5 Ways to Identify Your Purpose and Unique Talent

How many of you 'get' the concept of finding your passion and building a business around it, but are

struggling to make it happen?

I get it. Being told to find your passion is like being told to cheer up when you're feeling depressed. Not only is it not helpful, it's counter-productive because it just makes you feel even more disconnected from your inner gifts.

Wherever you are on the spectrum of finding purpose and meaning through your creative expertise, everything you need is within you. It's just a matter of bringing it to light, little by little.

Here are 5 ways to help you do that:

1) Meditate (any which way you can)

As those of you who've been hanging out with me a while know, I fervently believe personal and professional development go hand-in-hand. If you don't manage your mind someone else will do it for you (and believe me, that's never going to end well!) So how do you do that? Pretty much every entrepreneurial or spiritual leader will tell you the same thing - through meditation.

I know, I know, meditation's hard. Who wants to sit still, trying (and failing) to still their monkey mind, especially when there's so much to do? If sitting still and meditating feels too challenging, try listening to a guided meditation on your iphone as you walk. Anything that stills your mind, even for a minute, is helpful. One minute a day. We can all try that, right? 

2) Look for ways to feel inspired

I can't tell you how many times I get an idea for a newsletter, talk or program by listening to an interview with someone I admire. In fact, this post was inspired by this Brené Brown talk. No matter what field you're in, there are thought-leaders and pioneers paving the way. Read their books, go to conferences where they're speaking, watch or read interviews with them. Greatness is contagious, so rub elbows with those who've got it going on.

3) Get input from a trusted partner

The tricky thing about gifts is they come so easily to us, we think everyone possesses them. When in fact, it's precisely that gift that others need, and will pay for. Using a trusted partner as a mirror to help you identify your talents can be incredibly clarifying, so consider recruiting a great client, a supportive friend/accountability buddy, or a coach to help shine a light on it.

4) Identify the problems you are uniquely equipped to solve

The thing that makes your unique gift have value and IMPACT in the world is figuring out what problems you solve, and for whom. Knowing who your ideal client is will give you clarity, purpose and make your efforts all the more effective. Not knowing who your ideal clients are, or how you solve their biggest challenges, is often the missing piece of the puzzle for struggling entrepreneurs or freelancers, so if you could use some clarity around that's my specialty!

5) Communicate how your ideal client benefits from your gifts

As a result of working with you, will your ideal client: 

- Have a more successful brand 
- Feel healthier 
- Have more free time 
- Make more money 
- Look better

People will only hire you if they can immediately see how doing so will positively transform your life. Take the time to really get clear on these benefits and make those the center of your messaging and content. I promise, it's a game changer. 

I get that there's a lot of information here and putting it all together, in the right order and sticking with it long enough to get results is a tall order. If you're ready to get the clarity you need to align your gifts, message and services with the clients who have the burning desire and money to invest in working with you, I'd love to help you reach your goals.

6 Ways Structure Can Help You Achieve Peak Creative Performance

As a business coach for freelancers and creative professionals, I specialize in working with people who are in a place of transition in their career or creative business. While their unique circumstances vary, more often than not they share one key challenge; they're not fulfilling their creative and commercial potential. I've come to believe that a successful creative business is a blend of four things: 

(1) a great product or service 

(2) good strategy 

(3) hard work and 

(4) a willingness to be out of our comfort zone more often that not. 

Hey, if it were easy, everyone would do it, right?

But the creative business is a unique and sensitive animal. If it's all about strategy and objectives, we lose the creative magic and if it's all about creativity, nothing gets done. So, how can we find and maintain balance?

After working with creative professionals for 15 years, being business owner myself for eight and benefiting from the wisdom of mentors and coaches, I've come to the conclusion that success comes down to one thing:

Creating a solid structure, within which there is a lot of freedom.

If you're in that place of transition and don't know how to balance structure and freedom, I'd like to share 6 strategies that have worked for me: 

1) Know what you want from your business

If we don't know where we want to go, we can't create a plan to get there. Set aside some uninterrupted time to really think about what you want from your business. When we're honest with ourselves, the answer is sometimes very different from what we think we want. For example:

- Are you starting a business and want to build a roster of ideal clients? 
- Are you happy with your business and clients, but would like a few more? 
- Do you want to build a business that is flexible enough to work around your family's schedule? 
- Do you want to be known as a thought-leader in your industry? 

You can see how the strategy would be vastly different for each of these businesses, so it's important to get clear from the outset. 

2) Write down everything you need to do to achieve your goal

Doing a brain dump is a great way to get all of your ideas out of your head and into one place. I love the mind-map method. It's simple, effective and perfect for visual types. Here's how you do it:

Take a piece of paper and put your main topic, e.g. your business name, at the center. As thoughts come to mind, draw branches from the main topic and write down that thought or objective (use as few words as possible). You can create sub-branches for additional thoughts or action steps. 

I love Goggle for creating mind maps that look pretty too! 

3) Prioritize and calendarize 

(I know it's not a word, but it should be!) 
Take your mind map and number your goals by priority. Start with number one, let's use Networking as the example, and list action steps you need to take. They night be: 

 
(a) Research BNI and visit one chapter this month  

  (b) Become a member of Freelancer's Union and attend one event this month 

   (c) Research local AIGA chapter

Now enter those action steps into your calendar. Once it's in the calendar it moves from a "should" to a done deal. Now you're free to do something else. 

4) Bundle your to-do's

Have you ever ended your day feeling exhausted and frustrated because you ran around like a headless chicken, without much to show for it? I have and it sucks.
I now bundle similar tasks together and take care of them in one sitting. I set Friday aside for book keeping and general admin. Monday is dedicated to content development and marketing and I cluster my coaching sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so that I can stay in the zone and be as present as I can. Clustering your efforts also helps you balance "doing" and "creating". 

5) Work with your natural rhythms

It's no coincidence that my writing/content work is slated for Monday when I'm fresh and my boring admin is on Friday, when I'm spent. I go for an early morning run on one of my coaching days, knowing that I will benefit the most from the boost of energy and clarity it provides. 

6) Make time to play and create

Do you deny yourself downtime because you feel guilty that you're not being "productive?" I struggle with this and, while we may think of it as a noble trait, it's really not. The fact is, we need time to dream, play and create. It's what gives us the magic, the inspiration and energy we need to do all of the above steps. Down time should be as much of a priority as everything else. So put THAT in your calendar and stick to it!

Be Your Very Best With These Personal Development Tips

Each person is unique, and so personal development should be customized to your way of life. With that being said, you need to try and learn as much information as possible to help you in your personal development. The below article can assist you in this regard because it contains a variety of tips that can be used for improving yourself.

Many people often have goals that are too broad, when they are trying to grow through personal development. Create a specific goal for yourself. Well defined goals will garner targeted results. 

Before you begin working on your personal development, you first need to understand your place in the universe. The more humble you are, realizing that there is room for growth, the more willing you are to gain knowledge. Once this idea gets instilled in your mind, you will want to know, understand and learn new things, therefore, improving yourself.


Do you consume more alcohol than you should? Do you make a habit of smoking or engaging in other harmful vices? 

The body is considered a temple, and it needs to be treated with care and respect. Try getting rid of your bad habits; it can be important to making your life better. Take a look at your overall life and the habits you engage in to figure out if there is something you can eliminate.


A positive attitude can be a powerful way to grow your spiritual nature. Living your life with a poor attitude will only attract more of the same to your life. Instead, be "pragmatically positive." This is the idea that a positive attitude will yield instrumental gain.


Someone might have told you that listening skills are just as essential as speaking skills. This truth applies even more to those who are making a concentrated effort to develop themselves on a personal level. 

Don't just listen to other people. Listen to yourself. You will have a hard time finding what your goals are if you are not listening to yourself.


One important aspect of personal development is deciding what you want out of life. You can plan more effectively and enjoy a more accurate perspective on personal development when you have set long-term goals.


To be an effective leader, you must combine humility with power. You can redirect people in a gentle way, and keep in mind that it is best to lead by example. Being a great leader requires that you uphold a standard of integrity and values that others are proud to follow, no matter what the capacity is in which you lead.

If you want to grow and change, you have to consciously make the choice to change. Accepting change will allow you to grow on your path to self development.

You should always want a higher level of self restraint when working hard for personal development. Learn to develop a strong sense of self control. Overcome your body's desire to overindulge in pleasure. Eating is uncomfortable and unhealthy when it becomes overeating; lustful or drunken behavior will harm your body as well. 

Being able to control your desires and restrain your urges will keep you from harming your mind and your body.


If you experience anxiety in social situations, ask a friend to join you at the movie theater. This activity will force you to be around others, but you do not have to talk to them very much, which will minimize your discomfort. This will help get you used to being in the same vicinity with lots of different people.

There are things you can do throughout the day to accomplish more work while at your job. This can be achieved by taking frequent breaks from work. This might sound counterproductive, but breaks allow you to refocus and re-energize, allowing you to return and work more efficiently.


Try to be content with developing and enhancing your existing strengths. We need all kinds of people in the world, because diversity helps us to stay strong. Don't fret talents you have not yet developed, and spend your time building off of the skill set you have already mastered or been blessed with. 

One of the most important elements of personal development is taking proper care of your health. When you are healthy, you feel better and have more energy. You can think more clearly, and even save time and money, by not having to go to the doctor on a regular basis. 

Make a concerted effort to adopt healthy practices.


As you can see, personal development is simpler than it looks. By breaking your personal development process into small, manageable goals, you'll find yourself closer to your goals by the end of every day. You'll be able to practice what you're seeking to adopt as habit, and you'll increase your own morale to continue. These tips are only a springboard, it's up to you to build a better life.