Do you know what a stock take is? Some people call it taking inventory. I work at a horse race course in the catering division. At the end of each month we have to count everything we have. In other words count all of our stock. We do a stock take. I tell you something, the first time I did this it took me forever as I didn't know what I was doing. Slowly it has become a little easier and it doesn't take me very long at all.
What's this got to do with anything, I hear you say. Sometimes when we are in the depths of despair and we think that things are going to get worse and worse, we should stop and think about what we are good at and basically the things in life that we are excel at. You should try this exercise too. It is quite difficult because for me some things I do naturally and without thinking, some people find that quite impressive because they don't have that skill or ability.
Today what are 10 things I am good at:
1. I wouldn't say that I am good at making friends but I seem to be able to make contacts quite easily. Some people don't like networking events and for straight business purposes I don't think that I was good at turning introductions into deals but what I did find that was useful was I had a big list of people I had meet and generally I could call them up, tell them where I had met them and organise things with them. For example I had a friend come and stay with me in Tokyo and I organised for him a chance to speak to a couple of groups that I had contacts with.
2. I'm quite good at remembering faces. Names, not so much unless they have given me a business card in which I can see how their name is written, then I will remember. I'm told that we learn differently and I am definitely a visual learner. I have to see it written for it to go into my brain. Sometimes my current boss will tell me what needs to be done but because he hasn't written it down it basically goes in one ear and out the other.
3. I have a good memory for certain things. My friend used to tease me about remembering what road signs said before we passed them and things of a similar nature. But I do remember things like that. I suppose it goes back to being a visual learner and also I like to look around as I travel in a car for instance. I remember I was in Shinjuku, Tokyo with a previous employer and he joked that I was always looking around streets, looking at shop signs and the like, seeing what was about. I thought it wasn't funny, I just thought of it as me getting to know my environment.
4. This is a bit of a negative one but I am very good at starting things and not seeing them through to completion. However, when I do put my mind to it I do come up with some very good results. I just wish that I put that kind of effort in everything as opposed to half-assed with what I have done with 98% of stuff up until now. Examples of successes would be I lost 17 kgs of weight in only 2 months in 2002. I really focused on that and had staggering results. I also was quite shy around women. So one day I decided to join an online dating site and I just got into that so much that I changed my life around in that area. I'm far from the finished article but I am far better than what I was.
5. I am a good teacher. In Japan I considered myself as an edutainer, in other words someone who entertained as well as educated. I try and make lessons interesting and a little bit different. Something that they may have not done before. Also I think that I am a good coach. I remember a few years ago taking eggs to a cricket practice. I used them for catching practice. Something a little bit different and something memorable. My goal was that I wanted them to come back next week.
6. I'm decent at public speaking. For many people the idea of getting up in front of people and talking is an idea that they don't want anything to do with but I do it and sometimes I do it quite well. Lets just say that it doesn't scare me.
7. I'm good at reading, writing and speaking Japanese. Japanese is quite a difficult language to learn but once you get the pattern it can be simple to remember. Unfortunately I find my spoken language has gone down over the last few years but I can still read a lot more than my peers so that is an advantage on my side I believe.
8. Some people may laugh at this but I consider myself quite creative. I think people get in a rut of how they do things so I try to do something a little bit different. Whether it is putting something unusual in the mashed potato or thinking of something to do that not many other people would think of. I'm your man for that.
9. I think compared to the average Joe Blogs, I am a good writer. I don't know what you think but some of these blogs are OK. I have written novel length pieces before and some passages in them are not too bad. I actually enjoy writing and when you get on a roll, lots of good stuff can come out.
10. I think I am quite good at accessing the situation that I am in and acting accordingly. Having lived overseas for a considerable length of time I have experienced a few different cultures and I haven't put my foot in it on too many occasions. I think the secret is to have a big smile on your face, be interested and don't try and take over and play the fool.
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