“You can’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree.”
A quote Einstein never actually said but maybe should’ve.
This morning, I broke another coffee plunger. Glass everywhere. Morning cleanup. Not the first, won’t be the last. I definitely wouldn’t hire myself to sell crystal in a luxury boutique.
I’m like an elephant in a china shop lost in thought, half here, half in some future idea. Which, oddly enough, is also my superpower. (They say it was Einstein's too)
That ability to tune out the world and zoom in?
That’s how I build frameworks, connect dots others miss, turn fuzzy ideas into visual models that clarify complexity into simplicity. I see patterns, relationships, systems where everyone sees an unstructured mess. But ask me to do a detailed tax report? Absolutely not a chance. I outsource that.
An insight I'm putting these days into practice (frustrated with working hard and not getting to many places) - worldly success isn’t about talent, it’s about putting yourself in contexts where that talent becomes gold.
Knock on the doors wide open.
It’s not enough to know your strengths. You have to design a life that uses them and protects you from your blind spots.
This weekend, I put all my personality and strengths assessments into ChatGPT - VIA Strengths, CliftonStrengths, DiSC, Attributes - and asked it to help me build a work plan. What to delegate. How to organize my day around energy, not just time. Sales strategies that fit my style of curious inquiry and seeing patterns others miss. Systems to catch my weaknesses before they sabotage me.
I don’t expect to follow it perfectly. But I do intend to stop judging myself for not being good at things that aren’t mine to do. I’m not a tree climber. I’m a fish. I swim deep, and I bring up pearls.
Example: I don’t do “pushy sales.” I do collaborative exploration. I offer insights. We co-create the solution. Then we decide to collaborate. That’s where I shine. My clients often say, “I never thought about it that way,” or “I love that thing you just said, I’m going to use it.”
Helping others see better and build systems to act on it? That’s my craft.
Here’s another thought:
What if YOUR whole life was designed like that too?
What if you gave your assessments to AI and asked it to build you a:
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Daily work rhythm based on energy,
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Sales and communication style,
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Delegation list for energy drainers,
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Personal strategy to build systems to shine light on your blind spots,
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Recovery and creativity rituals to feel like your battery can last forever...
You’d stop spending your days climbing trees you were never built for.
You’d start swimming in the deep end of your genius.
Some assessments to try:
Start there. Get to know yourself. Then build a system around who you are, not who the world thinks you should be.
What’s one thing you’ve been trying to improve that might actually be something to delegate instead? Or a strength you’ve been underusing?PS I appreciate upvotes, shares, and your opinion shared!
