Practical Ways to start cultivating your genius today

by David McNally

1. LOOK FOR PATTERNS IN YOUR LIFE - Although you may have not truly valued your gifts and talents, they have surfaced from time to time throughout your life. As you review the events of your life, look for the threads of continuity running throughout. What have you consistently enjoyed throughout your life? What talents have you been praised for? What accomplishments are you most proud of? Answering these questions will put you on the right path.

2. PLAY GAMES - Your natural gifts and talents are more visible when you are feeling relaxed, spontaneous, and the most yourself. Giving yourself the opportunity to let go, to play, opens the door to discovering new creativity and new passions.

3. TRY SOMETHING NEW - Break out of established patterns of doing things. What have you assumed you're not good at but would love to try? Do at least one new thing every month. Think of something you've always wanted to do and do it. If you fail, make a mistake, get laughed at, feel embarrassed, so what! Fears like these keep people mired in mediocrity.

4. BE HONEST ABOUT WHAT YOU LOVE - What do you feel passionate about, what do you have fun doing? I believe that what you love is what you were made to do and what you were made to do is what you have an aptitude to do. Have the courage to admit what you love and your genius will burst through.

5. SHINE YOUR LIGHT - Once you identify your genius, find a comfortable way to let other people know who you are and what you do exceptionally well so that they can call on your gifts and talents. If you don't belong to a professional association, join one. Ask some question at a meeting or volunteer to sit on a committee or demonstrate your expertise by writing an article for your employee newsletter.

6. DEVELOP IDEAS - Get in the habit of spending fifteen minutes a day listing ideas on how to improve your personal and professional life. At first your mind may be blank, but with time insights will begin to appear Until, if you are disciplined in this process, a flood of ideas will present themselves. Don't censor the ideas because they seem too large or small, impractical or unreasonable. Remember, George Bernard Shaw said; "All progress depends on the unreasonable man."

Learning as a way of life

by David McNally


1. CULTIVATE CURIOSITY - All of us enter the world as curious, natural learners. A child's world is fresh and new, and they use their senses to gain direct knowledge of their surroundings. For children, learning is joyful, playful. Adults who are forever learning are more able to be spontaneous and intuitive. They combine what they know from direct experience with conceptual thought and imagination to gain self-knowledge and awareness. When it comes to learning your curiosity quotient is at least as important as your intelligence quotient.

2. PAY ATTENTION - Open your eyes and ears to what is going on around you. Make effort to truly listen to others. Take the time to really hear what another person is saying and to ask questions. Understanding another point of view is one of the most valuable ways people have to learn. "Today work is about conversation; talking and listening are how knowledge workers learn, how they discover what they know, share it with their colleagues and in the process create new knowledge for the organization," wrote Allan Webber.

3. EXCERCISE YOUR MIND - Accelerate your learning process by taking a class at a local community center, college or university in something that you've always wanted to learn. It might be another language, a musical instrument, or a new software program. Thanks to modern media technology, there are many ways to absorb new information.

4. BUILD SELF-ESTEEM - Studies repeatedly have shown that people who feel good about themselves are better able to learn than those who do not. When you like yourself, you are more open, receptive and relaxed, which are qualities or conditions that are necessary to take in and absorb new information. In short, find creative ways to be good to yourself.

5. FIND A MENTOR - Many people will tell you that they wouldn't have achieved anything like their present level of success if a mentor or teacher had not cultivated their growth and development. The opportunity to observe and learn from a mentor gives one a deeper appreciation and respect for the discipline, commitment, and skill required to achieve excellence in any field. The awareness of new possibilities and higher standards inspires us to perfect and hone our skills.

6. BE OPEN - Learning is about giving yourself more options, more choices. This requires learning from the unexpected, being willing to and desirous of embracing the strange or unknown. When we're open, we're teachable - we are not afraid to entertain new thoughts, ideas, dreams, values, or beliefs. Every encounter, every interaction and insight becomes an opportunity to be more fully engaged in our dynamic world.

Thriver: Taking responsibility by David McNally

by David McNally

One crisp autumn afternoon, a husband and wife decided to go for a drive. It was a magnificent day, the sun was shining, the air clean and fresh, and winter seemed weeks away. As the couple drove along the country roads that surrounded their home, they marveled at the splash of stunning colors on both sided of the road: brilliant oranges and reds, deep maroons, and rich golds.

Suddenly, with no warning, two leather-jacketed motorcyclists came barreling out from a quiet and almost hidden lane. The bikers, after barely missing the couple's car, were gone in a flash. Shocked and shaken, the man pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. It seemed only seconds, however, before and explosion in the distance startled them even more.

The man immediately spun the car around in the direction from which the sound came. They drove just a few hundred feet before seeing what had happened; The cyclist had crashed through a guardrail, and dropped down the hillside, with one of the bikes exploding on impact. The man moved to climb down the hillside when his wife quickly grabbed his arm and said;
"What are you doing?"
"I've got to go down there and see if anyone else needs help," he said.
"Wait a minute!" his wife cautioned. "It might not be safe. How do you know there won't be another explosion?"

The man stopped as thoughts raced through his mind. What should he do? Unwittingly he was being confronted with one of those moments that can define a life. He didn't ask for it, didn't desire it, yet there it was staring him straight in the face. Whatever he decided could have a dramatic impact on his own life, his family's, and any possible survivors down below.

He stepped over the twisted guardrail and carefully and cautiously climbed down the steep embankment. He found the bikers still alive. Suddenly remembering his cellular phone, he scrambled back to his car, called an ambulance, and soon two lucky young men were rushed to a hospital. Did the man make the "right" decision? Perhaps. The bikers fully recovered. Then again, his wife's concern was justified. If the other bike had exploded, all three might have been killed. Like many of the most important decisions in our lives, the answer is rarely obvious.

To live is to make choices continually that shape the very essence of who we are. Every day is filled with defining moments, opportunities for our courage to be demonstrated and our characters to be built. Taking a responsibility for themselves and their role in the world is, unquestionable, a key characteristic of thrivers.