Hi Fool,
It’s been a while since we did one of these.
Last week I had my 1 year anniversary as a writer… tears of joy, but tears are tears. Anyways, it got me thinking as celebrations of life always do– where am I? and more importantly, what’s next?
I came across an idea that spoke to me very deeply, and this has become the primary focus.
Zone of Genius.
This is not my idea, just something I’m sharing. That said,
There are four zones:
- Zone of Incompetence.
- Zone of Competence.
- Zone of Excellence.
- Zone of Genius.
Zone of Incompetence are the things that other people probably do better than you (ie- fix your car), and therefore you should outsource if they don’t give you joy.
Zone of Competence are the things that you do just fine, but others are as good as you (ie- clean your bathroom) and therefore you should outsource if they don’t give you joy.
Zone of Excellence are the things that you are excellent at (ie- better than others), but don’t love doing. This is the danger zone. Many people will want you to keep doing these things (as they gain significant value from you doing them, ie- key functions in your job), but this is the area that you should also look to move away from. This is the hard one!
Zone of Genius are the things that you are uniquely good at in the world, and that you love to do (so much so that time and space likely disappear when you do them). This is where you can add most value to the world and yourself. This is where you should be driving toward spending most, if not all, of your time.
Recruit some outside help to help you find your zone of genius. Send these questions–
In your interactions with me:
- What do I do that you experience as “world-class”?
- What do I do where I appear to be experiencing fun, peace or joy (if different from above)?
- What do I do that I am good at but that I don’t appear to enjoy?
- What do I do that I am not better than others?
- What do I do that I am actually worse than others?”
Life’s too short to not live out who we are.
Stay Foolish.
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