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My "Gift"


In any plan, if it has a chance of succeeding, there must be a complete exploration of all possibilities, needs, logistics, pitfalls, and specifics. Clearly, that's where I come in.

I spent years of my life trying to figure out what my "gift" was. You know the thing where everyone keeps saying, do what you love and the money will follow. Blah, blah, blah. I spent many hours agonizing over what could be the thing that I love to do.

While, I am a smart and capable person and have many skills that are useful and even important, I wasn't sure what made my heart sing. It helped to learn what made my heart cry and my spirit sag. That led me to understand what I enjoy doing. The things that when I am doing them, I lose track of time. Enjoy, interest, challenge - those work as well as love. I realized I didn't have to get caught up in semantics.

So far on my career journey, I have proven that most of the things I enjoy don't come with a paycheck, so although I keep busy every day, I am not paid. No sour grapes here though, that's not the point of this. The point is that I am a natural and expert questioner. No matter the topic, a life change, a relationship pickle, a job issue, a career choice, an entrepreneurial effort, I am the person that can help to come up with a clear cut plan.

What I do is ask pointed questions. I am naturally curious. I want to understand things and how they work. I want to help people take whatever the next step is in their life. I have an agile brain and can use it effectively. I don't want to be seen as a killjoy because it is more about resolving problems or overcoming obstacles before they can kill the project.

I can be quite annoying to the typical extroverted person--full of enthusiasm and excitement about a plan and getting everyone involved, but hasn't really thought it through. I ask: How will you do X? Who will take care of X? When will it be finished? How will you pay for that? Have you considered? Where will this happen? How many? What if?

And the thing I have found is that whether I use this skill to keep a meeting on task, help someone formulate a business plan, develop a fundraising project, help plan an event, or help someone make a life change, it works. They see results. I see results. I see that what I contributed actually helped. I am good at this. It is my "gift". It is what I want to do, how I want to interact in the world. It is my dream job. Now I just have to find a "job" that fits this dream.

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