Dean Niewolny Featured in Biz Journals: 4 Ways to Find Your ‘One Thing’

In our last article two weeks ago, we talked about how important it is to find our “one thing,” that role in life that gives us purpose and meaning while using all or most of our unique gifts and talents.

It takes a lot of courage to even consider all of the possibilities that might be out there for us — but there are four interim steps that I found helpful, and they will allow you to move at a speed you are comfortable with while still making progress.

You can, in essence, crawl, walk, and then run in this endeavor of finding your one thing.

1) Seismic testing

In terms of second-half seismic testing, your “subsurface formation” is that imponderable matter regarding how you will restructure your life. Your unformed idea about what might be next is indistinct in size and shape, and you can see it only from a limited viewpoint, so you go to six or eight different people you trust and ask them how they see it.

Their “sonar” will reflect a part of the picture that you could not see before, and eventually the most inchoate and vaguest matters will begin to assume a definite size and shape. Then at least you know whether to drill or not.

There are two keys to successful seismic testing. The first is to know who you are; the second is to seek out reliable counsel. When I sought guidance from two friends, I asked, “What can I do to be useful?” They responded, “What does the ‘I’ consist of?”

In other words, who am I? That’s a very important question, because you cannot operate out of a strength that you don’t have.

Take the time to answer that question. Know what your innate strengths and honed skills are. Many of the leaders we work with at the Halftime Institute find that the strengths that helped them excel in their first half are then repurposed and applied to a different goal later on when they find their one thing…READ MORE