Leverage Your Unique Assets

Part of living up to your full potential is leveraging your uniqueness.

That can be your job history, learnings from the sport you played, your friends and/or the way you view the world.

Yet, so much of the advice we are given is general advice.

• Go get an MBA

• Work for a top company in xyz industry

• Focus on getting promoted

I find it funny that so much advice we are given could really be applied to anyone. As if were all not unique.

Well, given traditional paths are often suggested from lack of out of the box thinking, we need to think for ourselves.

We need to trust our gut and follow our own path.

A path not based on general advice.

Steve Jobs said it best yet again:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

One of the first steps is realizing you may be listening to other peoples thoughts. It may be subtle, it may feel like “your decision”, but you realize as you dig deeper you’re following guidelines.

The guidance may be to build your career in a certain way or to get a specific type of education.

By asking yourself what you would want to try if other people didn’t give their opinion, then it becomes clearer what you would really prefer to do.

The bottom line is simple:

People give general advice. You’re unique. Carve your own path.