe zum Thema, siehe nächster Bullet Point) und in der LinkedIn-Gruppe; dort wird auch immer wieder aktuell über die Aktivitäten von, mit und für Student:innen berichtet Yammer-Gruppe "intrinsify für Studenten" https://www.yammer.com/intrinsify.me/#/threads/inGroup?type=in_group&feedId=11640286&view=all Die Musik und SFX (Sound-Effekte) in allen Sendungen stammen von der Plattform www.audiio.com bzw. von Florian Städtler

What happens if we focus on our strengths and the things we are good at instead of honing in on where we struggle? Don Clifton asked this question and developed what is now CliftonStrengths. My guest Whitney Kinne, Strengths and Career Coach, dives into how our strengths can be our superpower in our professional and personal lives. Whitney describes that strengths help start to define what those themes mean to us as individuals. Working with a coach can help go through this process in a workshop can be helpful to gain more understanding of your strengths and what role they play. She starts with brainstorming examples of when you have seen their signature themes show up in their lives. Many of Whitney's clients have also seen the value in strengths play a role in career changes. They determine they need to redefine and find their purpose and work toward understanding their strengths as a launching point. So, whether your strength is WOO (winning others over), authenticity or harmony, you can embrace your superpower, intentionally put it to use and grow as your best self. To connect with Whitney, you can find her on LinkedIn or check out her website at https://www.whitneykinne.com/. She will help you lean into your strengths. Don't forget to connect with me on Clubhouse to join in the follow-up discussion with my guests and other experts on the topics highlighted each week. You'll find me at @StacyMayonez. Exciting new offerings are coming down the pike; signup for my new newsletter to stay in the know at https://connectchangechallenge.com/newsletter.

Don't I have to work on my weaknesses?  You just need to try harder!  Why is this so hard for me?  These are all of the things we hear all the time! Don Clifton had another idea - focus on your strengths and manage your weakness to perform at a top level!  Hear the Top 4 tips to manage the weaker areas so you can still accomplish all you want in business and life but do it with authentic joy!      ____________________________________________________________________________ SHOW NOTES:  Have questions or comments about today's show?   Let’s Connect!! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheri.miter Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/sherimiter/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherimiter/  Email: sheri@sherimiterco.com       Website: www.sherimiterco.com        Gallup®, Clifton StrengthsFinder®, StrengthsFinder®, the 34 Clifton StrengthsFinder® theme names, and the 10 Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder® theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc.

Team Questions and Active Listening Impact Strengths Based Conversations      At Lead Through Strengths, our StrengthsFinder events are designed to help you dial deep into your strengths so you can understand yourself better and strengthen team performance. What better way to launch this goal into action than through meaningful activities and strengths based conversations that are grounded in your natural talents! But how do you keep the value of these conversations when your reality hits? Maybe these conversations feel weird to you over Zoom or MS teams. Maybe you don't know where to start, and you feel a little too woo-woo kicking off strengths based conversations when you're usually the person who gets right to business. Or maybe you prefer to leave the CliftonStrengths kickoff to the experts, so you're waiting for that to happen. In yet another idea-rich episode, Lisa Cummings and co-host Joseph Dworak will take you through fun and engaging ways you can create strengths based conversations, whether in full-length or “bite-sized” sessions, in-person or virtual. Even the popular online game World of Warcraft was an important part of their conversation, so join in. Lisa: You're listening to Lead Through Strengths, where you'll learn to apply your greatest strengths at work. I'm your host, Lisa Cummings, also joined by your other host this week, Joseph Dworak (claps and cheers). Joseph: Hello, hello. Lisa: We're going to talk to you about Strengthsfinder activities and strengths based conversations that help you go deeper as a team over time. Now, of course, in your ideal world, you hire Joseph to come in. He's your facilitator that you request. It's easy, because he has a bag of great tricks, because he's been doing CliftonStrengths for 20 years.  But sometimes people come to us and say, “Oh, gosh, you know, I don't have the budget right now, but I can buy everyone a StrengthsFinder 2.0 book.” So Joseph, if we were going to share some of our favorite kinds of things that might give someone a path to have solid strengths based conversations, what are some of your favorites? Joseph: Yeah, I have to give credit to Chip Anderson, who was one of the founders of the StrengthsFinder movement with Don Clifton back in the day. I saw him do this in 2001... I just started going through my own strengths and I was at a retreat with a bunch of USC and UCLA students that we were with, and I was kind of getting into their groove and Chip Anderson had everyone take our glasses. And he did this whole thing about strengths being the lenses that you see the world through, and we all have unique glasses.  And so then he had people divide up into the four quadrants, so people who have strategizing themes over here, and people who have Influencing things over here, and people who have Relating themes and so on. And then he would have a little bit like what you and I talked about before with a strengths mixer, where he would say, “What's the strength that you really like of your Top 5 and talk about it.”  The other person has to actively listen for a minute and the other person can't interrupt. They actually have to actively listen, which is his own skill in this day and age. And they would talk back and forth. And he would do that for two hours. And he would just, "All right, switch partners. Okay, what's the strength that gets in your way sometimes, and why? “What's the strength that fits you best, and why? “What strengths combinations do you see working together?” And he would just keep rotating and rotating and rotating. And I took that one. And when I became a strengths facilitator about a year later, I'd be some version of that for, as you mentioned, 20 years now. And that's a great way where it's one-on-one, because some people do well in the group setting, some people do well one-on-one... Some people will do well just reading the StrengthsFinder book on their own and doing it. But that strengths mixer, that's what came to mind when you asked that question about a good strengths based conversation to get a team started. Lisa: I love that. One idea that I used recently for Zoom meetings, courtesy of Charlotte Blair — thank you, Charlotte — she had this idea of renaming yourself in Zoom with your talent themes. So say, for example, I renamed myself Lisa - Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity, Individualization, Woo, (do as much as you can fit). You might have to truncate a little bit, so it helps to leave your surname off. That works great, because as you're in chat, you can have conversations about your activities. As you kick off these strengths based conversations, you start to see people's answers. And because that's the name label, you can see how that strength showed up and colored their answer.  For breakout room purposes, what I've been thinking about doing is: if you want someone in that mixer idea to be able to go in the same breakout room, then you pick a strength where you'd like to be matched up with somebody. You'd have to have a pretty large room. I would imagine it to be a 200-person kind of event for this to work. But let's say you want to find all the other people who lead through Learner. So you rename yourself Lisa - Learner, or I think you'd have to put Learner first so that'd be alphabetized: Learner - Lisa.  And then the person who's facilitating could use those to make the breakout rooms because then you could quickly grab anyone who is listed by Learner first, and it would be in order.  So I think it could be done. And if you had the team's reports in advance, and you wanted to pre-place people in breakout rooms, you can do that in technology. Pre-set-up your breakout rooms. Bite-Sized Activities: Keep The Strengths Based Conversations Short But Engaging Joseph: Yeah, and just a take-off on what you talked about where you have the common strengths: there's also the activity that I've done over the years where you have a certain amount of time and you have to find people who have strengths that you don't have. You ask them: What is that strength? How do you use it? What good is it for you? Maybe it's a strength that you're like, “Well, how is that even a strength?” But you can do the same in breakouts. You can even just be with 5 or 6 people and say, “Okay, I have these strengths. You have these strengths. I don't have Connectedness. Let's talk about that one. And how's that strength strong for you?”  So that was an old Gallup activity from way back, probably when I first started, and I think you could do that in a virtual setting as well.  Lisa: Yeah! There's one that I used to use in in-person events. Let's see. I would use this. It's like the spin-the-wheel sort of thing, where I would have the team brainstorm some challenges or questions that they're going through. And then you list the challenges as all the options, and then you can spin the wheel. And then you have to get into groups and really quickly say, “Alright, which strength could you lean on to solve for that issue? And how would it help you get through the challenge?”  And so to translate it in a virtual environment, there are actually spin-the-wheel apps, so you can share your iPad on screen, or whatever device and have the spin-the-wheel going and replicated in a virtual. Let's use this to kind of take the arc towards something that you said to me in the past, which was, that you've been really thinking a lot about how to introduce this stuff to your team in bite-sized pieces. You want to have strengths based conversations, but you don't have time for an hour long meeting every week. As we were just talking, I was thinking, “Yeah, we're stuck in an old-world thinking of what training activities are. We matched them to a time when we had 4 hours to spend together in person in a room.”  And if that's not our reality, and we need to get down with the new plan, which is, “Hey, bite-sized! What can we do when we have 5 minutes to do strengths together and it's remote?”  So what are some of the strengths based conversations you're having in that bite-size? Joseph: Yeah. That takes me way back to when I was working with some different collegiate teams. I remember I had a great partner-client, University of Maryland. I had the pleasure of working with a couple groups there. And they would always ask that question, because they were bringing me in more than once a year, which was great. But then they wanted to know: how could they keep the strengths based conversations going?  I would often give them 50 strengths based questions. They would typically choose one to use at team meetings. Ask just one question, and have everyone give a 30-second answer. So it might be 10 minutes, but they didn't need to be the expert StrengthsFinder facilitator just to ask those strengths based questions.   And one of those questions a lot of times would be, “Where have you seen a teammate’s strength that works in the last week or 2? Give an example of that.”  “Oh, I saw your Empathy here, and you did this there.”  And so those can be really short and sweet and keep people engaged. But I just think about that for how clients could keep the conversation alive, post the engagement of strengths. Lisa: Yeah, that's a big one - remembering to keep the strengths based conversations going after your CliftonStrengths kickoff meeting. It's reminded me of something that just popped in my head, facilitating last week on Microsoft Teams, where I said, “Post a GIF that demonstrates how your strengths are serving you this week.” That is a fun one. It gets the team energized, and it takes about 2 minutes. And if somebody posts some random thing, like a guy sliding on a banana, and you say, “Hey, Sally, tell us more about that one.” And then when she explains it, that becomes the piece that you expand. So you get a bunch of funny ones, but then you also got that one little deep strengths snippet that opened it up for that person. Joseph: Yeah, and, and that stuff is happening in instant messages between people anyway, so, bringing that out into the meeting is fantastic. And I think the image piece on that is so powerful, too. Because, for those who are visual learners, it can click in a different way than listening to you or I talk about the strength, or even the teammates talking about it to think, “Oh, I see that. I get that.”  And that's something we tried to do over the years, is get into the image. We'd ask, "what image would you think of with your strengths?" And then you combine that with narrative and you combine that with experience. That's where you start getting more powerful and it gets deeper and it sinks. It's where the fun really starts. Virtual Meetings: The Creative Ways You Can Strike Up Strengths Based Conversations Lisa: Oh, I think you just brought up something else just by virtue of talking about what we used to do. So if you think about the old activity where we'd bring in an image, (select the picture that best represents your strengths) as you're getting started, if you actually said, “Everybody on the team is going to be on a camera, and go around your house for just a minute and find something that represents your themes to you.”  And then people come back with props where you have the real-life object where I'm holding a pig that's flying, and I'm talking about how that seems like my Maximizer because somebody else may have thought, “When pigs fly, we’ll do that.” But I can see the quality steps from here to there, and the description of it makes it all come to light. Joseph: Well, what's interesting, you just reminded me, I have a friend who leads a faith community in north of San Francisco and he was talking about how they've been doing all virtual church for Covid times, and there's been a lot of debates saying, “We want to get back in person..." and all of this....that's a whole different conversation... But he was saying that they've actually connected more with their congregants more than ever because people are actually doing that, whether they're walking around their house and they're in their house where they were used to be in church together.  And now they do time of sharing and they can see what's going on in the person's house. So it's interesting. It's not even a fully-formed thought. But what you were just saying is really important. And then people are opening their houses up to connection. And that's a whole different level. So I'm still thinking about that one. But that's really powerful to have people walk around and kind of show that imagery piece. Lisa: Well, the lesson I'm taking away from what you just said is, many of us who facilitated in-person for years, our first thought is, “Okay, I had all of these great exercises that I did in person, can I retrofit that into a virtual environment?” And it may or may not work to translate old activities into a new environment. Instead, why not take the thing that seems like a disadvantage and turn it into something you only get when you're remote and you only get when people are in their own comfortable environment?  Or the things that maybe in the past we joked around about seeing moving boxes in the back, because it's your real life. You just moved. So now we have a conversation piece. Oh, where did you move? Are you still in Denver? Did you get closer to the mountains? I have 100 questions I could ask you prompted by the U-haul box that I never would have seen if we were in the office. So I think going native for the platform and letting it create a new set of activities, conversations, the way that we're thinking - even the cadence getting down to the small bits instead of, “Don't torture people with the full-day on virtual trying to do one CliftonStrengths workshop for six or eight hours virtual. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.” Joseph: And yeah, so interesting. And the thing that you made me think of was, I remember a number of years ago, and I think this game still exists, the game, the online game World of Warcraft. So you're a character, and to get things done, you typically have to work with other people as a character in this game. At some point, I read an article in, Harvard Business Review and that said, “If you can do well in a World of Warcraft, you can lead the teams of the future, because you're able to get people.”  And it was people who you have no rank on. It might be a 12-year old and a 40-year old playing at the same time, and you don't know who people are. And you have to get these people on, online, to work together. Wow, I hadn't thought about that till right now, but how prescient, based on where we are now, because now we're fully into that. We're fully virtual, and that in some ways those massively online games were 10 years ahead of what we would hit with Covid.  And it's even more true now in terms of how you lead with people. And how do you work with people? And how do you get up, especially in a flat organizational structure where you need to be collaborative. And certainly, the generations coming behind you and I, collaborations are just a given. It's different. It's not as hierarchical. I don’t like to be too “generation this is that” and others. But in general, they do prefer to be collaborative. So lots of good stuff here. Lots of stuff that tie in with strengths. Strengths help, so we use strengths. Lisa: Yeah, and I think even using the game example and relating it to workplaces that are complex, they're matrixed, they're global... You're on all different time zones, working with all different people in the organization at different levels in different departments and business units with different priorities... And if you can figure that out — and oh by the way CliftonStrengths, it gives you a lot of tools to figure out how to navigate that world — then, yeah, then you're on the right path to figuring out how to navigate work in the years ahead. Joseph: Who knew that online games would give us a glimpse of the future? Lisa: Yes, so if you're listening to this and you need a CliftonStrengths facilitator or a World of Warcraft... I just got it all wrong. What is it? Joseph: It's World of Warcraft.  Lisa: World of Warcraft. Okay, that's what I was about to say. But as the tongue twister was coming out, I was thinking I'm getting this wrong. Then, yeah, Joseph is your consultant. He's ready for you. Whether you need strengths based conversations or a World of Warcraft leader So be sure to go over to the leadthroughstrengths.com/contactus form and make the formal request that he'd be your facilitator. And he can bring some of these cool strengths conversations and activities to your team in bite-sized chunks, of course. With that, we'll leave you for now, and this has been Lead Through Strengths. Good luck to you as you claim your talents and share them with the world. Bye for now. Additional Resources To Help You Engage In Strengths Based Conversations  If you missed our previous episode with Joseph, First Step: Talking About Strengths To Get In The Zone, check it out as it articulates how talking about strengths beyond mere definitions results in quality interactions and higher productivity in their strengths.   The same idea is echoed by Adam Seaman in another episode when he said that relationships with a team are optimized better when you understand not only your strengths but their strengths as well. He offered the German word “umwelt” and the Freaky Friday concept, where you get to inhabit someone’s head and understand what they care about, how they make decisions, or deal with the world. In the world of strengths, this can obviously be activated when you get people talking about their strengths. Strengths based conversations also lessen the risk of missing people’s assumptions and expectations, which could be a source of conflict in the team. Here's a conversation guide that will help you prevent conflict. This one calls for an open conversation with each person on your team in a one-on-one meeting.

There are three types of abilities you can have. The first being strengths; these are assumed to come natural to an individual. Then there is; skills which are learned through training or experience. Lastly there is talent and talent is an innate ability that comes from a strong biological background. The difference between a strength and a talent is a talent is a strength passed down a generation or more. From a paper by Ryan M. Niemiec. He says most people are unaware of their strengths. So you have strengths, skills and talents. Let us concentrate on what strengths are and how to see them. Because they come easily, many people downplay their strengths. They often think oh everyone can do that. It is easy so there is nothing special about my ability to do it. The truth is it is special, it comes easily because it is a strength. There are many people that it doesn't come easy to. If you had to work at it then it is a skill. You might be here because you do not have a strong understanding of your strengths, skills and talents. Strengths do need to be practiced to remain strong, they can be lost if not used. Strengths reflect people's individuality, their true core, and allow them to be their best selves. According to Don Clifton there are four themes that strength can be divided into. Strategic thinking the first would be things like analytical, context, futuristic thinking or strategic thinking. To name a few. Next is relationship building; things like connectedness, empathy, positivity, or realtor are some of the different relationship building strengths you can have. Then there is Influencing; which includes things like competition, maximizer, communicator, and self assurance. Lastly there is executing; and people can have strengths like achiever, arranger, consistency, and focus. So it is important to know and concentrate on our strengths. So to get started and zeroing in on your strengths you can ask 5 people that you know and trust (the last part is important, they need to be those you can trust to provide the info that you are seeking) it is important that they are trustworthy in giving you truthfully their thoughts on your strengths. This feedback can help you in discovering your strengths. After you get all five lists you want to compile them. Find out which overlap. Then you can hone in on your ideas as to what your strengths are. You can also look at what you want to spend your time doing each day. You will find that you spend more time on things you like and are good at. You likely will gravitate to things that you are good at. Once you find your strengths it is important to spend time on things that fit them. This means saying no and subtracting out things that do not fit your strengths like we talked about in episode 175. Double down and learn more about your strengths and how to implement them. Find skills that you can add that will increase your abilities with your strengths. Push your strengths and your comfort zone. Branch out to find new skills to upgrade your strengths. Please subscribe to this podcast and leave a rating and review, to help others find this podcast. Also join the Facebook group. Here is the spot to click and set up a time so we can discuss how you can use these tools and others to get your amazing life! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/youramazinglife/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/youramazinglife/support

En este episodio Natalia nos habla de la importancia de conocer nuestras fuerzas. Este es el 1o episodio de una serie donde nos da a conocer la investigación y trabajo del psicólogo Don Clifton, considerado como el padre de la psicología basada en las fortalezas y el abuelo de la psicología positiva.

Does your team need training and coaching to help people find a fit, alignment, productivity and clarity to exceed their potential? Do you feel like you were made for more? Are you ready to take your team's communication up another gear?Then you might need Bert Robinson, President at Inpowering People.“I do coaching and consulting with my company Inpowering People. I'm in Firestone, Colorado, out in the Rocky Mountains, and have been doing this for over 12 years now. And basically, when I'm at my best, I inspire and align people to be their creative best.”Twelve years ago, Bert had an epiphany relating to the notion of positive psychology - if you can harness the talents and the job you're in, and those two things come together. You'll never work another day in your life.Bert and his team help people and businesses discover their untapped talents and potential, building them into performance that achieves tremendous success professionally and personally. In this genuinely insightful episode, Bert talks about CliftonStrengths, how to help an executive team develop the language to have difficult conversations and the positive elements of strengths. We rattled on for a bit, so the episode is a bit longer than usual, but we thoroughly enjoyed the conversation; we hope you will too. On today's podcast:The Inpowering People toolsetFinding your strengths with CliftonStrengthsUnderstanding your top five talent themesWe all think differentlyLearning to ask for helpInpowerULinks:Listeners discount

Can you motivate?  Yes or no?  Do you consider this part of  your role as a manager?Question 2:  Why don't employees perform? Many times I hear….lack of training, tools, knowledge, lack of engagement, , unclear goals, personal issues, lack direction, no feedback …..and…they don't care, they lack purpose, they're lazy.  Ugh.  But if you can motivate them, and that's your job.  What's the disconnect?  Why would there be people who are unmotivated if we can motivate them?The reality is that people are already motivated.  They may not, however, be motivated to what you want them to do.  Your job is to create an environment in which others are motivated to perform at their best.  Bring out their motivation, their energy.How?  What are all the ways you can motivate? And do you know the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators?Extrinsic motivators are from outside of you, intrinsic motivators are from within you.  One is about what I receive after I complete a task, which may be expected or unexpected.  The other is about the experience while I'm completing the task.  Which is more common?  = ExtrinsicMore sustainable? = IntrinsicMore difficult to execute?   IntrinsicWhile we can't change who people are, what we can do is help them to discover their intrinsic motivators. And also connect or align intrinsic motivators with things that maybe we enjoy less.Here are 4 ways to begin to understand intrinsic motivation:Take a strengths assessment:  See, Discover Your Strengths, by Don Clifton (from Gallup)Explore a work based personality assessments:  DiSC assessments have a version for managers, individual contributors and leaders which have a behavioral focus and are excellent tools about our energy (and what drains us!)Consider the Individual Dimensions Inventory:   this is an assessment tool from Management Research Group, and focuses on the emotional satisfaction we get from work related dimensions (I am also certified on this tool and can also get you more information if you are interested)Take a values inventory:  learn your core beliefs; are they aligned with what you are doing?  The Values Institute on Character offers a freebie:  The VIA Survey: 31 Ways to Recognize Your Strengths and Act on Them (positivepsychology.com)Planting some leadership seeds:Understand various types of motivators; get to know your employees and their preferences for both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators.Use extrinsic strategically:  be thoughtful, reinforce specifics, point out what you want more of from others around you.Do a wellness check up on you:  choose one of the 4 ways to identify motivators, discover something new about yourself—where are you aligned in being intrinsically motivated, where are you not in alignment?Take action, one small step to strengthen the motivational environment for you, for your team.Learn about goal setting AND the link to motivation....AND strengthen your leadership!   https://www.intentionaleaderscourses.com/confident-leader

Candace's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are: STRATEGIC, LEARNER, CONNECTEDNESS, INPUT & LEARNER Candace Fitzpatrick is founder and Chief Executive Officer of CoreClarity, Inc., a company focused on uncovering the core competencies of individuals, teams and organizations. In addition to developing and delivering learning programs to identify and maximize the innate talents and strengths of the participants, she works with organizational leadership to not only promote, but also enable, cultural change from the top down and the grassroots level up.CoreClarity has been on the forefront of the strengths revolution that was boldly declared in 2001 by Marcus Buckingham and Don Clifton in their best-selling book, Now, Discover Your Strengths. A budding rocket scientist turned Thought Rocket, who has expanded the understanding and teaching of the results of the CliftonStrengths® assessment, Candace has personally worked with thousands of individuals and hundreds of teams to help them articulate their unique value proposition. Clients include Southwest Airlines, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Instruments, the FAA, Duke Energy and Southern Methodist University, among others.A lifelong learner, Candace earned an MBA with honors from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and a BA in Physics from Texas A&M University. She is a trained mediator and was a licensed real estate broker in Texas for over 25 years. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, has earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation and has served on her local chapter board.Candace is married and currently lives in Plano, Texas. She enjoys nature, photography, reading, traveling, computers, and bicycling. One of her goals is to visit a country for every year of life she spends on the planet.Early in her career, Candace made a conscious decision that work should be fun. When a friend challenged her to distill the essence of her passion into five words or less, she responded (after two weeks of contemplation and soul searching) with: I turn dreams into reality. Today she is having fun helping others turn their dreams into reality – and in turn is realizing her own.In this episode Candace shares her journey of discovering and developing her own strengths.  Her passion and knowledge of the uniqueness of each individual is captivating!  

Grab a notebook and settle in—you’re going to want to take notes from this week’s episode of Beyond Influential. I’m excited to welcome back my friend and returning Beyond Influential guest, Mikhail Alfon, for a candid and wide-ranging conversation full of valuable insights you won’t want to miss. Mikhail is the Orange County-based entrepreneur behind the rapidly-growing marketing agency Blue Light Media, and host of the podcast Oversharing with Mikhail Alfon.  As an entrepreneur, it’s important to have others you can count on to truly be there without expectation, and I know I can always rely on Mikhail to operate with integrity.  I usually do a good amount of prep work when it comes to interviews, but this week’s episode was a completely behind-the-scenes, real-life catch up session. I really can’t stress enough how much value is in this episode.  We chat about the evolution of Mikhail’s business since our last episode, his popular Instagram hashtag #EarnYourSunrise, and have a really honest and in-depth conversation about our respective takes on team-building, hiring, company culture, content creation, podcasting, setting high standards in your business, and more!  This Beyond Influential is basically a private conversation we are releasing publicly about the important topics affecting our businesses in real time.   Book Recommendation Strengthsfinder 2.0 has come up in multiple conversations I’ve had with successful business owners recently. I’ve personally found this book very helpful, not only from a self-awareness perspective, but also for hiring the right team members for the right roles.* https://www.amazon.com/dp/159562015X/?ref=exp_brittanykrystle_dp_vv_d   Don't want to miss an episode (or valuable free resources!)? Get on my list here: https://www.brittanykrystle.com/subscribe Want to support the podcast (for Free!)? Leaving a review on Apple Podcasts goes a long way: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-influential/id1264581842 Tag me on Instagram @brittanykrystle with your favorite takeaways from this episode! https://www.instagram.com/brittanykrystle/ Other Helpful Links: Grab your copy of Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Don Clifton* https://www.amazon.com/dp/159562015X/?ref=exp_brittanykrystle_dp_vv_d Interested in starting a podcast? Read my blog post How to Start a Podcast: From Idea to Launch in 2020 (and check out my recommended podcast equipment): https://www.brittanykrystle.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/ Mikhail's Beyond Influential Episodes: #59 Mikhail Alfon on What It Really Takes to Start, Build, & Run a Digital Agency in 2019 (Part 2) https://www.brittanykrystle.com/59-mikhail-alfon-on-what-it-really-takes-to-start-build-run-a-digital-agency-in-2019-part-2/ #58 What It Really Takes to Start, Build, & Run a Digital Agency in 2019 with Mikhail Alfon (Part I) https://www.brittanykrystle.com/58-what-it-really-takes-to-start-build-run-a-digital-agency-in-2019-with-mikhail-alfon-part-i/ #55 The LinkedIn Laws & What’s Been Going On With Me https://www.brittanykrystle.com/55-the-linked-in-laws-and-whats-been-going-on-with-me-brittany-krystle/ #32 Brittany Krystle & Mikhail Alfon on Building a Personal Brand & Influencer Marketing The Right Way https://www.brittanykrystle.com/32-brittany-krystle-mihail-alfon-on-building-a-personal-brand-influencer-marketing-the-right-way/ To connect with Mikhail: Website: https://www.mikhailalfon.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miqk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/miqk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikhailalfon/ Snapchat: https://www.ghostcodes.com/miqk Oversharing with Mikhail Alfon: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/oversharing-with-mikhail-alfon/id1268846969 To connect with me, Brittany Krystle: Website: https://www.brittanykrystle.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittanykrystle/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/brittanykrystle/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanykrystle/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brittanykrystlexoxo/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brittanykrystle/   *Full disclosure: The link to the book is an affiliate link that take you to Amazon.com. I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) should you choose to purchase it. Thank you in advance (I appreciate you!) and please note that the prices change and vary over time due to Amazon marketplace changes.

Avi Liran is on a mission to delight the world; one person, one workplace, one community at a time. He was made in Tel Aviv in 1962 and came to Singapore in 1992 as the trade and tourism commissioner of Israel. He holds an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He is a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) who consults and trains leadership teams of top fortune 500 companies on how to cultivate delightful leadership that empowers a culture that delivers delight to the employees and customers. He was the Chief Marketing Officer of two software companies. As a diplomat and economist, he had initiated two funds between Israel and Singapore that now manage more than a billion dollars. As a VC strategist, he facilitated nine investments in startup companies in Israel for Singapore Telecom, which bought two companies in Israel for half a billion dollars. In the past decade, he has been researching values, welling, and appreciation. He is writing the Delivering Delight book that will be published next year after the book “First Time Leadership.” He is co-writing and researching now with Daniel Lee.   “There’s no half full or half empty. There is a glass issue to be grateful for, and there is an effort to go and fill the glass.” Avi Liran   Worst investment ever Putting his money where his mouth is Avi was working for Singapore telecom investing in Israel when he came across a startup company doing IP PBX over the internet. The company had the best technology at the time and was worth billions of dollars. Avi realized that the company was a goldmine and so he invested in it. Ego too big to say yes The company received an offer to sell for about $30 million; the CEO refused the offer. They got a second offer from Cisco. The proposal was much more than what the first company had offered. The CEO said no to Cisco, insisting that the company was going to be a billion-dollar company. Pride comes before a fall After the two offers, people in the company became arrogant. The CTO went to Boston simply because he decided he wants to go to Boston. Everyone was thinking about their own needs, and just because the company had the potential to make billions, people thought they had made it. The CEO kept refusing to sell while still operating with an air of arrogance. Then the dotcom crisis came, and the company evaporated. Unfortunately, Avi lost everything he had invested in that startup. Lessons learned People are the secret sauce to successful startups When investing in startups, remember that it’s all about the people and their ability to work together, put their ego at bay, and not be arrogant or cocky but be very prudent. Arrogance and lousy working relationships can kill any investment, especially startups. Company values are everything in a startup The most valuable companies have company values in place. If you don’t work on the company’s core values, people will stray from the company’s vision and goals. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses A common mistake that people make is to focus on correcting their weaknesses. You waste so much time trying to work on your flaws when you should be optimizing your strengths. Andrew’s takeaways Lead by example When it comes down to company values, it is the values that the company owners and the managers convey to their workforce that ultimately become the company values. So be what you want your workforce to be. Partner with the right people Think about what you need to be successful. Then find the people with what you need and be friends with them. You don’t have to become them, use the energy, and share your strengths with them. Actionable advice Lead with your values even when you have to make difficult decisions. Values are what you do when nobody is watching. A company with values has the greatest potential to be successful. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Avi’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to finish his book Procrastinating by Definition. He also wants to be a better mate, a better listener, and be more empathetic. Parting words   “Let’s continue empowering women so that they can start earlier and be successful in their careers.” Avi Liran   Connect with Avi Liran LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Website Blog Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market Finance Made Ridiculously Simple Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Don Clifton (2017), Strengthsfinder 2.0 from Gallup and Tom Rath: Discover Your CliftonStrengths  

Welcome to episode 41 of Your Encore Life. In this episode we will be talking specifically about the CliftonStrengths Assessment and why it has value for those of us entering into or already in our Encore Life.  As you may recall episodes 39 and 40 were both discussing the value of maximizing your strengths, focusing on strengths and building them rather than putting an emphasis on your weaknesses and trying to overcome them.  We also talked a little about how to minimize your weaknesses by maximizing strengths or by methods discussed in an article by Brent O’ Bannon referenced in episode 40 titled “To Manage Your Weakness, PLUG your LEAK”.  Let’s start by reviewing that: L: Loath - What activity do you absolutely hate to do? E: Escape - What activity do you avoid at all costs? A: Average - What activity is a weakness that no matter how much you try, you are only average at it? K: Kink - What activity no matter how much you improve leaves a kink in your stomach when doing it? P: Plan - consciously use one or more of your strengths to boost your weakness. L: Leave - Decrease or eliminate if possible the need to perform that activity. U: Unite - Find someone to perform that activity that is a weakness in your place. G: Grow - If you have to continue this activity, find a way to improve such as training in the basics, then let it go. The book lists five characteristics of a strength and how best to develop them.  Here we go: Listen for Yearnings:  What have you seen or heard that makes you think “I want to do that”?  What makes your heart flutter or sing?  This cannot be confused with what they term as “misyearnings”, which can be driven by a desire for power, glamour, and excitement and can derail us from our true strengths path. Watch for Satisfactions:  “Satisfactions are those experiences where the emotional and psychic rewards are great”.  You really enjoy doing them. Watch for Rapid Learning:  If you are learning something best by jumping in and you feel like you have always known how to do something. Slow and laborious learning is a sign that this may not be an area of strength. Glimpses of Excellence:  Often evident in a finite activity or performance, which isn’t necessarily impressive but a trained eye or you sense a moment where you shine brightly. Total Performance of Excellence: Total performance excellence is defined in the book as not being “a glimpse, but the complete extension of an activity.  It doesn’t happen occasionally, but each time the activity is performed.  It is not subject to circumstances but transcends them. To become exceptional: Pick a strength and pursue it. Claim it out of fantasy and into action. Do more of it Enjoy it Again I have included links to the articles and book mentioned in this episode as well as a link to access the CliftonStrengths assessment, which we will talk more specifics about now. The global strengths movement started six decades ago when Don Clifton posed a simple question: "What would happen if we studied what was right with people versus what's wrong with people?" More than 90% of Fortune 500 companies have used CliftonStrengths to bring the power of strengths-based development to their workplace culture. Every year, more organizations of all sizes give leaders and their teams the chance to become great at what they're naturally good at. The test itself is an hour-long online assessment, where you'll see 177 paired statements and choose which one best describes you. The assessment measures your talents -- your natural patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving -- and categorizes them into the 34 CliftonStrengths themes. Your customized CliftonStrengths reports and guides help you chart your course to accomplish great things using the true north of what you naturally do best. You will get a customized dashboard on the Gallup Access platform to find resources and tools that will help you learn how to do more of what you naturally do best. Find a Coach to help unlock your potential and succeed in every facet of life. I would encourage you to look over the Gallup CliftonStrengths website that I have included a link to in the show notes to learn about the extensive research that has gone into making this such a powerful assessment tool. I want to emphasize the word I used “tool”.  There are many assessments out there that measure all sorts of individual traits and characteristics, some of them excellent like the CliftonStrengths assessment, and some of them mostly useless and poorly researched.  You should never let any assessment define who you are and paint you into a box.  They can be extremely useful in gaining a better understanding of your strengths, values, and personality traits that make you unique.  The better we understand ourselves and what makes us tick, the better we are prepared to be our best selves. So why would it be important to know our strengths as we enter into our encore life?  Often times we are painted into a box by our careers which can make it difficult to make the best utilization of our strengths.  It is when our passion and strengths meet that we are most successful and most satisfied.  Once you have the freedom of choice with what you do with your time to pursue your calling, your passion, what makes your heart sing, is often in what we call your encore life. So I encourage you if you haven’t already done so, take the time to discover what the CliftonStrengths assessment can tell you about what talents you have been gifted with so you can maximize those talents and turn them into strengths. I would love to have the opportunity to talk with you individually about this process.  I encourage you to reach out to me if you have any questions about the process or are thinking about what benefit discussing your assessment once you have taken it with a trained coach such as myself could give you.  Brian will tell you at the end of the episode how to contact me. 1 Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: Romans 12:6-8 ESV / 12 helpful votes  Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Soar With Your Strengths, Donald O. Clifton and Paula Nelson To Manage Your Weaknesses, Plug The Leaks, Brent O’ Bannon Gallup Clifton Strengths Assessment  Contact Craig

Self-acceptance comes from self-understanding and self-compassion. This is easier said than done. It begins with awareness and intentionality and ultimately leads to taking responsibility for self. Show Notes: The Path to Unconditional Self-Acceptance by Leon F Seltzer Ph.D. Therapists Spill: 12 Ways to Accept Yourself by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. This is my blog post that includes the Nick Saban quote, "So what? Now what?" Lessons from Lifelong Kindergarten. Learn about Don Clifton and the strengthfinders movement. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jack-shitama/message

Each and every person has their own repertoire of strengths. It’s only a matter of finding them and bringing them to light. Most of Tom Rath’s life’s work has focused on this. Tom is a best-selling author and researcher who has spent two decades studying how we can improve human health and wellbeing. In this episode, he shares his backstory and his work with Don Clifton, as well as how they came about writing the book How Full Is Your Bucket? He also talks about his work as a senior scientist with Gallup, primarily on developing the CliftonStrengths. Tom discusses the correlation between finding strengths, employee engagement, and the financial aspect of it all. He ties this in by talking about the highlights of his other book, Life’s Great Question: Discover How You Contribute to the World Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Take The Lead community today:DrDianeHamilton.comDr. Diane Hamilton FacebookDr. Diane Hamilton TwitterDr. Diane Hamilton LinkedInDr. Diane Hamilton YouTubeDr. Diane Hamilton Instagram

Estamos muy acostumbrados a que nos digan que para crecer debemos corregir o mejorar esas cosas que no nos salen tan bien, cuando estudios como el de Gallup y Don Clifton nos dicen que de hecho logramos los objetivos mucho más rápido cuando, en lugar de trabajar en nuestras debilidades, nos enfocamos en aquellas cosas que sí hacemos bien. Aquí te cuento mi experiencia descubriendo mis talentos e introduzco el estudio que Gallup hizo sobre las 34 fortalezas que todos los seres humanos, en mayor o menor medida, tenemos.   Aquí algunas referencias que te ayudarán a conocer más sobre este tema: Website de Gallup (Fortalezas): https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/home/es-ar (Allí encontrarás los links a los distintos tests). Este es el de los 34 talentos: https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/store Libro - Descubre tus fortalezas - Don Clifton & Gallup (al comprarlo desde la página te viene incluído el test)        

It's UrStoria - Tell It!  Spencer Holt, PhD joins us to speak about Professional Development Plans. Spencer says we "start by being passionate about who we are".  We tackle Professional Development Plans head on- key components of PDP's, how plans are changing with the economy and technology and how we develop to gain skill and experience rather than title - a modern spin on professional development. Spencer also touches on Leadership Development and Personal Branding. You'll love the content and passion that Spencer brings to the discussion! References mentioned in the episode:  Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey Strengths finder 2.0, Don Clifton https://www.cebglobal.com/human-resources/corporate-leadership-council/career-pathing/article.html (employability) Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John Maxwell Ubuntu! By Stephen Lundin. . Bob Nelson Show notes, more information and to connect with us: www.urstoria.com

Shane was one of the world's leading researchers on hope and was also a senior scientist and research director at The Clifton Strengths Institute, where he explored the links between hope, strengths development, academic success, and overall well-being. For me, one of the most magical moments of this year’s World Congress on Positive Psychology was the chance to honor, savor, and build upon the research of Dr. Shane Lopez. I first met Shane at a World Congress years ago, and he was generous enough to allow me to interview him on several occasions. To give you a chance to savor Shane’s insight, I thought you might enjoy this interview, which was recorded prior to his death.  Shane explains how using your strengths - those things you are good at and enjoy doing -  can help you be more engaged in what you do each day at work.  And when managers shift their thinking to a more strengths based approach that encourages each person to do what they do best they can make a big difference in engagement, profitability and productivity. Learn how to identify your strengths, how these can change over time, and what you can do to develop yours and others strengths. You’ll Learn: [01:45] - Shane shares his journey with strengths.  He talks about the work of Don Clifton at the University of Nebraska. [04:00] - Shane explains what a talent is and how they grow into strengths. [05:58] - In the workplace, we focus on weaknesses and try to “fix” those deficits rather than helping individuals find the right role.  Shane states how Don focused on talents on finding the roles for people based on those roles. [07:20] - Shane shares that our talents are not static over time, but they don’t change a lot.   [09:05] - Shane talks about Clifton Strengths Finder.   [11:57] - Shane discusses the difference in strengths between entrepreneurs and those working within organizations. [12:23] - If you have taken the strengths finder, Shane suggests you team up with someone else that has taken the assessment. [13:49] - Shane talks about how a workplace can be transformed by catching people doing great work and providing quality feedback. [15:57] - Shane talks about the 70% of disengagement in the workplace. Managers are not exempt from this lack of engagement. [17:33] - Shane shares what managers do to help employees use their strengths at work. [19:47] - Shane talks about the changes of strengths in college students and how that will eventually change the culture of workplaces. [20:48] - Shane speaks about seeing strength development at the preschool level. Your Resources: Making Hope Happen: Create the Future You Want for Yourself and Others - Shane Lopez Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week.  If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post.  Please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.  And don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Vale Shane Lopez. Until next time, take care!  

What would be possible if schools and workplaces focused on cultivating people's strengths? Why is coaching the magic catalyst for unleashing the potential of strengths in individuals and teams? How can organizations move from a global average of 13% on engagement metrics to 70-80% through a strengths-based approach? Tune in to this week's episode of The Team Coaching Zone podcast with special guest Paul Allen--Global Strengths Evangelist with the Gallup organization--to explore these and other important questions. In this episode of the podcast host Krister Lowe and TCZ partner George Johnson explore a range of themes with guest Paul Allen including: 1. Paul's journey from tech entrepreneur and Founder of Ancestry.com to joining the Gallup organization as a Global Strengths Evangelist. 2. Don Clifton and the origins of the strengths-based movement. 3. An introduction to the StrengthsFinder assessment and the 34 strengths. 4. Four strengths domains (Strategic, Execution, Relationship, Influence). 5. Coaching individuals and teams with a strengths-based focus. 6. How to approach weaknesses. 7. Stories of transforming individuals and teams through a strengths-based approach. 8. Reaching 1 billion people and 1 million coaches via StrengthsFinder. 9. Research on strengths and teams. 10. Why a strengths-based approach is needed in the world now. 11. How coaches can incorporate a strengths-based approach into their coaching practice. This is an episode that all team coaches can't afford to miss! Tune in today and begin your journey to helping unleash the power of strengths to transform individuals, teams, organizations and even the world!