Genius feels like a pipedream for most of us. We think of genius, as if it’s something that’s confined merely to the top 1%. It’s Albert Einstein and Margaret Thatcher.

The rest of us can hope (at best) for something slightly better than mediocrity, right?

Wrong.

The difference between you and Steve Jobs or Maya Angelou is not whether you have genius, but whether you choose to seek it out and use it. Whether you believe it or not, you have what author of The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks, calls a Zone of Genius.

Your Zone of Genius, as he defines it, isn’t just about being good, or even excellent at something. Oprah, for example, isn’t just a “good” presenter. She’s the best in the world not because she’s pretending to be Barbara Walters…but because she’s being Oprah and asking the hard questions and getting people to pour out their story. That’s her Zone of Genius.

Although it’s likely not rapping freestyle on major records, developing world-changing physics equations, or serving as the first female Prime Minister, you have something like this–something only you can do, some contribution only you can make to the world around you. Your own version of this same talent, or Genius as we call it.

Living in your Zone of Genius about expressing your unique gifts in a way that no one else on this planet can. There’s this subtle, yet profound difference in the amount of effort doing something requires. Instead of forcing yourself to get up and grind, operating in your Zone of Genius brings with it a sense of powerful flow.

Past and present changemakers are the people who are willing to make the uncomfortable leap from their Zone of Excellence to their Zone of Genius. To shift from doing what the world tells them they are “good” at to doing the things they were put on this planet to do.

The problem is, so many of us are trapped in our Zone of Excellence or our Zone of Competence just doing:

1. what someone else tells us we are good at,
2. what we believe we are capable of (which is far less than our true potential), or
3. what someone we admire is doing.

In any case, we could be getting closer to our Zone of Genius, but are likely still stuck below that level, playing at a fraction of the level we are truly capable of.

To make the most of your life on this planet, you need to commit yourself to finding and living in your Zone of Genius as much as possible.

The question is: how do you find it?

First, before I tell you my tips for finding your Zone of Genius, let’s talk about the characteristics of that Zone, so you’ll know you’ve found it.

In moments when you are aligned with your Genius, there’s a unique sense of:

• Effortlessness
• Excitement
• Intrigue
• Alignment
• Clarity
• Impact

You aren’t caught up in the analysis of everything. You are just doing–and it feels right. Not just in the moral sense, but in a cosmic sense. It’s as if the universe is making an audible click in support of you. There is a mystique to it. A flow. A magical sense of pure presence. Little resistance.

It’s the intersection of passion, purpose, ability, and talent. It can’t be chosen from a list of university majors or careers. It’s something that’s in you, something that you naturally desire to gravitate towards.

To find it you must:

• Ask yourself deep questions (and listen to the unfiltered answers).

Such as:

• If you weren’t speaking from fear, what do you believe you can do better than anyone else on this planet?
• When do you lose time? What are you doing? How does it feel? How much time are you spending in that flow?
• What is that you want to do so badly that you want to get up in the morning and do it?
• What do you do with your time that has nothing to do with recognition or achievement?
• What requires no forcefulness from you to get yourself moving?
• From what activities do you gain energy rather than use it?
• Document your “flow” moments.

When you get that feeling of “losing time,” write it down. It isn’t arbitrary. What you were doing, how you were doing it–that’s an arrow pointing you in the direction of your Zone of Genius. The best thing you can do in those moments is notice them and document them. So if you forget, you have a little note to come back to–reminding yourself what creates that sense of unity with the world around you and powerful drive.

• Allow yourself to just be.

Getting into your Zone of Genius is about listening to the subtle hints from the Universe telling you who you are and what you have been designed for. You can’t hear these signals through the noise of everyday life. So, you need to carve out time to really sit with yourself and just listen. Allow those hints to drop and take them seriously when they do. Meditate. Journal. Spend time in nature.

• Test, collect data, and refine.

This seems counterintuitive since I said living in your Zone of Genius requires no analysis. But the truth is, school can really mess us up. It pushes us to do things and choose careers that are based on expected future salaries, not contribution or fulfillment.

So, in adult life–it’s our chance to take control and try as many different things as we want. We have to discover and develop our Zone of Genius. And to do that, we must escape the confines and paradigms we’ve grown up in. We need to expand our vision of what’s possible. The only way to do that is to try a bunch of different things and refine until you figure out that thing that makes you tick.

• Become a creator.

Take the space that you need to be more autonomous. Use your human power to create something–a piece of art, writing, music, business process, relationship, product, whatever. Create something and see how it feels.

We are all meant to CREATE. The only reason we don’t is because we think we can’t. When you find something that you love the process of creating, you’ve stumbled on a crucial piece of your Genius.

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Choosing to live in your Zone of Genius can be terrifying. Based on your conditions and beliefs of what’s possible, you can easily be held back from even discovering it. There’s some little voice in there–telling you “NO, not THAT.”

But if you’ve read this far: it’s because you know there’s something there. You know there’s something more. You know there’s something in you that is still untapped.

I know it, too. It’s your Genius. And I hope and pray you find the courage to step into it.

Because people who live in their Zone of Genius not only make massive contributions to the world around them, but they are happier, more energized, healthier, and more productive.

That’s what I want for you. Because the purpose of life is not to try and be like everyone else–but to find and cultivate those unique gifts inside of you. It’s not to follow the rules, but to write your own.

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P.S. Whenever you’re ready …. here are 4 ways I can help you create a life you’re in LOVE with:

1. Take my Purpose eCourse

I have developed a series of Foundational eCourses that will give you the skills, knowledge and life tools that you need to begin designing a life, relationship, career or business that you are in love with. If you want to live your own definition of success, start here with proven tools, strategies and formulas.

Ready to begin your next chapter? If so, I’d love you to join me…– Click here

2. Grab a copy of my FREE Ultimate Decision Making Framework. My clients and I are obsessed with with this Framework.

I use The Ultimate Decision Making Framework to ensure my decisions are in alignment with my overall Purpose. I know you will love it as much as I do! – Click Here

3. Join the Purpose and Profit community and connect with visionary’s and business owners who are also driven to create a life they love

It’s my Facebook Group where driven individuals learn how to create a Purposeful and Profitable life. – Click Here

4. Work with me and my team privately

If you’d like to work with me 1:1 to unlock me to unlock your Purpose… just send me a message with the word “Purpose”… tell me a little about yourself and what you would like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details! – Click here