AlanAbar.com

by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Ph. D.

I highly recommend this book, for anyone who doesn’t know what their strengths are and want to find out what they are.  Many times in life, you will be asked “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”  This book is designed to help you understand what strengths are, and how you can discover yours.  What I like about this book is that it comes with an online strengths finder tool, that asks you various questions and produce a personal profile of your top 5 strengths based on how you answers the quiz.

 I was able to discover 5 key strengths for myself, and am now in the processes of developing them each day.  You should to, if you have trouble answering the question.

What is a Strength?

The definition of strength is “consistent near perfect performanace in an activity.”

3 Most Important Principels of Living a Strong Life

• For an activity to be a strength, you must be able to do it consistently
• You do not have to have strength in every aspect of your role in order to excel (you do the best w/ the cards you’re dealt with)  Excellent performers were rarely well rounded, but more sharp in focus
• You will only excel by maximizing your strengths, never by fixing your weaknesses

GOAL:  To capitilize on your strengths, whatever they may be, and manage around your weaknesses, whatever they may be.

Strengths = Talents + Knowledge + Skills

• Talents are your naturaully recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior
• Knowledge consists of the facts and lessons learned
• Skills are the steps of an activitiy

To build strengths you have perfected your innate talent with skills and knowledge