Make Your Greatest Contributions.

Part 3 of Thrive NOW! Live a Fuller, Richer Life, Starting Today!

In Thrive NOW! Part One, I encouraged you to identify your greatest strengths, what I call your Highest Talents™. In Part Two, I advised you to do more of what you love and less of what you don’t, by focusing on using your Highest Talents™.

In Part Three, I want to assure you that, when you use your Highest Talents™ to do more of what you love and less of what you don’t, you are in all likelihood making your greatest contributions, which leads to greater professional and personal success and happiness. 

How do you know if you’re making your Greatest Contributions? This is not necessarily about working for a not-for-profit, though it can be; this is about doing good work that contributes to your clients, your organization and – by extension, your community. If you’re a trial attorney, that might include thinking strategically to lay out your case or relating to people both intellectually and emotionally to connect with judges and juries. If you’re a journalist, that might include researching to locate sources, interviewing to garner critical information and writing powerfully to convey compelling stories. What feedback do you get about your work? Do you win cases? Do you persuade judges and juries? Do people read your stories? Is there evidence that you change minds? Do your clients request more services, refer new clients? Do your colleagues – at all levels – seek your advice? All of these are signs that you’re making your greatest contributions!

Who benefits from your Greatest Contributions and how do they benefit? If you’re a star, using your Highest Talents™ and making your greatest contributions, the people who immediately benefit are your clients, colleagues and firm or organization. The more you focus on your talents to make your greatest contributions, the more your influence and the number of people you influence expands. Often this happens as your career grows. Maybe you change laws, legal interpretations. Maybe your stories change minds, actions, votes. You might become a role model within your organization and profession or within your community. Personally, your family and friends will also benefit, because they’ll experience your satisfaction and pleasure. Who benefits from your work, directly or indirectly?

How do you benefit from making your Greatest Contributions? Do you derive satisfaction from your work? If you’re busy or stressed right now, slow down, get quiet and ask yourself, “How do I feel about my work when I’ve won a case, when a client genuinely thanks me, when I know I’ve done good work?” Maybe you’re being well-compensated (or maybe not as well as you think you should be), maybe you’re being recognized for your contribution (or maybe not as much as you think you should be), but when you get quiet and contemplate, do you know you’re doing good work, making a difference? When you’re using your Highest Talents™ and making your Greatest Contributions, no one benefits more than you do. You feel it!