Permanently Happy

The rule of one: talent first, skills second

Your talent is the natural engine; skills are the tools that let it travel further. Competencies should elevate, not eclipse, your strengths. When you stack them in the right order, satisfaction rises because more of your daily actions match what you’re genuinely good at. 

Why this matters beyond you

Practicing your talents out loud doesn’t just reward you—it helps others spot and practice theirs. Your example becomes a map. 

10-Minute Exercise: Build Your Strength Stack

Grab a page with three columns: Talent → Enabling Skill → Strength-in-Action.

1. List 3 talents (verbs): explain, design, organize, connect, solve.

2. Pair each with 1–2 enabling skills you can train: outlining, facilitation, slide design, data basics, negotiation.

3. Write a weekly use-case (concrete, small, valuable):

   • Explain + slide design → 1-page decision brief every Monday.

   • Organize + spreadsheets → living checklist/dashboard for one workflow.

   • Connect + facilitation → 15-min unblocker huddle that ends with who/what/when.

Schedule one 10-minute rep for each pair this week. Tiny > heroic.

Micro-rep menu (pick one today)

• Teaching talent: Draft a 4-step mini-guide and test with a teammate.

• Systems talent: Sketch a 3-box flow before starting a task.

• Visual talent: Storyboard three frames before any deck.

• Interpersonal talent: Send one specific appreciation; make one clean request.

Track a one-liner after each: Energy = −2/−1/0/+1/+2. Keep what lifts you; tweak the method if it drains you.

Weekly cadence that compounds

• Plan (5 min): choose two strength-in-action tasks.

• Practice (5–10 min/day): run the reps.

• Proof (5 min Fri): save one artifact (brief, checklist, clip). Artifacts make strengths visible—and reusable.

What to remember

Your competencies exist to serve your natural strengths, not replace them. Stack the right skills under the right talent, practice in tiny reps, and let the results (and energy) compound. 

— Sandro Formica, PhD

Founder of Permanently Happy (questions at [email protected])

Keynote Speaker | Transforming Leaders & Organizations Through Positive Leadership & Personal Branding | Director, Chief Happiness Officer Certificate Program

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