Trailblazing

A cool game to find out your strengths and weaknesses

Being a Trailblazer requires you to understand what your strengths and weaknesses are. You need to understand where your strengths are so you can use them to build a successful life or business. And your weaknesses? Well either you decide to improve them if it’s important to your life (I ain’t good at technology related stuff but if I want an internet job, I think I best be getting better at this) or forget them if it’s useless to your overall goals (I’m a terrible singer but I’m not trying to be the next Vanilla Ice so who cares).

But here’s the thing. I can only figure out my strengths because I know how great I am, no weaknesses here. I’m kidding… sorta. But it is hard to determine what they are because how I see myself is probably different from how everyone else sees me. And it’s important how others perceive me because my trailblazing journey depends on working, networking, and helping others.

So here’s my game. Email your friends or hang out with them over a coffee (or a beer for more honest answers) and ask them to tell you your strengths and weaknesses.

Here’s an answer I got from one of my friends I emailed:

Collonius Best Qualities:

- Innovation: Clearing the table and making things his own, rather than trying to fit it into someone else’s formula.

- Presentness: Always “there” with you, being fully present in the conversation/ situation.

- Interested: Collonius always seems to find the good in everyone, even when everyone else is throwing tomatoes (eg. Dev Chevendra’s speech)

- Ballsy/Adventurous: BodPod, running DOWN the Grouse Grind, etc. etc.

Quality to Work On:

- Hmm. I honestly sat here for 20 minutes thinking, and then I had to “Save Now” for later.

- Three hours later, and still nothing. Maybe you’re perfect? ….Awwwwwwwww, snugglebunny.

- Hmm. Something you could work on.

- Strange. I think this is probably the part you were looking forward to the most, for self-development’s sake, and it’s something I can’t even come up with.

- Maybe…..? I honestly can’t think of anything. What you’re doing, who you are, the way you’re building yourself… it all seems to be going in a very promising direction.

- It sucks that I can’t think of anything, dude. What’re your thoughts on what you could work on most? You seem very well-rounded to me, brother.

- Strengthening ties with the family unit? Like with your mom/pops/Russ? I dunno – even that isn’t bad in any way – I think it might just be strained temporarily ’cause cash is temporarily scarce for you, and your pops is getting money-focused more recently… but even that you’re making headway with, so I can’t think of anything, dude.

My head was slightly swollen after I got this.

I asked another friend and she said:

Best Qualities: “You’re driven”

Quality to Work On: “Being transparent and authentic”

This is helpful. I thought I was a transparent person but maybe people around me don’t think so? This is definitely something I can work on because being both transparent and authentic is important to my life.

Whether this exercise inflates your ego or gives you some practical to work on, it will be interesting to see how the people in your life perceive you. So send out some emails and see what cool answers you get back.