Know Your Strengths & Leverage Them

One of the best things you can do for yourself—both in business and life—is to take a step back and honestly assess your strengths and weaknesses.

What are you actually better at than most people? Not what you wish you were good at, not what you kind of enjoy, but the thing that feels almost second nature to you—the thing that you do better than nearly everyone you’ve worked with.

For me, that’s conceptualizing data. I can look at numbers and immediately see the patterns, the trends, the story they’re telling. It’s a skill that comes naturally to me, and because of that, I’ve assumed it should be easy for others too. But I’ve learned the hard way that it’s not. Training people in this area has been a challenge because I instinctively expect them to draw conclusions from data the way I do—but most people simply don’t think that way.

So once you’ve identified your true strengths (and don’t overstuff the list—most people, if we’re honest, have one or two things they truly excel at), the next step is thinking about leverage.

How can you apply that strength in a way that creates opportunity?

For me, my ability to analyze data is invaluable in handling ad budgets—seeing the numbers, understanding what’s driving performance, and making decisions accordingly. That same strength applies to investing, trading, and helping businesses make sense of their own data. So I double down on those arenas instead of forcing myself into things like elaborate sales pitches or public speaking, which would require me to fight against my natural skill set.

The key is playing to your strengths instead of trying to become great at everything. If you focus on the areas where you have a real advantage, success becomes a lot easier.