“You’re like the queen of automation,” Deb Maes said to me yesterday when I was scheduling payments. I giggled because compared to my friend and client Carl Taylor, Founder of Automation Agency, I am far from it. His brain sees opportunities to automate that mine simply doesn’t register. I’d go so far as to say that the primary reason why I’m so much more conscious about using software to eliminate manual processing is because of the influence he’s had on my thinking.

That’s one of the benefits of my zone of genius: decoding how we create experience. I support the folks I serve by curiously & compassionately questioning, bringing their unconscious programs into consciousness so they can make more deliberate choices in their lives. The output of that is when I see someone do something skillfully that aligns with me, I adopt it and integrate it, hence deb’s comment about automation.

Many times I’ve shared with Michael Long that his skill in logistics and operations is an output of his zone of genius – his processing speed and computational abilities. Earlier this week we played bingo and he actually could see the difference in action. His brain was 2-3 seconds quicker registering the numbers and the output of that was that on average he marked off 20 numbers for every 1 I found first. Reflecting on it he said, “that really made me understand how my brain processes and why I don’t need all the extra information. Before you’ve even finished your sentence I’ve already worked it out… Numbers are like a song to me.”

All of these examples reveal that when we’re in our zone of genius – when we’re using our gifts skillfully and things are second nature to us – we can sometimes forget that others don’t often share that same skillset or perspective. They look at it with awe and amazement.

And it’s important to note that genius is not fixed. It is raw talent that with practice develops into a strength. I coach way more effectively now than I did even just 2 years ago – practice has refined my talent. The same applies to both Carl & Michael – their businesses which leverage their genius have helped them polish and refine these skills even more.

What about you? What talents do you have that inform your genius?