Page 102 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)

90 COACH YOURSELF TO A NEW CAREER

completely for granted and not even recognize them as special
talents or abilities. I, for one, had no idea I could coach people.
Even when my own life coach told me I’d be a good coach, I was
skeptical. I went into the field reluctantly and cautiously. Fair
enough, given that at the time, life coaching was a completely
new field; I was sensible enough not to throw out a good job at
the bank, even though I wasn’t happy there, for what I thought
might end up being some fly-by-night profession. Thankfully, I
learned that coaching, speaking, and writing are all among my
top talents. It is immensely helpful to know how your brain is
hardwired. I learned all sorts of interesting nuggets in addition
to the fact that management isn’t a natural talent. I even now
understand such former mysteries as why I can’t do a line dance
but like to partner dance. I can’t even clap in time—no rhythm
memory. This is also why I’ve always been an enthusiastic but
uncoordinated athlete.
We can’t be good at all things, and if we could, that would
become a problem too, because most jobs require only one or two
distinct abilities. If you are multitalented, then it is difficult to feel
completely satisfied in one job. Many people who have numerous
talents find they hop from job to job looking for that elusive satis-
faction, when in fact they simply need to add a variety of tasks to
the current job.
I have a sister who has never been particularly happy in any of
the jobs she has had, and that is primarily due to the fact that she
has so many natural talents and abilities that no ordinary job can
possibly fulfill them all. If you have a strong ability, it will demand
to be expressed. If you don’t express it, you’ll feel frustrated and
unsatisfied with your work. The solution is to identify all your
driving abilities and then find ways to fulfill them outside of work
if they can’t be expressed in your career. Or design a career that
uses them all—which is what I have done. I do a bit of writing, a
bit of coaching, and a bit of speaking all under the umbrella of life
coaching.