It takes more than a few self-help, leadership, parenting, and entrepreneur books to see a pattern. But patterns do show when you get into the thick of it all. I’ve been through hundreds of these types of books just in the last few years. Let me tell you, the outline of the “Life Story” is really showing.
Think about your favorite movies for a bit. There are probably a few that just struck you as awesome – and maybe a bit too similar to each other for comfort. There are two important features here: quality and meaning.
- Quality: how much you enjoyed the movie or how “sticky” it was.
- Meaning: how much of a “chord” it struck with you.
Did you know there are only a handful of movie story-line plots to go by? Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath boil them down to 3 main types.
- Challenge: “David vs. Goliath” — the underdog, rags-to-riches, and sheer willpower wins story.
- Connection: “Good Samaritan” — developing relationships to bridge a gap (like race, class, social).
- Creativity: “MacGyver” — someone making a mental breakthrough.
That’s it. Sure, there are some flavors that you can add to those base ingredients, but the main stories are all the same. Look back at your favorite movies again. I bet you can fit each one into one of those three plot-types when you try.
Why is this important? Because it’s you noticing a pattern. You are noticing a structure, an archetype, a formula to get things done. Being able to notice these types of patterns gives you a very powerful way to look at life.
Tools and Toolboxes for Your Core
It’s important you gain tools to add to your toolbox and the ability to use them anywhere. Consider this, maybe the patterns and tools you’ve been using in the past aren’t the best ones available to you. Maybe there’s another pattern or tool out there that will help you make a better life movie. A life movie that will be higher quality and more meaningful to you.
I’ve noticed some powerful patterns and tools in my journey. In the books I read, the people I meet, the people that help me, and my relentless pursuit of making a better me so I can help to make a better you.
Take it to Your Core Strengths
There’s a core group of personal strengths the biggest, brightest, and happiest folks have in common. I’ve detailed the twenty-one core strengths in my “Improve Your Strengths” post series. Here they are again for good measure:
| Adaptability | Focus | Resourcefulness |
| Ambition | Innovation | Risk Taking |
| Balance | Integrity | Salesmanship |
| Communication | Leadership | Self-Motivation |
| Curiosity | Optimism | Strategic Thinking |
| Determination | Problem Solving | Teamwork |
| Faith | Purposeful | Visionary |
These are the most powerful internal strengths that you can have. These are the most important strengths you can build to transform your life. You need these strengths more than any others. Check out the strengths series of posts for more details – there’s a post for each strength.
Building these core strengths helps you use your current tools better, and it helps you grasp new tools easier. Getting a handle on these strengths makes using all of your tools worthwhile. It’s something you’ll just have to experience going through the process – reading here and practicing out there.
Focusing on these core strengths puts your life-journey on track and makes your life scavenger hunt more enjoyable. These are the patterns of a life moving forward. Notice the patterns and strengthen your strengths.
Notice any patterns in your personal development journey? Please share, I’d like some more tools for my toolbox!
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| Photo by: familymwr |