Your Special Sauce

Thanks for being here and gathering around the Fountain

This week, we consider the age-old question we’ve all asked ourselves: what should I do with my life?

If you’re struggling to set your sail (or thinking of building a business), you need to know what makes you you. That’s your edge. That’s your leverage. That’s your special sauce.

In this edition, we’re going to walk through a simple exercise to help uncover that recipe: the one made up of your nature, your interests, your skills, your stories, and the things you’re drawn to - and then how to apply it!

Agenda:

⏳ Estimated Read Time: 4 minutes

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FOUNDER LESSONS

We hear a lot of people say they don’t know their strength’s, don’t know why they’re special, don’t understand themselves, or just think they’re just like everybody else.

However, when you take the time to write and layer your interests on top of your skills & experiences, you find your special sauce, a recipe that is uniquely yours.

There is no one more qualified to be the best at being you.

The intersections of these qualities will reveal the opportunities that you are specially ready to take on.

And remember you are not a baked cake, you can keep on learning and developing new interests - be confident you are uniquely you. No one has the same combination.

So let’s try that exercise, grab a pen and paper or make a copy of this Google Sheet. Fill out these columns, and please pump your own tires a bit:

Now you have the sauce, step two is applying the sauce to the right place.

Fertilizing the right garden. So if your special sauce is:

I would suggest applying that to being a fighter pilot!

If you still think you don’t have any special sauce, I recommend you look deeper at the types of books or websites you like, maybe it’s travel websites, maybe it’s fashion blogs, what are the things your drawn to naturally and apply your sauce there.

Everyone has special in them - you have special in you.

Lastly you don’t have to have a lot of layers in the sauce to be special. I would argue even one ingredient can be so good it can make and be someone’s special sauce.

So don't feel "less than" if you don’t have a list of interests, skills, languages, experiences, etc.

Hopefully this week can help fill your cup and pump your tires seeing the incredible combination of a human you are.

Knowing what’s good and right does not always precede doing it.

I’m top of the class when it comes to getting in my own way. So, like a recovering addict, I’ve made peace with taking it one day at a time. 

How might you block your own potential? It’s a powerful question that we often look to others to answer.

But we all know, deep down.

I heard once that when you drive home with your kids after a sports game you should never give advice.

Rather, you can ask them what they thought they did well and what they need to work on. And it works! The kids already know; we already know…

So, my share today is a friendly challenge to asses and list how you get in your own way - in an effort to nip it in the bud.

I’ll start:

Okay I feel better already.

The next thing is to know how it feels when you get in your own way, so that you can recognize and work on pushing past it.

For me it feels like irritation and avoidance.  I am annoyed at the suggestion of doing the thing I’m sabotaging and actually (falsely) too busy right now to do it anyways.

I’m so silly. But that’s just me. 

What about you?

Hopefully these vulnerable shares and reflections are as helpful for you as they were for me to write :)

We are all on this human journey together so thanks for reading & trying!

~ Ria