If I’m “about” anything, it’s to promote the idea of:  Happiness for Everyone.

Sounds idealistic, you might be saying, but I don’t care what you think. Because, well, this mission makes me happy.

One area in which I attend to this idealistic mission – and I admit I picked a tough venue – is:  The Workplace (cue the “Psycho” music!).  Yes, I’m crazy enough to believe that our work culture can change and that more people can be happy at work. “Work” may have four letters, but it does not have to be a four-letter word!

As I wrote in another blog post, Work Hearter, Not Smarter, any such shift in our work culture will require us to take a good look at our attitudes toward work. Is work a joyful expression of your life’s purpose? Or a prison you are trapped in because you need the money?  Where are you on the misery-glee continuum? Wherever you rate yourself at this moment, let’s start edging you toward the “glee” side, okay?

One place to begin with is your goal setting. I like to blend dreaming with goal setting – for a motivating mix of practical reality and honoring your heart’s desire.

On the practical side, you’ve got the standard S.M.A.R.T. goals. I have no beef with this goal-setting system, and I encourage you to make all of your important goals “S.M.A.R.T.”  But I also invite you to set goals that honor your heart, or: H.E.A.R.T. goals. Put the two together, and you’ve got: H.E.A.R.T. – S.M.A.R.T. goals. Voila!

As a reminder, S.M.A.R.T. goals are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. You can learn about S.M.A.R.T. goals in so many places, I won’t go into them here. Just Google away.

Making your goals resonant with your heart, with whatever makes you tick as a person – gives them a life that you will want to honor.  So many goals go unfulfilled. Make them H.E.A.R.T. – S.M.A.R.T. and you will seriously crank up your success rate.

H.E.A.R.T. goals are ideal whether you are a business owner or an employee. Spelled out, they are:

• Holistic – As Aristotle said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Does your goal honor your whole self? Does your goal allow you to focus on a particular area without squishing the life out of the rest of your life?  If reaching a certain goal means sacrificing in another area, make sure you are going into it will full awareness and understanding your choices.
• Energizing – Is your goal something you are looking forward to pursuing? What is your enthusiasm meter telling you? You’ll know you’re on track if, even if you are tired or down, going for this goal brings you up and makes you feel more alive.
• Aligning – Your goal should click right in place with your core values and resonate with what makes you tick about life altogether. You may not be able to articulate it in words, but you can FEEL the passion of this work and how important it is to you. For you, this goal is not a “should” it is a “must!”
• Relationship Building  – Does your goal connect you with people who inspire you and with whom you feel fully supported? Even if no other person is involved in pursuing your goal, who are the people you can be fully open with about your pursuit – those people who will champion you, no matter what?
• Transformational – This goal is not just something you will DO, but something that will embed itself into your being, creating an internal shift, stretching you, moving you toward something, rippling out to others. This goal has a noble purpose that gives it depth, width, reach. Both within you and beyond you.

So, what are your goals? And are they H.E.A.R.T. – S.M.A.R.T.?  If so, your likelihood of achieving your desire is certain!

I truly get off on witnessing a talent shared and embraced. It’s a beautiful thing.

Let’s start with dog competitions. I swear, I cry at dog shows and agility trials. There is something about seeing the natural instincts of a particular breed come to life that makes me weep.

I once watched a television show where puppies were exposed to the circumstances that would invoke their breed’s natural skills. A young Border Collie pup was introduced for the first time to a sheep. At first, the pup was very nervous, looking back to its human for help. But she was also very interested in the sheep – hesitatingly curious, I’d say. And quite suddenly, like a switch that had been flipped, that little puppy’s herding instinct kicked in. With no training whatsoever, she knew to crouch and dart around trying to herd the sheep. Even the sheep was impressed. 

That dog’s energy was palpable through the tv screen – she had discovered her natural talent and was truly elated to be expressing it! And I (remember, I’m a mush ball) was moved to tears.

So (and I’m sure you know where this is heading) what are your natural talents? What are those special skills and unique qualities that are instinctive to you? Those talents you might be taking for granted, perhaps. Some possibilities…

You are genuinely funny

You have a wonderful singing voice

You put people at ease

You can fix things around the house

You are an amazing gardener

You read fast

You remember people’s birthdays

You are a savvy stock market investor

You write beautiful poetry

You can juggle

You have a way with animals

You can make perfect roses out of icing

You make people feel important

You can identify birds by their song

You can persuade anyone to do anything

You make the best fig preserves in town

You can parallel park in even the tightest of spaces

You have super neat handwriting

You can rewire a lamp

You know what I mean – these are talents and skills that you don’t even bat an eye over.  One of my amazing talents is parallel parking. I don’t know why, but it’s something I’ve always been able to do well. I jokingly say that I will challenge anyone in a park-off!

Speaking of dogs, my neice, who is 11, was able to identify most dog breeds soon after learning to talk! She has a special talent with dogs – we call her the mini dog whisperer.

So what do dogs, you and I, and my young niece have in common regarding our special talents? A few things:

• It’s something we have a keen, natural interest in. It gives us an emotional charge that feels great!
• When we are using our particular talent, we feel more alive, more energized and more fulfilled than we usually do
• Because our special talent is natural and easy for us, we get compliments and accolades from others – which encourages us to further sharpen our talent.

One thing I often notice with my coaching clients – especially with entrepreneurs who are trying to create their branded business message – is that people dismiss their natural talents. They say, “Oh, I don’t really have any special skills or unique gifts.” (Dogs don’t seem to do this!)

If you are going to grow a business, you’ve got to peel away that layer of false modesty. You’ve got to just step out and proclaim your talents! We – the world – need your gifts and talents. Acknowledging your gifts is healthy and gives permission to the rest of us to declare ours.  If you’re saying, “I don’t want to be arrogant,” you need to look the word up in a dictionary, because you have mis-defined it. Arrogance is “unwarranted importance; overbearing pride,” which is all about thinking you are better than everyone else because of your talents.

None of us has greater human value because of our talents. But when you hide your gifts because you are afraid of “looking immodest,” you are only serving the darkness. I urge you to serve the light – come out and share your gifts with the rest of us!

So, right this minute, take a moment to write your list of special talents and skills. Make it a long, juicy list. And boldly share it with us. Please.

When I worked for an A/E (that’s Architecture & Engineering) firm as director of corporate communications, I had the privilege of learning what engineering is really all about.

On the surface, engineers seem like logical, rational-thinking, super smart people. And they are!  But engineers are also highly creative and intuitive, full of imagination. They see the world through the lens of extreme curiosity:  “How does that work?” And hope-filled confidence: “Let’s just take this problem step-by-step and we’ll come to the solution.”   We can all learn a lot from the “essence” of an engineer.

This post is really a tribute to engineers — my clients, my friends and now, my family: My nephew, Brad, is graduating in just a few weeks with his degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech. The engineering world will be fortunate to have him in the fold. Now, if someone can just tell me what a “Hokie” is!