By Steve Gahagen

One of the reasons I love facilitating strengths workshops and coaching people in their strengths is that it creates the opportunity for life-giving conversations - the kind of personal conversations we rarely have.

I have invested a fair amount of time coaching teenagers and university students in their strengths. It is exciting to see them come alive as they talk about their talents and how they use them. Confidence soars. Greater team confidence and energy is a consistent outcome of teams who invest in strengths training.

Whether it be adults or students, everyone should have at least one moment (and hopefully many) in which they realize how amazing they are - that how they are wired and put together makes them uniquely powerful.

We often wonder in amazement when we look into a clear starlit sky, and yet we fail to see the beauty of ourselves. In a remedial world, where we tend to focus on weaknesses and shortcomings, it is refreshing to discover our true selves as we focus on our strengths.

My top strength theme is Ideation, and I live in the world of new ideas. A good day is a day with a new idea. When I read, I am inspired by creative ideas and not content alone. I am amazed when I encounter the creative thinking of others. The genius of this strength is that I have the ability to look at things in new ways. When things are difficult, maybe even hopeless, I can see new possibilities and ideas emerging.

Questions to Consider:

1. Can you think of moments when you realized how you are wired is amazing?

2. What is uniquely powerful about you? What moments bring you the greatest joy?

3. How could you help someone else have a moment in which they realize how wonderfully unique they are? Send a text or email to five people to let them know how they have used their talents to breathe life into you.