Focus on your feathers...

I'm reading a really interesting book by Valorie Burton - one I recommend to you too. One of the things she stresses is the importance of knowing and focusing on your strengths versus being drained by your weaknesses - or areas for improvement - as we now like to refer to them. In her words, "...both Scripture and research show that when you focus on building on your innate strengths rather than fixing your weaknesses, success flows more easily and authentically."*
Thinking about strengths, the peacock comes to mind. I cannot remember if (or where) I heard this or whether it was dropped in my heart. It went something like "The peacock is proud about it's feathers until it sees its feet." Now that speaks to remaining grounded and humble - as we should all be - but the peacock's feet don't ever stop it from spreading out it feathers.

Likewise, we must never allow what seem like weaknesses or shortcomings hold us back from fully expressing our strengths and succeeding. What we need to do is pay attention to is improving our strengths...and where necessary, reach out to others who can complement us. Valorie puts it this way: "Leverage your strengths and the strengths of others."** Marilyn vos Savant who once had the highest recorded IQ per the Guinness Book of Records, puts it this way:

"Success is achieved by developing our strengths,

not by eliminating our weaknesses."





Moving that to "Feather-phrase," the peacock doesn't (and can't even succeed, if it tried to) do away with its feet otherwise it will not be grounded... so it just chooses to focus on it's feathers. One more thing to note when focusing on your feathers is that the quality of a bird's feathers plays a critical role in if and how well or even how high it can fly - if it's a bird that can fly. So to successfully focus on your feathers, strengthen your strengths & success will come more naturally. I know because it's worked for me.

References:  

* Successful Women think differently by Valorie Burton, page 74.

** Successful Women think differently by Valorie Burton, page 98.