Distill the Real You: Ignoring Obvious Gifts
I just came across this photo from when I was a grad student at The Wharton School.
That's me in the foreground, holding a copy of The Wharton Journal, the school's weekly newspaper. Collectively, the people you see here produced the paper (or at least I seem to remember that we did).
My intention at that time was to earn my MBA, change the path of my career, and hopefully become an entrepreneur. Within four years, I had launched a new product line and built sales from zero to $20 million. That product line thrived for over two decades, but once we hit the $20 million mark, I left to launch my own company. The startup didn't go so well; I spent four years struggling to get it established before I finally gave up and got a real job again.
Only when I hit age 50 did I realize what should have been obvious all along: I'm not a business guy; I'm a creative.
That brings me back to why this picture stopped me in my tracks. It shows a point in time when I was acting as a creative, having fun, and never once thinking that the activity that was both fun and easy for me might actually be my path.
To say this another way, I am blessed with the ability to write with relative ease. Even more importantly, I almost never run out of new ideas or the energy to pursue them. These are true gifts, given to me by genetics and perhaps something in my life experience.
But... for many years, I couldn't see the value of those gifts.
At The Wharton Journal, I was the features editor and also wrote a weekly humor column. One of my pieces, Doubts vs. Ego, was republished by the school newspaper at Harvard Business School; that never happens, because the two schools don't like to acknowledge that the other is any good. But, without trying, I bridged that gap by writing a genuine piece about the pressures of recruiting season.
I'm telling you this because when we seek our true path through life, it is incredibly easy to ignore the obvious possibilities. We discount what comes readily to us, thinking that it isn't prestigious, challenging or substantive enough.
Here I am—years later—writing every day... and still having fun.
What incredibly obvious, wonderfully exciting path through life might you be ignoring?
MA TESOL Cultural enrichment through English conversation. Stanford University, Fostering Communication
2 小时前Everyone is happy. This photo exudes confidence and goodness. Thank you for sharing your success and the success of your colleagues.
Founder of Herbossiness: Empowerment and Development Coaching for Women in Demanding Careers Project Management Advisory, Training & Mentoring
3 小时前Thank you for this. You have no idea how timely this is. I, too, had to realize that I was creative and that I'd been resisting my gifts. It took the people closest to me who had been witnessing me play and practice my labor of love (as I call it) with utter excitement and joy. So, not too long ag,o I decided to stop ignoring my gifts and embrace them instead.
?? Print and Digital Strategist - We empower coaches, authors, educators, and trainers to expand their content and deliver their message through innovative solutions. We Help People Who Help People!
4 小时前Bruce Kasanoff, this is a Powerful reflection! It’s fascinating how we sometimes chase definitions of success that aren’t aligned with our true strengths. Your humorous piece, crossing from Wharton to Harvard, highlights exactly why genuine creativity resonates universally. Do you think recognizing our true gifts comes easier with experience, or is there a way to shortcut that learning curve?
Manager, Sales Solution Architects for CounselLink ELM and CounselLink CLM at LexisNexis North America
5 小时前Recently speaking to a management coach, she asked me "What's your superpower?" I remember pausing, and then I see your sentence(s) here "I'm telling you this because when we seek our true path through life...we discount what comes readily to us... writing every day [your superpower] ... and still having fun." Thank you for helping me re-think mine, Bruce. I think it is that think that we are first so easily drawn to that we just enjoy doing without anyone asking us to do it. We would do it without pay. Learning for me and writing. Finding a way to crystallize big or hard ideas down to easier to understand ideas whether in Sales situations or to my grandkids, I love to teach and help people understand, and ultimately help them solve problems. And, I've spent a lifetime doing that, and I've loved doing that. Thank you for helping me underscore my superpower. I help people find solutions to hard problems, and along the way, I try to help others find better ways to do so for themselves.
Founder and Business Lead at HappySpree
6 小时前Thanks for your post. You highlighted a universal truth that doing what we like, or flow, makes us happy, but I struggle with how to monetize this. Although loving my work feels great, I also need to eat. Any tips?