1418: How to Discover Your Superpowers by Karl Staib of Dig to Fly on Career Success & Personal Growth

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Work Daily, episode 1418. How to Discover Your Superpowers by Karl Staib of DigtoFly.com.

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm Dan and I am your host and narrator here at OWD, the show that is all about improving

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER_00]: your work life and productivity. So let's get right to it now as we hear from Karl and optimize

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_00]: your life. How to Discover Your Superpowers by Karl Staib of DigtoFly.com. A lot of people have

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_00]: been asking me, what exactly is a superpower? And it's time I gave you an answer. So over the past

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_00]: couple months, I've talked a lot about developing your superpowers but I never explained how to

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: figure out what your superpowers are in the first place. The best way for me to do this is to start

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_00]: by asking you a few questions. First, what do people come to you for? The thing that people

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: approach you about the most is a superpower. People love coming to you for this thing because they

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_00]: know you will do an amazing job. The most important aspect though is that you enjoy helping people

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_00]: with this thing. Career superpowers are actions that come easily to you, are fun and you can do

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_00]: them for hours on end. As you build your career, you probably will become more in tune with what

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_00]: your superpowers are. If you don't, you will miss out on the opportunity to create leverage. Before

[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_00]: you can understand what your superpowers are, you have to understand your own mindset. Do you

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_00]: appreciate every moment like it's your last? Being grateful every single day will help you live

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_00]: longer and build a more resilient mindset. Your superpowers depend on three factors, passion, focus

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER_00]: and strengths. Without all of these factors, you will have a missing power to leverage your success.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I had a friend who was an amazing writer. I floundered in college while he excelled. My

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_00]: friend could write about submarines, water polo and weather patterns and make each paper fascinating.

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_00]: The only problem was that he didn't care. He had great skill and focus but no passion. After he

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: completed each article, he experienced no excitement and no happiness. He just moved on to the next

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_00]: thing on his list. I consider writing to be a superpower of mine now because it fell into all

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00]: three areas. I had the passion, focus and strength to make my writing interesting. I'm going to

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: compare two skills that I have, writing and editing, and explain why one is a superpower and one is

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_00]: just a skill. Passion. The intrinsic motivation behind your actions is passion. If you find

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00]: yourself constantly forcing yourself to take action, then this isn't passion. I love to write

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_00]: and the process comes easily. I actually need to write in order to get the thoughts out instead of

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_00]: spinning around in my head. It's a therapeutic action that became a daily habit. On the other

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00]: hand, I have difficulty editing because by that point, the creation process is already over for me

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_00]: and I want to move on to the next idea. You've probably noticed how certain work just won't

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: motivate you for very long. You may be passionate about it for a few hours or days but eventually

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: the energy wanes and you're back to doing things that bring you happiness. Focus. The amount of

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_00]: time you spend focusing on a project will determine how much you get accomplished. If you can't stay

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_00]: focused for very long, you'll never develop the skill to be successful. I can write for many hours

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_00]: a day. This allows me to write articles for my site as well as many guest posts. I rarely feel

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: like I can't write. There are always fresh angles that I can tap into if I do some research,

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: meditation or take a walk and I can edit for many hours but it doesn't make me feel energized.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I do it because it's part of my job. Strengths. Each skill that you have must produce quality

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_00]: results otherwise it's not a strength. For example, almost anyone can write. In order for it to be

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00]: considered a strength, it must be something that other people notice because your skill stands out.

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_00]: I write to change the world. That's exactly how I look at it. I'm good at it and I expect to produce

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: great results. Editing is not a skill that I've mastered yet so it's tough for me to consider this

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_00]: a strength. It's more like an ability that I'm trying to mold into a superpower. Review. So,

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: how do you find your superpowers? You have to figure out if the action in question meets all

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_00]: the criteria. Passion, focus and strength. Your passions come from your subconscious. Your focus

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: is all about your ability to stay in the present moment and your strengths are determined by the

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: results you produce and the way others perceive those results. If you don't have all three when

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: performing an action, passion, focus and strength, then you aren't creating great results and feeling

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: happy while doing it. You're just passing the time doing work that you aren't really connected with.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: This is why I created the dig to fly method. People came to me for advice because I could

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_00]: see through the fog to help them develop a clear picture. I couldn't avoid this superpower so I

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_00]: decided to leverage it. We all have to learn to dig into our struggles, understand them and find

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_00]: the diamonds that are hidden within us. When we dig deep, we learn to fly high. We don't let our

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_00]: thoughts and emotions bully us. You must learn to leverage your career superpowers or you'll be

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_00]: out on major success. You just listened to the post titled how to discover your superpowers

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_00]: by Carl Stabe of dig2fly.com. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. We all have non-negotiables.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you never skip leg day or have to take your morning walks, but when your schedule is packed

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_00]: with kids activities, big work projects and more, it's easy to let your priorities slip. Even when

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_00]: we know what makes us happy, it's hard to make time for it. Therapy can help you reclaim control

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00]: of your time and values. And make no mistake, therapy is for everyone. Whether or not you've

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: been through significant trauma, therapy can be a great tool for setting boundaries, learning

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_00]: positive coping skills and ultimately becoming the best version of yourself. If you're thinking of

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient,

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_00]: flexible and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_00]: licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Never skip therapy day

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_00]: with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash work daily today to get 10% off your first month.

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash work daily. And a big thank you to Carl for this post

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_00]: today. And let me tell you a little bit more about him. Carl helps entrepreneurs understand

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_00]: their struggles and then turn them into stepping stones. And he certainly knows something about

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_00]: that personally, because in 2010, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and then was laid off from

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: his job in 2011. And while those were of course really tough situations, he now calls them

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_00]: blessings in disguise, because since then he's stopped doing work that doesn't fit with his

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_00]: passions, and instead now focuses on things that he truly cares about. Carl is the author of the

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00]: book Bring Gratitude and has a lot to offer on his site, which is dig2fly.com. I have that linked for

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_00]: you in this episode's description. And dig to fly, by the way, means dig deep to fly high, which was

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00]: mentioned in this post. And Carl also has a podcast of his own, which you can find wherever

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: you get your audio, and it is called the Dig to Fly Podcast. Okay, that's going to wrap up another

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_00]: episode of Optimal Work Daily. I thank you so much for being here and be sure to do the same tomorrow

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_00]: where your optimal life awaits.