ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH YOUR PAYCHECK?

Your career path is there to harness your talents and to make you money.
Never forget that.
Even though sometimes you feel like living from paycheck to paycheck, your career path can be much more than just surviving.

But it all starts with knowing who you are and the talents you have.
What may come easy to you, might be challenging to others.
This is your sweet spot, your zone of genius.

And your capability of using your talents and talking high about them as well is the key to bringing you the money, the work-life balance, and everything else you have on your bucket list.
So this week, I have a challenge for you.
Next time someone pays you a compliment about something you did or even about your looks, just tell them “thank you”.
That’s it.

Don’t try to dodge the compliment by saying, “Oh no, that was so simple. It was nothing.” or “Oh, but this shirt is super old. There is even a stain here.”.
Don’t diminish yourself.
Acknowledge your talents and the positive aspects of your life.
Your game will start to change.
Still don’t believe it?

So let me tell you a story.
Once in my corporate life, I realized that I hated receiving compliments about my work.
And started questioning why I felt such discomfort with that.
The reason was surprising to me.

I avoided compliments because I feared people would raise their expectations bar about me and my work.
And I was afraid I would not match their expectations again.
A mix of shame and impostor feelings.
Then I decided to do the opposite.

To say “thank you” to people that enjoyed my work.
And the results were amazing.
Because they were curious about my confidence…
Which led me to talk more about myself and what I did.
This enhanced my personal brand at work.

Even though I could not - nor wanted - to please everyone and be everything to them, I learned how to talk about my talents and sell myself to people that could help me with career growth.
This is the ability you need to thrive in job interviews, for example.

Because you can have the best business school diploma and a polished LinkedIn profile with prestigious employers, but if you can talk about your talents, your value remains undercovered.

Let’s rock.