How to Discover What You’re Good At

Don’t know what you’re good at? Having trouble deciding what you should do because you don’t know where your talents lie? There’s an easy way to discover what you’re good at: do some consulting or freelancing.

It’s a no-pressure way to test out your skills. You offer your skills to others, and you see immediate results. When you’re able to give great value on a consistent basis, you discovered something you’re good at.

You’re Already a Freelancer or Consultant

Now, don’t be scared off by words like consulting and freelancing. They’re just fancy schmancy terms for doing things for others and getting paid.

Fix your friends’ cars or computers? Whip up graphics for websites? Do design work? Make music for people? Cook for someone, or arrange their houses? You were freelancing.

Tutor someone? Help a friend out with a relationship problem? Gave advice on a person’s resume, application, or business? Teach someone the basics of a skill? You were consulting.

Just add money (as simple as your buddies paying in cash), and you’re a consultant or freelancer.

How It Helps You Discover Your Talents

Are you able to get your friends started in something? Then you’re good at teaching. Constantly fix and tweak gear? Then you’re technically skilled. Are people raving over your graphics? Then you’re a good designer or artist.

You don’t need to start a business. You don’t need to take courses. You don’t need to get business cards or create online accounts or pages. Just keep getting out there and helping people with stuff.

You’ll easily see what you have success with (when people are happy with the results) and what you don’t.

When you’re able to give great value on a consistent basis, you discovered something you’re good at.

Teaching, graphics, relationship advice, repairs, life coaching, producing, music-making, whatever.

I Started Consulting

I started a consulting service. (update: no longer available – details on why here)

After writing here on Lifebeat for a bit, I wanted to create the first mini-product to help you, the remarkable reader. In a form that goes beyond what I could do in an article. The response I got was great – tons of awesome ideas and small problems people were having that I could provide a solution for.

The problem was that the feedback was widely varied. While there were common strands in the ideas (music, online marketing, blog building), the problems themselves were very specific.

So rather than taking a blind stab at creating a product, hoping that it would help someone, I decided to start a consulting service instead. A no-pressure way to help you on a personal level.

Instead of putting all my resources into creating a hopeful product, I can help you in a 30-minute or 1-hour session. Not only will you get my value, but I’ll easily discover what I’m really, really good at – some value I could confidently over-deliver in a product form.

Maybe it’ll be music production or recording tips. Or site reviews. Or business help. Or design stuff. Or getting your blog off the ground.

With consulting, you get value, I discover what I can confidently product-ize, and the resulting product(s) will really over-deliver value to you.

Plus, I just really love helping people and consulting on a personal level. It’s one of those things I discovered I was good at throughout the years, so creating a consulting service is only natural.

I’d love for the opportunity to help you: check out my consulting service if you’re interested.