"I'm not good at waking up early for stuff." He told me the night before.
5:00 AM. Kyrgyzstan. My Alarm Goes off. I knew we only had 37 minutes until the sun would rise.
5 guys sharing one room. 2 sets of bunk beds, and one regular bed. it's cramped. I wake up and take off my eye mask. My foot is injured. So I can't walk quickly, but you know what I could do? I'm still good at waking up early, and waking the other guys up. So I did. We all wanted to watch the sunrise together. The friend who told me I'm not good at waking up said "help me up." and I helped pull him out of bed.
So I used the gift I had that morning.
See, I had injured my foot the day before. I could walk, but very slowly. And I knew it would take us too long if I walked at my pace to get down to the beach (about 10 minute walk at a normal pace)
And after everyone was up, I let them use their superpower. at 5:30 I told them, "if you don't carry me down to the beach we will miss the sun coming up over the mountains." So one of my friends carried me on his back all the way down to the beach jogging. After talking for 2 hours, two different friends carried my all the way back to the place we were staying.
I didn't need to be strong in every way. I just needed to wake people up. They could carry me the rest of the way even when I was injured. In the same way you don't need every ability. you just need to find your superpower and leverage it for the good of others. Here's how I've done that in a way that built a community.
3 quick questions that help me:
What are your superpowers? (these are often skill, or knowledge based)
And how does knowing your superpower help you build community?
What are the things that you were obsessed with between 8-18?
So here's how you identify your super powers:
What were you obsessed with as a kid? For me I couldn't pay attention to most things. But I'd sit for hours listening to greek mythology. I read an entire Percy Jackson book in 24 hours at 12. I chose to go to a business training for my 15th birthday. I loved tracking my money and how many hours I'd practice drums. I was fascinated by people and what made them tick. What were those things for you? Don’t remember? Ask your parents or your siblings.
What are the things that look like work to others but feel like fun to you? I love learning, it's the most fun thing to me. I built my entire detailing business around education. It's why I stayed a solo owner operator until this year, and hired because I wanted leverage and the skill of delegation. I build to learn. It's why I listen to audiobooks and podcasts while I work and why I invest in communities where I can keep learning.
Don't follow your bliss. look for your calluses. (and dollars spent) What do you learn about or watch on youtube? What are the stories that capture you. What is your explore page on Instagram or Facebook? If you look at the hobbies you have the content you watch and the things you pay for you'll probably know what you like.
What are you working on or building without being paid for? I've been writing and learning about storytelling for almost 3 years now. And what I'm consistently most fascinated? People, and understanding their background and story. And asking, what are the best ideas that I can steal and apply into my life?
find people you want to be like, and ask yourself, how can I do what they did? you don't need to reinvent the wheel. You need to steal from a few great people. put your own thoughts and ideas behind the idea. Notice how these ideas have played out in my own life and let the growth happen from there. I’ve done this in communication and creativity with Erwin McManus. Scaling businesses with Alex Hormozi, Short term missions with Rod Lindholm. Adam Simpson when I was writing my book. Shaan Puri for having fun while learning and building businesses.
Your community needs your superpower.
I needed a friend to carry me down to the beach in Kyrgyzstan. There will be times where you need to be carried. I didn't need to be strong in every way. I just needed to wake people up. They could carry me the rest of the way even when I was injured.
The same is true of you and your superpower. Find it, and use it.
P.S. I was recently a guest on a podcast talking about my superpower in building relationships and how that helped me start a mobile detailing business. check that out here: https://youtu.be/tdMxh7cDLt0?si=RDjRZE-EZX2UOWlV
