Inform Yourself

My good friend Jay Niblick, founder of Innermetrix International, recently completed a study called The Genius Project. His study became the basis for his latest book, What’s Your Genius?

~ You can’t control what talents you possess but you definitely can control what you do with them ~

Geniuses are two things: self-aware and authentic. Now that you have met your genius – again – and have become more self-aware, you have the first part of the puzzle. The next few posts will show you how to take that awareness and become authentic to it.

Three Parts of Authenticity
There are three parts to choosing your authentic self, or choosing how you will become authentic. First, you must have a clear strategic vision for where you want to go (your Point B on your life map). This requires creating a vision, and goals, for where you want to go that are authentic (i.e., based on your natural talents). Second, you must know what to do in the present, on a daily basis level, to reach those future goals. Third, you have to believe in yourself and that you not only deserve to reach these goals, but that you can. These three aspects of becoming authentic are formally known as:

• Self-Direction: your clarity for the future authentic self you will become. This is your point B on your life map and it is comprised of the authentic goals that you set for yourself.

• “Roal” Awareness: your clarity for understanding how to merge your authentic future goals with your real-life roles (goals + roles = Roals by the way)

• Self-Belief: your level of belief in yourself at this point in your life

Part 1: Self-Direction
“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response. ‘I don't know’, Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn't matter.” When Lewis Carroll wrote these lines in his book Alice in Wonderland, he may not have realized how poignant they were when it comes to becoming a genius, but before you can get somewhere, you have to know where that somewhere is. Everything that is created is created twice; first in the mind, then in reality. Not knowing where they want to go - in your mind - is one of the most common problems I see with my clients. If you don’t know where you are going (what your concept is, who you are to become), how will you get there or even know when you have arrived?

Creating a clear picture of where you want to go is vital to reaching the 5th level of performance. Without this guide it is easy to get lost, just as easy as getting lost in the wilderness without a map, compass or GPS. Just like the racecar driver needs to know the race course in order to maximize every ounce of energy and second of time, so too do you need to be completely aware of where you want to go. Your natural talents may be the Ferrari, but your understanding for how to use those talents is like the racecar driver.

When the driver doesn’t know the course well, he goes too slowly around one corner and too fast around others - because he isn’t sure exactly where it goes. He slows down as he approaches a hill because he isn’t quite sure what lies on the other side. Lack of clarity for your direction in life is one of the most crippling issues people who are inauthentic suffer.

Not having a clear self-direction in life has a very negative impact on your ability to perform at peak levels. When you don’t have a clear understanding in your own head of where you want to go you are leaving some portion of your potential talent as just that - potential.

The main questions you must answer for yourself, which this chapter will help you do, are:
• What does your future self look like?
• How authentic is that future vision or image?
• What specific talents will your success depend on and what non-talents will you not depend on?
• What will your future roles look like (location)?