I am reading a book right now called "Now, Discover Your Strengths" and the whole premise of the book is to look at what talents and strengths people posses and focus in on them, instead of our weaknesses. The book argues that way to often people ignore their strengths in an attempt to make their weaknesses stronger, and really, it should be the other way around (to a point). Instead of placing energy and money into something that we might only change marginally, we should place that into making our strenghts stronger.


I, 100% prescribe to the idea. Infact, I like it so much that I have done the quick quiz they provide and have been given my top 5 strenghts and now looking for ways to capitalize on my God given talents. Except I have one question: Has anyone seen what modern day work organizations and institutions look like? Maybe it's just me, but I work in an environment that could really care less if you have the talent for empathy, because, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you can related to people, but rather, did you get the peoples money?



In a world that is driven by the bottom line and a society that is all about themselves, I ask, how does using my natural talents today, help me tomorrow, especially when I work with a company that doesn't believe in or want to believe in everything that I am reading and that I agree to? It doesn't make sense.



That said, I have decided that there are some things that I am good at and persuing them in my free time at the office wouldn't be a bad idea. First it would give me something to do, and secondly...it would give me something to do. For example, photography and baking. Two great loves of my life. Last weekend I shot a wedding reception in Calgary that went really well, and two days ago I talked to the woman who owns the little coffee shop where I work, and she said that if I wanted to bake for the coffee house, I was free to do so. Baby steps. Visible Progress. Maybe we're on to something here.