7 Ways to Discover Your STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES - #7Ways

What's up, Believe Nation? It's Evan. My one word is believe, and I believe in people more than they believe in themselves. And my sincere hope is that if you see in you what I see in you, you'll be able to change the planet. So to help you on your journey today, I'm going to talk about the 7 ways to discover your strengths and weaknesses. So a question I get asked a lot by different entrepreneurs trying to figure out their path, figure out where they're going to go, is what am I good at? What am I strong at? What am I weak at? And how do I use that to build a successful business? So today I'm going to share with you my 7 tips on how to discover your strengths and weaknesses. Tip number 1 is just think about what do you have the most fun doing? A lot of times we get too in our head, we try to, we're too analytical, we're too data-oriented, we're too process-oriented. And an easy way to step out of it is just think, what do I enjoy doing? What do I have the most fun doing? What do I get lost in? We all have something that we can get lost in, and nowadays there's no stupid answers, because you could turn almost anything into a career. You know, 10 years ago, if you said that you wanted to be a gamer, that wouldn't have worked out. You know, you wouldn't have been able to make money as a professional gamer, but now a lot of professional gamers are making more than our parents made, right? If you're Faker, or if you're Doublelift, or you're in the League of Legends scene, or the other games as well, like, you're making some money. And that is doable. Another option, if you like hanging out with your friends, if you're a really people-oriented person, that's a strong strength. Like, that may lead you to a career in HR, or a business as a speaker, or business as a coach, a consultant with other people. So just think about, before trying to figure out how it's all gonna make sense, That's where we always get caught up. Before thinking about how does this turn into a perfect plan for myself, just think about what can I get lost in? What do I love doing? If I didn't have responsibilities, or the great question, if I had all the money in the world, what would I do with my time? Yes, you're gonna travel. Yes, you're gonna buy whatever. You're gonna buy all this stuff, great. You still have money left over. You still have time in abundance. What are you gonna do? 'Cause you'll get sick of traveling. You'll get sick of buying stuff. You'll need to do something that has a little bit more meaning to your life, I promise you. You're gonna be saying, "No, that's not true." It's true, it'll happen. So what would you do if you had that kind of money? What would you do with your time? And thinking about that then allows you to think, "Okay, if I really like those things," from there you could pull out your strengths and weaknesses. So really making a list of the things you can get lost in that you just love doing. Step number 2 is think about what you daydream about. So it may not be what you're doing right now, but when you lie in bed about to pass out, or when you are, you know, in the shower thinking, or when you're walking through nature going on a hike, or when you're traveling or lying on the beach, or whatever it is that you kind of get hit with some inspiration, what do you daydream about doing? Maybe you're not doing it yet, but you wish you could do it. You know, you have these crazy dreams sometimes, and I wish I could be doing that, or people you look up to. When you think about what you daydream about, again, don't make it practical yet, Just write down a list of things that you wish you could be spending your time on, you wish you could be doing. And then I would try to find some small way to actually start doing it, to test, to see if you like it, to see if you're good at it. A lot of times the grass is greener on the other side. A lot of times that thing that you want to do, once you start doing it, is way too much work and not what you thought it was going to be, and you don't want to do it anymore. But sometimes when you do it, it's like, I love this, I want to keep doing it. So you never know until you actually get started. I never thought I'd be a salsa dancer. I never thought I would run a salsa school and invest and buy it. I never thought that was part of my plan. I'm tall, I didn't speak Spanish, you know, I take big steps, I didn't learn the music growing up. On paper, there's all the reasons why it would never work out for me as a salsa dancer, but I just, I loved it, and I went to a class and I wanted to go back, I wanted to do it again, I wanted to do it again. Same thing as YouTube videos. My first video sucked. They really were bad, but I liked it. I liked the process. I wanted to do it again. I wanted to do it again. I wasn't getting any results. I wasn't getting any comments, no views, no shares, nothing. I just loved it, so I had to do it again and again and again. And so instead of making it some big plan on what you want to do with your life, that can seem overwhelming, that can seem depressing, it's upsetting because you don't have clarity. I would just think about the things that you have some daydreams about that you wish you could do, and then find some small way to get started. Just hit that little bit of the pyramid instead of seeing it as this huge project. Just like this little thin wedge, this little tiny piece to test it, to say yes to one thing. You can say yes to going to try rock climbing without having to become a professional rock climber. You could say yes to going on a date with one girl to see how it works out without having to get married to her, right? So say yes, try it. The thing you have in your mind, find some small way to get started, and then you'll see if you enjoy it and if your strengths come them out. Tip number 3 is think about what do you do differently than others. You are a strange duck in some respects. You know, you are not exactly like everybody else. You're not the same as all your other friends. You are your own unique little snowflake. And so what is it that you do or the way that you think that is just different than other people? It's an important question to ask because a lot of times you may not see those things as strange. Strengths. You may even see those things as weaknesses, that because you're different, you're not good like the other people are at this other thing. But you see the world slightly differently than other people do. And where do you stand out compared to the people around you? And just asking that question will pull out some things that are very interesting. So for me, I'm very mission-driven. I'm also very pragmatic. You know, I don't really hang out a lot of times just going for beer and watching movies with friends. A lot of times there's a purpose behind what I do. You know, there's a purpose behind the conversations I have. I don't like dealing with small problems. I want to look behind it to see the bigger cause and go out and solve that big thing. You know, that could be a weakness in some social settings, but it's also a strength for me in that it allows me to build this business, allows me to build this movement, allows me to create great content and videos for you guys. And so just asking yourself, what do I do that's different than most people? Again, without thinking about how it's gonna apply practically down the road, just what do I do that's different? Or what do I think about in a different way than the people around me? And make a list, and through there you'll be able to find some of what you might have thought were weaknesses but could actually be strengths for your future career.

So tip number 4 is be brutally honest with yourself. All of us are so unique and we have different strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes admitting to some of them could be really embarrassing for us. So for example, I'm an organizational disaster. I don't do well with organization at all, which is why I have to create structure around my life. I have to schedule my days to do specific things because if I don't, I'm going to fall off track and I'll just find myself lying on the floor staring at the ceilings dreaming about a brighter future. The truth is that brighter future will never come if I don't do something about my organization. That's why I stick to my schedule as much as possible and I only stray away from it when there's something urgent that needs to be taken care of. And on the other side, I did not want to admit that my strength is empathy, especially when I started out in the workforce and I was up against all these alpha males and they're like, oh, you're such a woman, you just want to hold hands and hug people and feel what people are feeling. And I hid it inside of me for a long time and I took on personas that wasn't even mine. And then eventually I admitted to myself empathy is not only a strength for me, it's my superpower. It allows me to feel what other people are feeling. My mission is to help people. What better way to help people than feel what they're feeling and really understand what they're going through? I think most of us are aware of our strengths and weaknesses. The only thing you need to do is just be brutally honest with yourself.

Number 5 is use your friends as counselors but not jailers. So one of the things that we tend to do when we don't know the answer to something is we ask our friends, and our friends can be a great window into understanding us a little bit better. Asking your friend what you think your strengths and weaknesses are can give you a perspective on yourself. The thing is though, you have to be careful about it because your friends see one side of you. They see a certain side that, you know, maybe one friend sees one side, another friend sees another side, and there's still a piece of you too that's hidden, that you haven't shared with anybody, that you just keep to yourself, that you don't want exposed. And so the positive of asking your friends what you think your strengths and weaknesses are is that you get some insight into you, into that side that you are showing. The negative side though is that because they only see one aspect of you, that that becomes your jail cell. That because this is how they see you, you have to continue behaving only in that way and go in on those strengths, and you're missing this whole other part that you're not sharing. And so I'm always reluctant on any of these personal development exercises and self-awareness, because it's what it is, it's your self-awareness. I'm always reluctant to go outside and ask other people. I think your time is better spent with yourself. Like, spend more time with yourself than time with other people if you want to understand yourself, because the answers are here, not out there. But if you want to, it gives you a perspective. So again, use your friends as counselors, but not as jailers. You don't have to live up to their expectations or that one side of you. And spending some good time with yourself to reflect, to write down, to spend time with nature, to think about the whole you and what you're really good at and where you want to focus is important. Tip number 6 is ask yourself, what do you hate doing? Often the way to find what you're good at is by thinking about what you're not good at. So just like in the process of your one word, some people find it easy to find their one word, their most important core value, by going positive, thinking about all the good things in their life and figuring out what their most important core value is. Some people can't get down to it only going positive. They find it better going opposite, going negative. So think about the people who you can't stand being around. What values do they have? What's just like toxic to you? You can't stand being around these kinds of people and being in these kinds of situations. And by figuring out that, that's your anti-word, you can figure out your one word. And so think about what you hate doing. Think about what other people may like doing, the people around you, they enjoy doing it, but for you it's like, I can't believe people like doing that. What would you absolutely hate spending your time on every single day? And that gets you to a list of weaknesses, and the opposite will be what you're really good at. So like, what is the thing that you absolutely hate doing, and then what's the exact opposite of that? Chances are, that's where you should be playing. And tip number 7 is just say yes more. If you have no idea what your passion is, if you have no idea what your strengths and your weaknesses are, just say yes more. When somebody invites you to do something, don't immediately judge it and say, "Well, this is not going to be for me." Say yes, try it, see if you want to go back, see if you want to do it again, see if it sparked anything. We talked about not putting so much pressure on it being the perfect thing and making it some big huge project and it has to work out, but also just exposing yourself to more things, exposing yourself to opportunities that maybe your parents wouldn't agree with, or maybe wasn't part of your culture, but it's still kind of curious for you, if something hits on your radar, say, "Hmm, that's interesting," or a friend comes and tells you, "I want you to come out to this thing," at least try it once. It's good to adopt the mentality of to try almost anything, you know, within reason, once. Try new foods once, try a new club once, try a new activity once, try a new kind of movie once. If you've tried it and it doesn't work out, great, you know, you don't have to do it again, but at least try it once because I think most of the time we discount count so many things that we've never even tried. We're judging things we've never even spent any amount of time on, and then you just constantly live in this narrow lane, and that's probably not even the best path for you. There's some pathway out here that you don't even know you should be on because you never bothered expanding your horizon. So if you feel lost, if you feel like you don't know what your strengths and your weaknesses are, if you feel like you don't know what you're passionate about, then try multiple things at least say yes to a lot of things, and if it doesn't work, great, kill it. You don't have to make a lifelong commitment to being a salsa dancer if you go to a class and you don't like it. But at least say yes once. Try it, see if it's for you, see if you wanna go back. Expand that reach, say yes once to almost anything, and through that process, you'll discover your passion, your strengths, and your weaknesses. So those are my 7 tips on how to discover your strengths and weaknesses. I'd love to know, what do you guys think? What was your favorite tip? What's most relevant to you? Resonated the most? Leave it down in the comments below. Did I miss an 8, 9, 10 that you want to add to the list? Leave in the comments, I'm really curious to find out. And also, if you're commenting within the first couple hours of this video going live, then you have a chance to win one of our 2 daily prizes. Now I made this video because Camille Reagan asked me to, so if there's a topic you'd like me to cover in a future 7 Ways video, check out the link in the description. You can go cast your vote, you can vote on other people's topics or come up with your own, and maybe you'll get lucky and we'll I also want to give a quick shout out to Hugo Bayer. Hugo, thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book, Your One Word, and taking that picture and sending it to me. I'm curious what you're looking at. Something on the ceiling? Something happen up there? I want to know next time. But thank you again for posting. I really appreciate the support, and I hope you enjoyed the book. Thank you guys again for watching. I believe in you. I hope you continue to believe in yourself and whatever your one word is. Much love. I'll see you soon.