Do You Have Extraordinary Abilities?
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Surprising Yourself & Others
Do you have an extraordinary ability? Does something you do surprise other people and blow them away? If so, you have come to the right place.
Whether you call them extraordinary abilities, gifts or talents ... everyone has them. But few people realize what they are, how to develop and use them ... and how to turn them into a career.
Let's start first with ...
What Is An Extraordinary Ability?
Simply put, it is anything you do that creates an extraordinary result. There are several types ....
- Knowledge about something that goes way beyond what the average person could know. It could be intuition a sticky mind or an awesome memory. But whatever it is ... you know things other people do not ... and probably never would.
- Being sensitive to things that others don't sense or overlook. It could be an anomaly ... something off in the way something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, feels, or fits together. Often it is hard to put into words what you sense. But you can tell when something is off and you know what is causing it ... whether it is in the sound of an engine idling, the cut of a dress, or the way a circuit board is laid out.
- Awareness of things beyond the usual five senses and logic. Often attributed to having good intuition, it is an ability to feel, connect with, and be aware of things outside the ken or others. Examples include being aware of things like the energy of a place, or the mood of a group or individual.
- Action based abilities where you do or achieve something fantastic. It could be creating a five star recipe, throwing a frat party on a dime, or finding great, affordable apartments in New York. Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, you do it and everyone is amazed.
Usually the ability is something that comes naturally to you -- it is as much a part of you as your smile or laughter. And many times it doesn't seem that extraordinary until others point it and comment on it.
How To Use Your Extraordinary Ability
Few people pay much attention to the fact that they always "know" which direction is north or that the new song they are hearing on the radio is going to be a hit. Yet, in the right environments, these gifts can make or break a career. Just think how valuable they would be if you needed to guide people through the wilderness or worked in a recording studio.
One of the best ways to use your ability and get paid for it -- is to find a career that respects and rewards your skill. You may not think it is much, but combined with your other gifts and talents (yes, everyone has 5-10 of them, some more unusual and extraordinary than others ...), your ability defines the work you can excel at.
To learn how to turn your gift or talent into a career, see Work You are Great At for more info.
How To Develop Your Extraordinary Ability
The sad fact is that most gifts and talents go undiscovered and remain underdeveloped. If you already know what yours is, you are halfway there. The other half is to work on developing your ability to its full potential.
I think of extraordinary abilities as being either a gift or a talent. And the type tells you how to work with it and develop it.
Gifts
If your extraordinary ability is a gift, then you need to learn how to tap into it. Since gifts come fully developed, the focus is on learning how to open up and access your gift ... and then articulate it or take action on it.
Talents
If your ability is what I call a talent, you will need to work on developing it. It helps to get some good advice from others in the know about the best ways to bring out your talent and make it shine. Practice is good -- but a focused, directed practice that allows you to train your mind and body and make the most of it in a safe, reliable way is what you really need. You want to perfect your ability, and that takes the right kind of training -- specific to what it is that you do. If you can hit baseball homers like nobody's business -- you need the right kind of physical, mental and emotional practice to hone that skill without burning out your body or your career. So expert advice on how to develop your ability is the way to go. What you want is an honest talent scout for the place where they can use your ability. That could be a scout for school scholarships, company recruiters, industry mentors or someone who is a master in the field.
The Next Step
I hope this quick overview has helped you understand your ability a bit better and give you some ideas of what you can do with it. Check out these pages if you want to learn more about gifts and talents, discover more of yours, see how they are a part of finding your bliss, can be turned into a great career, or dream job.
Story ... Discover Your Gifts & Talents
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