Is It TOO Late For You?
Does this sound familiar…
- You’re great at what you do…but you’re not living in a fulfilled state.
- You’re getting positive feedback… but you’re not feeling worthy or successful.
- You’re frustrated you can’t figure it out on your own.
- But you know you’re meant for much, much, more.
These are classic signs that you are not living in your most “true to you” state, otherwise known as Your Zone Of Genius, a term made popular by Gay Hendricks who wrote, “The Genius Zone” and “The Big Leap”. In his books he talks about your 3 other Zones: Zone of Incompetence, Zone of Competence, Zone of Excellence. Although Gay Hendricks mostly writes from a person’s Career point of view, we’ll be taking a deeper look at each of these Zones from the standpoint of an aspiring entrepreneur, since my area of specialty is helping high achievers build an Online Business in 90-Days by staying in their Zone of Genius.
Why Finding Your Zone Of Genius Is Useful To Help You Start Your Online Business
I’d like to tell you a story of a successful, mid-six-figure earner, who was recognized as an Expert in her field, but felt unfulfilled and that it was too late in life to do anything about it. It’s a story close to my heart, because it’s my story, and perhaps you can relate to it too.
From the outside it seemed like I had it all. I was an owner of a Retained Executive Search Firm and I was highly sought out by companies looking for rainmakers to fill critical roles in their organization. I was put on retainer and paid handsomely to fill these positions because I was very good at it.
What wasn’t obvious to anyone else but me, was the empty feeling I had inside while working my cases. I loved my clients, and I loved the relationships I built as I was researching to find the best candidate for the role, however, I didn’t love “what I was doing”. It just didn’t give me the kind of energizing fulfillment I craved to “feel” successful.
Living 20+ years in my Zone of Excellence verses my Zone of Genius, really put a toll on me. So, I finally made the decision to venture out and build my Online Business. But before I did, I had to first learn to identify and then live in my Zone of Genius. I’d like to share what I discovered and hope it provides a short cut of that process for you.
It’s all too easy to spend your life doing what others have told you that you were great at. But when you zoom out and analyze what you are doing, you’ll notice you are doing it for them. What you need to do is figure out what you need to do for you. And when you do, you will not only excel at what you do, you will be energized as well as propelled to the highest sense of fulfillment; that you’ll be unstoppable.
How Being In Your Zone Of Genius Works
When you are in Your Zone of Genius, you and your business activities will be more successful, thereby creating the life you’ve dreamed of.
The 4 Zones Explained:
1. Zone of Incompetence: In this zone, you are engaging in something you are simply not good at. That’s like me trying to figure out how to build a mobile app for my business. I won’t even attempt it. This is something that would be amazing and cool, and it definitely would be good for the success of my business, so in time, I’ll find a good developer, in their Zone of Genius, to outsource it to.
2. Zone of Competence: In this zone, you can get the job done, but no better than the next person. If you are just okay at SEO (search engine optimization), and you rely on it as a major form of traffic generation, that’s not a good thing for your business. You need to find someone who is in their Zone when given the task to SEO for you.
3. Zone of Excellence: In this zone, you are doing something you are very, very good at and may even be considered an expert. But there’s something “missing” in it for you. You don’t “feel” completely whole when doing it. That was me in my 20+ year career in Executive Recruitment. This is a dangerous Zone because most people spend most of their time here rather than in their Zone of Genius. It’s usually to the benefit of other people (i.e. your boss, your business partner, your family members) more than it is a benefit to you. You are doing it to please others, and sometimes you don’t even realize it because you are blinded by the accolades you are getting for being there. When my clients come to me, the first big revelation that comes to them is: “Wow, in my current profession, I’m in my Zone of Excellence, NOT my Zone of Genius. I’m doing a great job. I make good money. And I get regular praises and tons of good feedback. But I’m not satisfied. I need something more”. And that’s where I usually enter their life. Here’s a short video on how to Unleash Your Zone of Genius.
4. Zone of Genius: When you’re in Your Genius Zone You’re taking advantage of your natural talents and doing what you passionately enjoy. You have an “unfair advantage” over your competition. Your Zone of Genius is where you truly get the benefit for yourself first and it fuels you to give your best to others and stand out.
As an example, My Zone of Genius is helping others Launch and Monetize an Online Business in 90-Days. I enjoy every minute of it. It’s what I’ve built my whole business around.
How to find Your Zone of Genius
Here are some simple questions to ask yourself to work out your Zone of Genius.
“What do I most love to do? (I love it so much I can do it for long periods without getting tired or bored).”
“What work do I do that doesn’t seem like work?”
“In my work, what produces the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction to the amount of time spent?”
“What is my unique ability?” (What can I do which others are unlikely to be able to do at this level?)
Answering those questions will guide you to Your Zone of Genius.
The Key To Success Is Commitment and Consistency
Developing Your Zone Of Genius In Just Minutes A Day.
As with any other kind of lasting, meaningful change, commitment is the gateway to experiencing Your Zone of Genius. When I agree to coach busy professionals, I start by asking them to make a commitment to blocking out just ten minutes a day on their calendars to devote to cultivating their genius.
The ten minutes can involve journaling, meditating or any number of other activities that allow you to stay laser focused on your genius for ten uninterrupted minutes. After you have gotten your ten minutes a day securely into your routine, then bump it to fifteen minutes, and so on. Ultimately, I want to see my clients spending 90% of their time in their Zone of Genius. But it’s a process, and you have to start somewhere. My recommendation is to start with just ten minutes a day.
As you can imagine, most of my clients, who are highly successful people, start out spending most of their time in their Zone of Excellence. But after working together, I’m able to help them not only launch and build their Online Business, but doing it in their Zone of Genius, which is so rewarding. We do this by having them focus on their commitment, pinpoint those things which could be delegated or outsourced, and only do the things which they are highly skilled in and which gives them the most satisfaction. That’s just the first Phase of my Formula.
Why We Miss Our Purpose
Most of us were praised at a young age for something we were really good at. We became conditioned to seek approval from the outside. As the approval became more and more frequent, it dimmed the fact that the thing we were excelling at wasn’t providing the fulfillment we desperately needed. The positive feedback kept coming and so did pay raises. As time went on, you woke up one day and realized you were emotionally drained and feeling unsatisfied, and now, even though you might feel like it’s too late, you just want more.
Why We Don’t Stay In Our Zone Of Genius
If working in our Zone of Genius is so essential for creating a sustainable business and is enjoyable in itself, why don’t we spend most of our time there? Why on earth would we bother with the activities in the competent or excellence zones?
For the clients I help, most times when you first start an Online Business, it usually begins as a solo business. That could mean you have to wear all hats: admin, tech, graphics, marketing, sales, finances, etc…So if one or most of those things are outside Your Zone, sometimes you have to be the one to do them, at least temporarily. But the key is to focus and recognize Your Zone of Genius so as soon as you’re able to delegate or outsource those things that don’t serve you, you are prepared and have a plan, so you are not stuck.
But I also find another thing that happens. Sometimes, maybe the Genius Zone work is just too delicious for us to let ourselves do it for long. It feels selfish. Or we feel we don’t deserve it. This happens when something in our subconscious tells us that we didn’t earn the right to be this happy, so we do something that will mess it up. Maybe we don’t feel that we deserve to be doing work that we love, and we go back to answering emails or doing drudge work and then we get stuck.
Want Help In Finding Your Zone of Genius
Now that you know the potential of Your Zone of Genius, are you considering finding yours? Here’s a short video that can show you how.
