Recipe For Disaster!

Deb's Recipe Exchange

I knew that would get your attention, because those of you who know me know I DON’T COOK! It is not my thing, and it makes me very unpleasant; so for the sake of the rest of the world, I just don’t do it. But I DO have a recipe book.

The funny part is, my recipe book has just two recipes in it: a recipe for disaster and a recipe for success. And in the true spirit of all great cooks, I am glad to share my recipes with you.

Recipe for Disaster

Find your weaknesses.

They’re not hard to spot. You know them well. You beat yourself up over them daily - yes, those things.

Apply those weaknesses.

Take those weaknesses and find a job – any old job will do – and use them there. Maybe you’re high “D” wired. A highly detailed accounting job would make excellent use of your weaknesses. For me, it might be finding a job as a chef. If you're "C" wired, a job dealing with people all day would be a great one for this recipe.

Tell yourself you will get better if you try harder, work harder, or get more education.

When you don’t do better, blame something or someone.

Blame the boss, a coworker, the weather, genetics, your first grade teacher - anything. Never acknowledge those weaknesses for what they are, or you will ruin the recipe.

Be miserable – in your work, your relationships, your health – all of it.

If you are working in your weaknesses, this is the inevitable outcome. Like a bad soufflé, everything falls flat.

And that, my friends, is a recipe for disaster.

Let’s face it, no one PLANS to work that way. It just happens.

So now let’s look at a better recipe.

Recipe for Success

Find your strengths.

You may have to dig deep into the cupboards of your mind to find those buried ingredients; but I guarantee you, they are there. Don’t worry, they may have been on the shelf for quite awhile, but there’s no expiration date. It’s never too late to start.

Use those strengths in large measure.

Be sure the work you do allows you to operate in those areas a majority of the time. I spoke recently on ways to ensure that. Click here to listen to that podcast.

Don’t try harder.

Yes, you read that correctly. We've all been taught that, to be successful, we have to REALLY work hard to get there. Here’s the amazing part. If you work in your strengths, you won’t have to “try harder” to be successful. Success will be a byproduct of you doing the work that you most enjoy. It works sort of like yeast – you put a little bit of that in some dough, and if it’s good and strong, you end up with a whole lot more dough. It grows!

I hope you’ll join us over the summer

as we interview folks who have used the recipe for success

to do some pretty amazing things.