Be Challenged & Lead On with Anupama (Part 2): Start with your strengths!

When you find your strengths, you find your voice. The Law Of Leverage teaches speakers to discover our strengths and use them often so we are always giving our best out of our best! What do I mean by this?

When I found my strengths and what I was really good at, I started becoming more confident in who I was becoming in this personal growth journey of mine. I am passionate about developing leaders around me and I have been speaking at various PMI Chapters about "Empowering Leaders".

Recently I took a detour and decided to explore a career as a Financial Advisor with New York Life. I had a Master's Degree in Mathematics from one of the most prestigious universities in India (IIT - Bombay) and I thought how difficult would it be for me to learn this new subject.

I was thrilled to pass both my exams the same day and with just 2 weeks of preparation. I thought I was on a journey of success and my path would lead me to becoming a leader at NYL where I would be developing leaders around me.

A month passed by and I was completing all the courses I needed to take to improve on my marketing, communication, prospecting and sales skills. I started calling my friends to do me a favor and meet with me as I started educating them about what New York Life had to offer... and majority of my connections whom I reached out to said YES!

The Law Of Conviction says "The stronger your believe it, the more people feel it". My friends watched me during these interactions and I asked for their honest feedback. Each of them told me that it just did not feel like I was passionate about this new endeavor I was on. Personally, I wanted to give myself enough time to adapt to the change in my mindset and learn the new "financial world" I had decided to immerse myself into.

I remembered what Ed Mylett said at one of our Leadership Events called Live2Lead. "Everybody you lead do not have to believe what you're saying... They only need to believe that YOU believe what you're saying." This is true for everyone. If you are convinced you can help people, they will listen to you and give you a chance. That's Personal Conviction: I Can Make A Difference!

In this article, I want to focus on how I built these genuine relationships with others who were ready to do me a favor when I needed some help. It started with me offering my time and energy to help them in their personal and professional growth journey.

1. PERSONAL GROWTH JOURNEY

A few years ago, I started a local Walking Group for Indian Women in my community - many of them were already walking by themselves and had an active healthy lifestyle but what was missing was a sense of belonging and friendship. We started walking regularly in small groups over the past 5 years and building genuine connections with each other, having fun together and encouraging each other.

2. PROFESSIONAL GROWTH JOURNEY

About 3 years ago, I started volunteering my time with the local project management community and supporting other leaders who were eager to serve. We learnt from each other and build genuine connections along the way.

My mentor John C. Maxwell shares in this book "16 Undeniable Laws Of Communication" the Value of Values. He says that he discovered that convictions acted like anchors in a storm, holding him steady during rough times.

They were like FRIENDS who gave me assurance when I was uncertain. They were like NORTH STAR, able to guide me when I felt lost. And they were like COLD DRINK OF WATER, able to refresh me when I was weary.

Let me share with you what I learnt from him... excerpt from Pg. 59 of this book.

Principles that Guide My Life:

1. My attitude determines my altitude
2. There is not much difference between success and failure
3. Personal growth precedes professional growth
4. Helping others succeed helps me succeed
5. Having integrity is the only way to live
6. Getting along with people is my most important ability
7. Paying now and playing later is the key to achievement
8. Giving is the highest level of living
9. Life is not a dress rehearsal, so live today fully
10. Success is having the love and respect of those closest to me.

I have chosen to EMBRACE and LIVE these values as well and I have decided to get back on track with focusing on my strengths and what I am good at.

I am good at Empowering Others to DREAM BIG... and to BE CHALLENGED & LEAD ON!

I run my own Maxwell Speakers Club using the Maxwell Method of Speaking but I am equally passionate about being part of the Toastmasters International community of Speakers.

Would you like to be invited to be part of my upcoming Speaking Cohort? SAVE THE DATE for our FINAL Showcase Speech event that will be given by these amazing individuals Steve Steele Rodney Mintz, PE Nicholas A. Valenzuela, Ph.D. who have been learning and growing as Communicators and Speakers for the past 12 months - 23rd November 2024 is when they will be receiving their Certification Of Completion, come celebrate with us.

Next time I will share with you "How To Communicate with Conviction" and make a positive difference in this world.

Remember that your purpose is connected to your strengths and to your personal convictions. I am working with leaders who want to take their leadership to the next level - I help them build their confidence speaking with clarity and teach them how to connect with their audience. Let's connect and meet for a 15 minutes Discovery Call to learn more about how we can learn from each other as developing leaders!