When It Comes To Success - Strengths, Skills and Style Really Matter

People do not lack strength, they lack will.--- Victor Hugo  

Living with Entretude means creating opportunities using your personal strengths (what you’re good at), natural and acquired skills (what you do well) and then working them with your style (how you like to work). Creating opportunities that make the most of these attributes is how you’ll define and determine success in all parts of your life. You’ve gained insight from the Fundamentals of Entretude. Now we can start to apply that information. In my next few posts I’ll demonstrate how self-knowledge leads to self-determination. To illustrate the process, I’ll use my nephew, KB, as an example (he doesn’t mind).

A Study in Entretude

KB was born with Entretude. He started showing his creativity—what he’s good at—while still in single digits. In words and impressively detailed pictures he created an entire world with unique characters that he called “The Land of Snaboo.” I have no idea where “Snaboo” or characters with names like RaRa Sunkie, Moak, Deefa or Moakie came from, but they were the first steps on the path he used to self-define success.

Each character had a complete personality and history. KB wrote in great detail about them and what they did in their special world, and he insisted on sharing it all at every opportunity. I got to know these characters far better than I ever wanted to! Everyone in the family was certain that he would be a writer—but he knew better. KB’s writing developed into lyrics for songs when he took music lessons. Gifts like a harmonica from Stevie Wonder and a set of drums from Lionel Hampton fueled his passion, persistence and progress, resulting in a $100,000 plus recording contract at age 16. He wrote and produced music that landed him on Billboard’s Top Ten before he was 18.

Even at a young age he knew that the traditional path to success—college, then a job working for someone—would not play to his strengths, skills or style. His strengths—what he did well—were creativity, keen powers of observation, a passion for self-expression and dedication to self-determination. His skills—what he was good at—were the leading of other creatives collaboratively and synthesizing words and music. His working style required an environment that offered the physical and mental freedom to feed his strengths and skills. KB would not have thrived in the constrained environment of a desk job or 9 to 5 routine. Entretude was the only route this young man could see for himself and his future. To his credit and with the support of his family (more about the importance of family support in posts to come), KB remained true to who he was at his core and used those qualities to define and achieve success on his own terms.

Knowledge and Faith

So, what if you’re not born knowing your strengths, skills and style? Well then, you’re like most of us; you have to learn it. The self-knowledge is there, waiting to be discovered. Whether you know it or not, you’ve had inklings of it. We’ve all been in a personal or professional situation and said to ourselves, “This is just not me.” That’s your Entretude showing. Use the tools in the Fundamentals of Entretudeto identify your strengths, your skills and your style. The determination you need to go from discovery to deployment has to come from your wellspring. We all have inner resources to draw from and—this is important—it must come from faith in your inherent strength and skills, NOT FEAR. Fear will only confuse and restrain you. Know what you’re capable of and with Entretude you’ll find a way to fearlessly create your best opportunities for success.