Every now and then an opportunity presents itself and you just know you have to take advantage of it. So, when The Highlands Company asked me to write the foreword to Don’t Waste Your Talent, I took full advantage. The newly printed third edition is now available. The content is the same; the foreword is new.
It’s easy for me to step into my day with enthusiasm, to be engaged with those I work with and to explore and learn new ideas/tools/methods that help my clients make progress toward the things important to them (and therefore, me). It’s so much fun to me that I have to be intentional about taking a pause to do my own reflecting. What a gift to HAVE to spend time looking back — if only for a moment — to recalibrate, appreciate and celebrate progress and direction.
Here’s what writing the foreword did for me:
It reinforced that reflection provides me with motivation since I see continuity in what I’ve done, what I’m doing now and things I can be doing in the future.- It showed me that I’m pretty good at following my own tag line – Awareness, Clarity, Action and Accountability. Awareness is certainly the first step in any process; it’s just not enough. There’s a lot of work involved in clarifying what awareness brings to the forefront, deciding what to do about it and then finding whatever makes me feel accountable to actually carry through!
- It helped me see that I’ve clearly embraced my talents and am even clearer on what and how I spend my time, effort and energy (or not).
- It confirmed that I love what I do, and I like to put myself to good use.
- It reminded me that I really do appreciate the opportunities I have had and pursued; after all, as intentional as I am, I’m no match for the universe!
- It helps me see that, for me, the key to so much lies within individuals.
A quick excerpt from the foreword explains it all…
…the past 30 years (20 with Highlands) has reinforced my belief that if you provide curious, motivated individuals access to self- awareness they will use it in the most amazing ways to enhance their productivity, creativity, happiness and success. They know what to do when they have the information…
I hope you enjoy the read – it was great fun to write! You can get your copy direct from The Highlands Company.