StrengthsFinder Strengths®

How Do You Know If You’re Living Your True Nature?

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“A fish cannot drown in water.
A bird does not fall in air.
Each creature God made
must live in its own true nature.”
~ Mechthild of Magdeburg

For us humans, we are the only species that has the joy and the burden of discovering, remembering, our own specific true nature. We each have free will to live or not live our true natures.

We can work a job that hurts our soul or spend a lifetime wishing we had different strengths. Or, we can courageously create work that celebrates our true nature and embraces our strengths.

One of my private coaching clients has Executing and Influencing strengths in her top 5 strengths. She used to wish she had some Relationship Building strengths. Instead of wishing, we began to coach her around how to create good relationships with the strengths she does have. The work has paid off beautifully because her desire for close relationships is part of her true nature.

Another client who has mostly Strategic Thinking strengths in his top 5 strengths spent much of his life feeling bad because he was considered the “crazy thinker” in a room of doers. Today he has started a company that embraces his Strategic Thinking nature. I have no doubt that his name will one day be well-known for the huge contribution of his true nature.

And, another client hired me to mentor her to become a business coach. She would have been an excellent business coach, but her heart wasn’t in it. Today she runs a non-profit that provides addiction recovery and education. She passionately writes and speaks about this issue that is so meaningful to her.

How Do You Know If You’re Living Your True Nature?
Ah, to live our true nature as effortlessly as these little loves! Might we be over-working it?

So how do we each know our own true nature?

By paying attention to what lights you up, what energizes you, what engages you.

When do you feel most alive? In what situations do you make contributions that feel effortless? Or that require focus and effort, yet feel meaningful and fulfilling to you?

When do you feel most you? When do you have the sense, “I was born for this”? When does time stand still for you? Or fly by? When do you feel connected – body, mind, heart and spirit?

How might the world shift if we all were living our true natures? Oh my goodness, that question gets me out of bed in the morning . . .

I’d love to hear your experiences . . . post them below in the comments section . . .

Might you like coaching
to discover, remember and live your true nature?

Let’s have a conversation to see if you and your situation would be a good fit for Strong from Within coaching. My gift to you.

I keep a few openings in my schedule for these important conversations – Access my calendar here now.

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for transforming stress and overwhelm into clarity and purpose”)

No Permission Needed

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Confident Vulnerability changed my life. I learned this empowering way of being in my advanced StrengthsFinder® training a couple of years ago. Thank you DeAnna Murphy of Strengths Strategy!

Confident Vulnerability looks like this.

I know what I am. I know what I’m not. I’m comfortable, confident and non-judgmental with and embrace both. I am confident in my strengths and vulnerable about the needs of my strengths and my weaknesses. This also allows me to embrace what you are and what you are not without judgment.

Full disclosure: I am still working on doing all of this more consistently.

And, as I embraced confident vulnerability as a way of life, I quit trying to hide or apologize for my weaknesses. That then freed a bunch of energy to be more fully who I am without messing around in the areas of who I’m not.

And one day recently, it occurred to me that I do not need permission to be who I am, to do what I do, to live how I live, to explore what I feel drawn to explore.

And, neither do you.

How would the world shift if we all lived in confident vulnerability, full out, unapologetically?

What if we weren’t afraid of what people will think?

I do love doing my part.

Last week I was in San Diego attending the Ascend conference. Anyone who knows me well knows that I’m not exactly the athletic type. Well, after hanging with my 12-year-old nephew Justin and 15-year-old niece Hailey, in the few minutes each evening in San Diego before it got dark, I engaged in my new sport.

Yes, I have a new sport.

Ann Strong Blog Post No Permission Needed

Four Square. Yes, the one little kids play. It’s never too late to start. I love this game. Who wants to come to the Land of Enchantment and join me?

No permission needed. Permission slips unnecessary as well!

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for returning to the joy of you”)

StrengthsFinder®: The Precise Strength in Your Top 5

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For years I’ve been curious about the brilliance, the genius, specific to each of us in our own unique combination of top StrengthsFinder® strengths. I’ve occasionally glimpsed mine. I’ve often articulated to my clients pieces and parts of theirs.

Not until recently did I realize how many clues can be found in one of the reports we receive from Gallup® when we invest 40 minutes of our time and plunk down our $19.99 to learn our top 5.

Once you’ve taken the StrengthsFinder® assessment, the 18-page Strengths Insight and Action-Planning Guide can be found by logging into your dashboard at the Gallup® website.

The beauty of this report: when it describes Connectedness (my #3 strength) for me, it describes something entirely different than for you (If you have Connectedness in your top 5). For each of us, it’s describing Connectedness with the influence of our other 4 strengths. So your Connectedness reads completely different than mine, because, more than likely, your other 4 strengths are different than mine.

Why does this matter? Because those 5 unique descriptions give us clues to ways that we be and do in the world completely different than anyone else. The 5 descriptions tell us about our completely unique lens with which we view the world.

What happens when we integrate these 5 descriptions? If we squint, read between the lines, become willing to see, have someone else tell us what they see, we will come to know the genius, the brilliance, of this person described in this one report.

It seems easier for many people to take in their report as if they are reading about someone else, rather than themselves. And, many times, it seems to take an outside perspective – someone else who can tell them what they see.

StrengthsFinder: The Precise Strength in Your Top 5

Here’s what I recognized in mine:

The glorious amalgam of Maximizer, Empathy, Connectedness, Activator and Individualization (my top 5) –

This delightful human being (me) takes a stand for the full expression of our human and divine nature. In every way she senses would be effective, she share the wonderful news of who we really are! Both specifically and Universally. She insistently and consistently calls forth the Beauty and Love of who we each are – fully ourselves, radiantly alive and gloriously messy.

What about you? If you’ve taken the StrengthsFinder®, have you read your Strengths Insight and Action-Planning Guide? What are you noticing? If you haven’t taken the StrengthsFinder® assessment and you’ve read this far, I urge you to take it now! See that glorious amalgam of me at work?!?

If you’d like an outside perspective, click here and we can schedule a time to chat!

The Natural Organizing and Aligning of Life

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I’m on the second day of a 40-day meditation for greater awareness of faith. What struck me this morning: how amazingly precisely things Organize and Align in my life without me doing it.

For example: many people don’t know that I chose my last name, Strong, in 1991. I was getting married for the second time, we wanted to share a last name and I didn’t want to take his. We spent months pondering what to choose. We wanted a name with meaning without calling attention to it. I wanted to be Ann Fortunate because that’s how I felt. And, that would have called too much attention to it. 🙂

When we thought of and chose Strong, I thought it was to help him become stronger. Ah, silly me.

We were together four years, and our marriage was miserable. We divorced and both kept the name. Perhaps one of the karmic reasons we married?

Interestingly, I took the name Strong 10 years before Gallup came out with the StrengthsFinder assessment, something that has been so integral to my work since 2008. People often asked me back then why I didn’t name my business Strong Coaching. “Too hokey,” I said over and over again.

Then a couple of years ago, I asked you, the readers of this ezine and blog, what to re-name the ezine. The clear feedback was Strong Notes. It seemed close to hokey, but I thought it was a good change – temporarily. Until I could come up with something better.

Do you see the Organizing and Aligning pattern here? And I was not only not doing it, I was resisting along the way!

How could our lives be any less Organized and Aligned than the sunflowers and the sun and the clouds?!?
How could our lives be any less Organized and Aligned
than the sunflowers and the sun and the clouds?!?

Fast forward to six months ago, and it became crystal clear to me that my next book would be Strong from Within. I finally surrendered. I renamed the company too. Strong from Within may very well be my life’s work – personally, professionally and literarily.

What I became aware of in my meditation this morning: something greater than me is Organizing and Aligning my life. Then, I had a few blissful minutes of knowing what it feels like to have faith in that!

What about you? What do you notice has Organized and Aligned in your life?

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for returning to the joy of you”)

The Best Way to Take a Stand for Your Contributions

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Last week, one of my colleagues told me that learning his top 5 StrengthsFinder strengths changed the trajectory of his life.

This after I had encouraged him to take the StrengthsFinder assessment when he had shared some frustrations about his job. Wow, he caught my attention, and I couldn’t wait to find out what he meant.

He told me that all of his life he had tried to bring new ideas and improvements to his jobs only to be told over and over again, “That’s not what we hired you for. Just do your job.”

His strengths indicate that his genius lies in sifting through many big ideas, projecting them into the future, choosing the ones that will make a huge impact and bringing those to fruition. We are talking about ideas on par with iPhone, Facebook or Uber. When his StrengthsFinder report echoed what he already knew about himself, he transformed in that moment.

“I have to start my own company. I am not going to let anyone hold me back anymore. I know I can make this happen.” In an instant, he went from feeling depressed and frustrated about being under-utilized to taking a stand for the huge contribution he is here to bring into reality.

It brought tears to my eyes. How would our experience of life shift if we each took a stand for ourselves and our unique strengths and contributions?!?

I’m on a mission.

Shidoni Sculpture Gardens in Teseque, NM

One of my greatest contributions based on my StrengthsFinder Strengths: seeing and calling forth your brilliance and your contributions. I spotted and captured this incredible contribution at the Shidoni Sculpture Gardens. Tesuque, NM.

If you already know your strengths and contributions, would you be willing to share them here to inspire others?

If you don’t yet know your top 5 StrengthsFinder strengths, would you be willing to love yourself and the world enough to invest $10 and 40 minutes to learn them so you can more confidently make the contributions that are only yours to make?!?

If so, click here to take the Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment.

Here’s to more awesome contributions to the planet!

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for returning to the joy of you”)

Post your strengths and contributions below . . .

A Strong from Within Interview

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I was interviewed a couple of weeks ago by Irma Vargas for the Be Your Own Leader Summit.

I talked about:

  • Aligning our internal StrengthsFinder strengths team by paying attention to our strengths within us.
  • Focusing on consistently being and living our core values.
  • Committing to daily practices that nourish our body, mind, heart and spirit.
  • Orienting our life and work around what sparks joy for us.
  • Living from the inside out strengthens us. When we live from the knowing that we create our world by our thoughts and feelings, we give up the notion that we are victims of external circumstances. We naturally thrive.

Great listen for StrengthsFinder pros, StrengthsFinder newbies and Strong from Within enthusiasts.
35 minutes.

microphone

Click the microphone to listen to or download the interview.

I would love your thoughts and responses. Post comments and insights below . . .

How Do Your Strengths Influence What You Value about Coaching?

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Coaching since 1997, I have noticed that we all hire coaches to help us create more fulfilling lives. The wonderful and fascinating thing about consciously creating our lives: there are as many ways to do it as there are people on the planet.

Perhaps that’s why we have so many types of coaching – from business to intimacy, from spiritual to success, from health to grief. Over the years, I myself have worked with 14 different coaches. Each for different reasons.

And I have noticed patterns about why people hire coaches based on their strengths.

Strategic Thinkers hire me as a thinking partner and for accountability.

Executing folks either hire me to help them get even more stuff done or to improve their relationships. People who have the Executing strength of Responsibility in their top 5 usually hire me to learn how to (finally) be responsible to themselves first or to deepen their spiritual practice.

Relationship Builders hire me to create a connection and learn more about themselves through our relationship. They love it when I help them see their blind spots.

Influencers hire me to leverage their reach with people. They are often interested in how to move even more people or how to influence them more deeply.

train tracks
What makes your life fulfilling and meaningful?

So, what about you? Do you know your top 5 strengths? What have you noticed has brought you the greatest value from coaching?

(If you don’t know your StrengthsFinder strengths, I highly recommend that you invest $19.99 and 30 – 40 minutes to learn what makes you one-of-a-kind! That’s me at my Influencing best.)

I would love your thoughts and responses. Post comments and insights below . . .

What if New Energy Easily Dissolves the Need to Control?

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Recently, I facilitated a StrengthsFinder workshop with less than 24 hours notice, stepping in for a sick colleague. Because there was no time to jump on a plane, the 16 participants gathered in a room in San Diego and I was teleconferenced into the room from Santa Fe.

I worked with a wonderful support facilitator, Rachel, who was in the room in San Diego. She was also an amazing conferencing engineer.

Our strengths couldn’t have been more complimentary. All of her top 5 strengths are tasks strengths – executing and strategic thinking strengths. My top 5 are all people strengths – relationship building and influencing.

We had several huge tech problems in our run-through and Rachel got us through every one with ease and humor. So many things were out of my control – very little time to prepare, rescheduling work that I had planned for that day, all the various ways technology misbehaves and the list goes on . . .

I could feel myself trying to control my feelings, “Don’t get upset. Don’t worry. Be positive.” Internally, I could hear myself trying to control my behavior, “Smile more. Keep pushing through. Rearrange your schedule this particular way. Trust.”

In a moment of grace and insight, I let it all go. I recognized that I had this wonderful opportunity to introduce 16 people to their own strengths. This is one of my greatest joys. I became present to the purpose of what we were doing and let the details work themselves out.

I saw how often my need to control actually keeps me from being present and enjoying life. Somehow this awareness helped me relax.

Ahhh, to boldly put your little face to the sun, not 2 inches off the ground in the middle of a hiking trail! That's being willing to relax without needing to control . . .
Ahhh, to boldly put your little face to the sun, not
2 inches off the ground in the middle of a hiking trail!
That’s being willing to relax without needing to control . . .

From my new relaxed energy, all my work easily rescheduled. Rachel worked out all the bugs in the run-through and the technical aspects of the actual workshop went smoothly.

I have facilitated both teleconferences and in-person workshops. This was my first experience of the hybrid of teleconference and in-person. I never did figure out how to “get into the room” more. I definitely felt a barrier between me up there on the big monitor and all of them in the room.

I wanted less of a barrier so that they could get more from the workshop. There I was trying to control again . . . So once again, I let it go. I held a clear intention that they would receive huge value, I did all I could do toward that end and I let the rest go.

When I drop needing to control, it creates a wonderful spaciousness. I could then be present with them (even if I was 850 miles away) and work my magic.

I would love your thoughts and experiences.

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My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

Evoking the Best of You: Activated by Martin Luther King, Jr

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Today is Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. Almost every year at this time I write about how he has influenced me.

While taking my Strengths Strategy Coaching certification course last year, my trainer and mentor DeAnna used him as a shining example of the best of the StrengthsFinder Activator strength. With Activator as my #4 strength, I felt a renewed sense of our kinship and a renewed commitment to Activate people in a way that makes this world a better place.

Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr for activating us to greater love for all people.

Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr for activating
us to greater love for all people.

His dream involved nonviolence, justice and equality, social and political reform.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr

My dream involves each of us as individuals dissolving the old patterns and habits that bind us. Deeply connecting with and honoring ourselves so that we can fully express ourselves. For me, Martin Luther King Jr serves as a brilliant example of fully expressing himself.

“I fiercely hold the vision of this person in front of me loving and valuing themselves no matter what, so that they may offer the world the one-of-a-kind gift of their self-expression.”
– Ann Strong

What about you? What is your dream? How can I Activate you to take your next step in the direction of that dream that only you can fulfill?

Thank you Martin Luther King, Jr.

Post your comments and insights below.

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My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

StrengthsFinder™: Good to Great Enough

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When does going for Excellence become a burden?  All strengths have their dark side.  The strength of Maximizer is no exception.  I know this one from the inside, as it is my own number one StrengthsFinder™ strength.  And, of course, I have served as a great match for dozens of clients over the years with Maximizer in their top 5.

Maximizer suffers no fools.  Not even ourselves. 

Recently one of my clients with Maximizer in her top 5 dug in her heels.  For several months we had been doing strengths coaching with her leadership team of four.  When it was time to bring strengths training to the rest of the staff in her small business, she asked, “Why should we do this?  How do we know it will work with them?”

She caught me by surprise.  She loves StrengthsFinder.  It was her idea to bring it to the company.  What was going on?

When I had a one-on-one conversation with her, it became clear that her Maximizer had been triggered.  Sure we had seen greater engagement and more distribution of the workload based on strengths with the leadership team, but how did we know that would carry through to the rest of the team?

She knew that what we were doing was good, but would it continue with the team and become great?  When Maximizer goes to the dark side, the translation of “great” equals perfect.  Managing the trigger requires dialing “perfect” back to great enough.

rainbow

It would be so easy for my own Maximizer to
wish that the second rainbow were as vibrant
as the first.  Or, that I could have taken a
picture of both rainbows all the way across. 
Instead, I call upon my Connectedness and
Positivity strengths and feel happy that I am
connected to nature in this way and grateful
that I did capture the moment in a meaningful
and beautiful way!

By calling on her strengths of Responsibility (to her team and to her original commitment of becoming a strengths-based company) and her strength of Self-Assurance (confidence and trust in her original decision), we are once again moving forward – toward this amazing destination called “great enough.”

What about you?  If you know your StrengthsFinder strengths, when have you noticed one of your strengths being triggered?  How did you get back to making your contribution?

Post your comments, insights and progress below.

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If you haven’t yet taken the StrengthsFinder™ assessment, I highly recommend it!

It costs $19.99 and takes 30 – 40 minutes to complete.
They will immediately email you your top 5 strengths and a report about them. 

I would love to know your to 5 strengths, if you’d like to share them with me!

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Strong from Within . . .

If you are feeling called to go deeper with your strengths at home or at work, let’s have a conversation to explore if the one-on-one Strong from Within coaching program would be a good fit for you.

Click here to schedule your conversation.

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My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order