In a perfect world, every one of us would get paid doing something we truly love to do. We’d wake up in the morning feeling fulfilled because our vocation is one that we are interested in, that we have the skill set for, and that allows us room to grow and expand. Unfortunately, it’s not, which is something that Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance, bestselling author of Making Ideas Happen, and Adobe’s Vice President of Community, wants to remedy. Belsky believes that each person has a work “sweet spot,” or the intersection between Genuine Interest, Skills, and Opportunities. It is in this area that we can truly maximize our potential for creative greatness. Finding this place of productivity will also enable you to lead others to the same area.

1. You’re going to be Unhappy Forever
Unless You Find Your “Work Sweet Spot”

2. And here’s how:

3. In a perfect world, we’d all get paid doing something we truly love to do

4. Unfortunately, the world is far from perfect and work
leaves the majority of us unhappy

5. Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Vice President of Community, co-founder and
head of Behance, and bestselling author of Making Ideas Happen,
knows why:

6. “There are two kinds of work in the world. The first is the laborious
kind, which I call ‘work with obligation’… work which we do
because of a contractual obligation. The second –very different—
type of work that we do is ‘work with intention.’”

7. Working with intention is where you want to be

8. Because this is the kind of work that you are invested in

9. It could be writing your next novel

10. Practicing for your new opera

11. Working on a business plan for the restaurant you’re putting up

12. Isn’t it logical?

13. Putting intention behind everything you do will allow you to
make an impact on the projects that matter the most

14. So how do we go about working with intention in every
aspect of our lives?

15. “being known as a problem
solver is a good thing. But
when people start looking
at you to put out their
fires… that is different. They
will keep coming back and
you will soon be an
expected service.
The secret: finding your work “sweet spot”

16. Your Work “sweet spot” is the intersection of three factors:
Genuine Interest, Skills, and Opportunity

17. Shall we break it down?

18. Genuine Interest

19. This is what you are truly and deeply interested in. The things you’d
do even if you didn’t get paid. The things you can talk about for
hours on end.

20. Is it Chinese food? Is it Scandinavian furniture? Is it
quantum physics? Is it viral marketing?

21. A genuine interest isn’t the one that promises the largest amount of
economic gain, but it’s the one that surpasses money because it’s so
treasured

22. Key Skills

23. These are the things that you’re naturally good at. What are
your inherent skills? What are you exceptional at?

24. Is it public speaking? Do you have a natural gift for
acting? Do you have a knack for carpentry?

25. The skills that you possess are indicative of the
opportunities that could thrive under your care

26. Opportunity Stream

27. An opportunity, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential,
is a stepping stone that will bring you closer to your genuine
interests

28. In fact, many opportunities are entirely circumstantial, a chance
meeting, a mutual friend, someone you met in line at the counter

29. Use every network that you have in order to increase
your opportunity stream

30. Let’s put it all together…

31. Genuine interests, skills, and opportunities only work when
they are put together

32. Think about it: a passion for acting and the telephone number of
the best talent scouts in the country don’t matter unless you
actually have the chops for it

33. Therefore, the most important thing to do is to find your “trifecta”

34. Because your maximum potential is unlocked at its intersection

35. The “intersection you” is a veritable force of nature: passionate, full
of conviction, without doubts or hesitation

36. The “intersection you” rises above short-term rewards
and the need for approval

37. The “intersection you” can successfully turn a hobby into
a lucrative and fulfilling calling

38. As a leader, one of your duties is to lead your
partners and employees to find their own “sweet
spot”

39. So take some time to seek out their interests and natural skills

40. Continue to help them increase their opportunity stream

41. Because in the end, the best way to change the world is to gently
pull the people you know into this intersection

42. Because happy people create happy workers, and happy
workers create happy labor forces, and happy labor forces
create a powerful economy, and a powerful economy will
bolster many families, for generations to come.

43. Do you agree?

44. Share this presentation. Linkedin, facebook, twitter.

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