Lead with Your "Best Pitch" - Day 67 of 365 Days to a Better You

Lead with your "best pitch."

You don't need a GPS to find your strengths. They live at the intersection of passion and talent.~Ray Davis

It defies logic, but we human beings often become focused on our weaknesses and lack rather than our strengths and capabilities.There's a great quote from the 1987 series premiere of Star Trek the Next Generation. The Enterprise crew is on trial at the hands of the omnipotent advanced being Q. He accuses humanity of being "a savage child race." He threatens to force humanity back to Earth and confine us there. Q has established a test for Captain Picard and a timeline for its achievement or else.As Q badgers Picard, the stalwart captain finally tells his second-in-command, "If we're going to be damned, let's be damned for who we really are."I've always loved that quote. It's similar to a baseball saying, "If you're going to be beat me, you're going to have to beat me on my best pitch."There's a defiance in both quotes and a determination not to shy away from your best because it might not work. To extend the baseball metaphor, if you're fastball's your best pitch, why go through life throwing curve balls? Put your best foot forward. Lean on those things you're best at and ride them all the way to victory. Even on those occasions when you lose, at least you did all you could.Power hack: To make this tip work for you, do the following.

1. Identify your strengths: If you don't know your strengths, figure out what they are. They have a relatively easy address. Where your passion meets your talents, that's where your strengths are. You may be passionate about something, but have no talent. That's not a current strength. Conversely, you may be great at something but have no passion. That's not a current strength.
2. Give yourself credit: Stop doubting your strengths. Believe in them and where they can take you. You're good at these things, damn good. Admit that and use them to your advantage.
3. Throw your best pitch: If your fastball is your best pitch, throw fastballs. If your curve ball is your best pitch, throw curve balls. This gives you your best chance to succeed in life.
4. Learn and regroup: Even going with your strengths, you won't always win. A well-studied loss is worth a dozen mindless victories. Don't move away from your strengths because you failed. Evaluate, recharge, and come back stronger. I'm on a sports theme today. Have you ever noticed how a young team rarely goes all the way to a championship right away? Often they have to go to the brink once or twice before they win the big prize. It's not because they lack the talent the first time. It's that they lack the experience. The moment became too big and talent wasn't enough to overcome it.

When you lead with your passionate talents and combine it with experience, you can become an unstoppable force. If you spend your life throwing your second-best pitch, you'll never know.Stay inspired, my friends!RayLooking for audio motivation to add to your playlist? Look no further. Checkout the downloads available on the TAS website.