Those are the words I heard at a recent workshop that I gave.  I had just helped a participant make sense of key events in her life, to tell  a story of how her past fits into present and how she got to be so good at what she does today. I coached her in front of the other participants, a small group that served as both witnesses and support for her journey.  Photo by Hannah

I acknowledged the comment with a simple “Thank you.”  Later, I kept coming back to this comment.  Something was bothering me.  I wasn’t dismissing the participant’s observation.  I know when my work is sourced from a higher power, when it feels like my muse is coming through me.  My muse was in full force that day.  To dismiss the comment would be to dismiss the gift.

And I wasn’t embarrassed to be fully seen, visible with gifts in hand.  Some people shy away from the spotlight. That’s not me.

What was bothering me was the implication that “being a genius” is rare or unreachable. Everyone has gifts.  I could see the gifts of every single participant of the workshop.  Everyone has a “genius zone”, where they are being brilliant.  We are all geniuses, in our own way.  But not everyone spends time in their genius zone.

Which got me thinking, “How do you step into your genius zone?”

So here goes.

• Notice what gives you joy.  I’m competent at many things.  You probably are, too.  And it’s important to go beyond competency when choosing your work, to move towards joy.  Reflecting on my best work,  I realized that my greatest joy comes when I can combine learning, improvisation, and story. Coaching to uncover someone’s story gives me all three in one experience.

• Know and use your talents.  Based on The Gallup Organization’s StrengthsFinder work, focusing on your strengths will pay bigger dividends than working on your weaknesses.  Identify your best assets, the stuff that you naturally do, that is delightful, effortless, and innate.    When I’m coaching someone around their story, all of my talents are in play (Arranger, Achiever, Input, Focus, and Learner).  For example, with my Arranger, I am piecing together the events and facts around someone’s life and rearranging them, as if they are puzzle pieces. I do this unconsciously until a cohesive narrative takes shape, with a theme and turning point entering my consciousness. Learner and Input make me curious about the person, to probe and ask questions to elicit the story.  Focus, and Achiever help me get to the end goal of helping the person make meaning of their life, with a story that resonates with them, from the inside out.  Photo by kreezzalee.

• Add knowledge and skills.  My talents alone are not enough to help people uncover and tell their stories. Gallup says that a strength, defined as “consistent, near perfect performance” comes from adding knowledge and skills to your talents.  I gained knowledge by studying different constructs of story–reading what is considered the bible for screenwriters, Story by Robert McKee, stumbling upon the Pixar Pitch, and learning from friends who are story geeks.  I gained skills by putting knowledge and talents into practice and playing with different formats.  How I help people with their stories has evolved–from presenting webinars and developing self-guided programs to consulting on LinkedIn profiles and creating short workshops to working with a small groups over video conference and  in a weekend intensive.

• Practice, practice, practice.  Stepping into your “genius zone” requires practice.  Over the last few years, I’ve worked with well over a hundred people on their stories, in front of groups and one-on-one, over the phone, using video conference, and  in person.   Putting knowledge, skills, and talents to work is just the start.  In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell, popularized the “10,000 hour rule.”  Mastery takes practice–lots of it.  Photo by Melissa Wiese.

• Have the courage to be seen fully.  In the words of Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.”  If you want to step into your genius zone, you have to be willing to come out from behind the cloak of anonymity.

• Find allies.  Find a community of “believing eyes”, the people who see your gifts so clearly and will not let you dismiss or forget about them.  I have been blessed over the years with family, friends, and colleagues who cheered me on.  Many years ago, my sister saw me coach live in front of a small audience.  She planted the seed in my head that I had something very special that allowed me to shine in that medium.  Others encouraged my interest in story.

• Get out of your own way.  It’s easy to sabotage the genius inside, with Gremlins that minimize and marginalize the gift.  Throw out those thoughts of “No one wants to read/listen/watch my work.”  The key is to remember that what you have is a gift, one that is to be used wisely.  I love this quote from Martha Graham, the famous choreographer, “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.” 

• Figure out your story.  Find the backstory that leads you to why you do what you do today and gives you the confidence to do more of what brings you joy.  When you are manifesting your genius, you are doing the work you are meant to do.  There is purpose and meaning to your work that eclipses any fear or anxiety that your ego might trigger.  For example, my purpose in life is to help misfits find their place in the world.  That’s been the story of my life–being a misfit in one way or another, whether it was being a rare Asian-American in the 1960’s in a Midwestern town or one of a handful of women engineers in a nuclear power plant.  I know that to find your place in the world–to truly have that sense of belonging–it helps to make meaning of your life, to string the pearls of experience into a lovely necklace.  That’s what I do when I help others with their story. Photo by Laura Ritchie

• Be of service to others, rather than to your ego.  The quotes above by Marianne Williamson and Martha Graham point to the real reason for our genius.  It’s not for self-aggrandizement.  It’s to contribute to the world, in a significant way.  When you step into your “genius zone”, you have the opportunity to be of service to others.  At the end of the two-day workshop, I had helped ten people with their story. One of the participants remarked how I gave each person my full attention during the coaching, that it didn’t wane throughout the two days.  She asked me how I felt.  I was exhausted.  And I was happy.  I want to go to my grave knowing that I’ve been well-used, that I shared my gifts to the fullest extent possible, so that others could benefit.

We each have genius inside, waiting to be unleashed.  Our job is to step into our “genius zones”, free of ego, focused on service, built upon talents, skills, knowledge, and lots of practice, envisioned by allies, embraced via a healthy dose of courage and… infused with joy.

Yes, it is hard work and joyful at the same time.  If we are not here for joy, then what are we here for?