The Year You Are Destined to Have

In 1961 Roy Spence, a seventh grader in Brownwood, Texas, stared at an important writing assignment just handed back by his teacher.

His grade? A giant “C minus” scribbled at the top of his paper.

Crestfallen, Roy searched over the paper for what went wrong and sure enough it was right there: He had 8 misspelled words. Each clearly marked in red.

Spelling had always been a challenge, and despite his efforts he just couldn’t get any better. Later that day, he showed his Mom the results and noticing his disappointment and effort, she wisely stayed positive and encouraged him to keep trying.

Roy worked even harder, and over the next several months improved his writing. He submitted another assignment, and when he received it back was both shocked and elated. On one hand, he had 11 misspelled words… 3 more than last time! But his grade? There at the top of the paper was an “A minus”.

How come is grade IMPROVED despite MORE misspelled words?

Confused he went home, and talked to his Mom.

“Mom, I don’t get it…”

“Look, Roy,” She said, “You can’t spell. But I talked to your teacher and she thinks you can write.” She then put her arm around Roy and said words that would forever change his life:

“I don’t want you to spend another second of your life trying to be average at what you’re bad at. I want you to spend the rest of your life trying to be great at what you’re good at.”

From that moment, Roy focused on his strengths and never looked back. He later graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and co-founded one of the most successful advertising and marketing agencies in the world, GDS&M. His vision has guided major brands like Southwest Airlines, the U.S. Air Force, and Pizza Hut, and he is the founder of “The Purpose Institute” which helps people and companies thrive by finding their deeper purpose.

And he did all that even though he wasn’t a great speller. What does this have to do with influence and success?

(Roy Spence today, courtesy of Adweek)

Let me bring you in on a little secret:

Just like Roy was good at writing, you are very good at being influential. As in, you are literally designed to influence people and to get chosen.

Don’t believe me? Consider these questions:

· Have ever noticed someone fluctuate in their emotions, and changed your approach?

· Have you ever heard a person make an unexpected point in a discussion, and then you adjusted your response?

· Or maybe you saw someone struggling, you paused what you were doing, and helped them feel better.

In each of these cases you:

· Noticed a pattern change in other people

· Adjusted your response

· Got people to behave in different ways based on your response.

In other words, you INFLUENCED them. The problem is, just like Roy Spence equated perfect spelling with perfect writing, you’ve been taught to equate WRONG things with what it takes to influencing people.

· You’ve been taught that in order to stand out, you have to perform at the highest level compared to others.

· You’ve been taught that in order to get chosen, you have to be more skilled than everyone else.

· You’ve been taught that in order to influence people to see you as the obvious choice, you need the most bells and whistles, the fanciest resume, and the flashiest smile.

I don’t know about you but for me, the pressure of performing at the highest level, the stress of being the most skilled, and the frenzy of having the flashiest resume sure sounds intimidating, daunting, and exhausting. And yet people spin their wheels in a constant state of stress and anxiety, getting burned out, wondering why it isn’t working?

I’ll be blunt.

You have a unique gift and a unique approach in how you influence people, but most of the time you are trying to use OTHER people’s approaches to influence… that aren’t authentic to you. In the words of Roy Spence’s Mom, “You are spending an awful lot of energy trying to be average at what you’re bad at.”

You’ve been focusing way too much on being a “speller”, when you are destined to be a “writer.” And “I don’t want you to spend another second of your life trying to be average at what you’re bad at. I want you to spend the rest of your life trying to be great at what you’re good at.”

(Photo: How far do you want to reach this year?)

As we start a New Year, I want you to know that I have one goal and one goal only: To help you discover, harness, and grow your natural influence skills and abilities so you can impact and improve your life.

That’s it.

And in the coming weeks and months, I have some exciting resources I’ve been working on that I can’t wait to share with you to help you achieve your wildest goals for the upcoming year and beyond. More on that… soon to come… but I’m pretty sure you will find the resources exciting and highly relevant for you.

So, as we enter into January what are some of your big dreams you have? Respond below to let me know- what are you hoping for this upcoming year? Drop a line!

May this be the year of discovery- where you find your natural skills of influence.

May this be the year of growth- where you lean into the things you were born to be great at.

And may this be the year of influence- where you discover how to create a lasting impact in leadership, relationships, and beyond. Because the truth is, you are destined to.

I can’t wait to see how you will go influence life… this year, and beyond.

Here’s to your increased influence and success,

Christian

CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his wife. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com