Knowing and naming what you have to offer – wisdom, resolve, clarity, joy, discernment, humor – is a gift to everyone in the room. And doing so from an awareness and acceptance of your own spiritual personality and personal core values will allow your offering to be completely yours.

-Emily P. Freeman

In Bob Goff’s book, Dream Big he suggests making a list of 10 of your gifts and talents. What are the things you do well? He says that if you get stumped after a while to go ahead and ask your friends. Others can often see things that we can’t. This isn’t just a random exercise, it’s a way of discerning your path.

We consider choosing a career path, but our gifts and talents extend far beyond what we may be doing for a living. Sometimes a job is just a job, but even when it’s something you do really well and care about, there’s a lot of time for other activities and interests. And if your current job doesn’t spark joy, getting involved in the things that do can make life better for you and those around you.

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. -Howard Thurman

I love a good question, whether it helps me learn more about others or myself, so I quickly started my list. The top 3 came easily, then I had to consider it for a while, adding and changing things for about a week until it seemed right. Once the list was complete I started thinking about how I was using them, and was I even using all of them on a regular basis. For bonus points, what was the one thing I could do that would use the most of them.

Your list doesn’t have to include the types of things that would be mentioned in a job interview. Mine includes things like being soothing, noticing beauty, collecting and sharing quotes. If you know me you’re probably nodding your head right now.

So grab a pen and start your list, or maybe type it into your phone. Ask a close friend or 2 to help. What are the things that delight you, that make you come alive? Once you have your list, look at it on a regular basis. Are you using your gifts and talents to be a blessing to others? I can’t think of a better definition of a successful life.