The Dream Dean

Saturday, May 29, 2021 (Day 149)

Meditation Music for the week: Whisper to Me: Liquid Mind (8:04) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtZ76W6gDls

Question: What are you fantastic at? What are some of your strongest skills and talents?

Answer: Since a lot of my work centers around helping students understand their character and engagement strengths, as well as their superpowers, these questions are my sweet spot. So, I’ll first share my list of character and engagement strengths:

• Character Strengths: Zest; Love Of Learning; Creativity; Gratitude; Hope; Spirituality.
• Engagement Strengths: Maximizer; Futuristic; Relator; Belief; Activator; Connectedness.

And then there’s my list of Superpowers, which are: Curator; Purpose-driven; Transparent.

The two that seem the most prominent for me are Curator and a combination of Spirituality/Wisdom/Purpose. I am a Curator because I have been able to create over 100 self-reflective tools that could be used to help people on their life’s journey. I can read an article or a chapter in a book, connect it to something else that I read, and come up with a tool that can be useful. And because I teach classes and facilitate workshops, I can get almost immediate feedback on anything that I’ve created, which is a definite plus. And as many of you know, Purpose is the foundation for everything that I do, living a life where I’m constantly trying to become the best version of myself (knowing that I’ll never get there) and profoundly serving others, which is what I try to do both at work and at home.

It’s always interesting to look at my list of engagement strengths because Maximizer (taking people from good to great) and Activator (always creating something and putting it into action) are the two that serve me well in my position at UNCG. They come into pay a lot in my classes, where I use my Maximizer strength for both my “What Could I Do With My Life” and “Redesign a Life You’ll Love” courses, and my Activator strength in my “Side Hustle 101” course. And if you looked at the various aspects of my life as a whole (personality types, strengths, values, motivators, and superpowers, you’d see consistency in a number of my characteristics, such as personal development/growth/self-help, purpose, and vision. And that’s why I’m so diligent about students understanding themselves, since it provides some depth to the theme of who you are – and most likely connect to how you plan to serve others. Now can you see part of the reason why I LOVE doing Life Design Catalyst work?

Other Stuff

Money is always one of those things that can be really debilitating for people. I won’t lie…it was one of those things that has always stressed me out. Not from the perspective that I needed it to by stuff; it was more because of the need to secure my future. I didn’t want to have to worry that I wouldn’t be able to live once I decide to stop working (if that every happens). There are LOTS and LOTS of books, articles, videos, etc. on money management and financial literacy. I’m not expert, but I do find some interesting articles on how to deal with money. Here’s one:

• 5 Money Mindsets to Help You Build Financial Freedom – https://chef-boyardeji.medium.com/5-money-mindsets-to-help-you-build-financial-freedom-eac1d46387bd

Ask yourself, “What is your motivation for having money?” If you can’t answer that question, you’re going to go down a slippery slope because you don’t have a vision for “money” in your life. Start there.