Thanks for sharing your personal experience with this. I think you bring up a great point about how we always have the choice to go back and work on our weaknesses once we've contributed something through the use of our strengths.

In regards to your question, I think there's a growing awareness now of the value of engaging/interacting with people on a more emotional level in terms of business. However, I don't think that translates into a greater appreciation or use of this approach in using people's strengths/passions to aid a company's renewal/push for growth. I do believe, though, that as more people take the time to reflect on themselves, on what their true abilities are and how that aligns with their passions, this will become more prevalent as businesses start seeing the value it brings to their company's growth and prosperity.

Thanks again for the great comment and question, Richard.

I agree that it's a challenge to truly understand what your strengths are, or what's behind this idea you feel so passionate about. But that's why I found these stories so fascinating and important to share as they demonstrate that this process is far from being linear. For each of these individuals, they found themselves not looking at a fork in a road, but a completely new and unexpected tangent from the course they were taking thus far.

Their individual stories prove that this change in course was hardly an easy one. And yet, as we see in the end outcome, it was certainly a worthy one.

Thanks for sharing your insights on this, Mary Jo. A pleasure to have you participate in the discussion.

Life seems so much easier when I acknowledge and employ the gifts I have. I wonder Tanveer, if you have noticed more people engaging their passions in the business world lately ? It seems to me a bit of awakening happening.
.-= Richard A Marti Jr´s last blog ..“OGM My Blog is Gone” -Prevent the Panic =-.

Discovering one or the other is hard enough. Discovering both and putting them to work at the interface can be even harder! It sometimes takes a lot of trials to assure that you are in the right place, doing the right things – ala Steve Jobs.

Thanks for a great post.