Find Your Zone of Genius

 We all have four zones based on our unique skills and individual gifts, where we can choose to focus our time and energy. These are the Zone of Incompetence, the Zone of Competence, Zone of Excellence, and the Zone of Genius. Michael Jordan is a stellar example of this. His Zone of Genius was basketball. He was proficient enough (zone of competence) to play minor league baseball, but that was an enormous waste of his talents. The people that change the world, or win six championships, operate in their Zone of Genius. Very few humans exist in this place. It takes intentionality, deep work, and commitment to find someone's Zone of Genius.

Zone of Incompetence

This is the last place you should spend your time and energy. Think about what do you do that gets negative feedback all the time. This is something that everyone can do better than you. Of course, you could improve yourself in this area, but it is not a good use of your talents.  

Zone of Competence

This zone consists of work you do that is only as good as others. This is something you are capable of doing, but it isn't satisfying. You haven't developed the skills to be excellent because it's not rewarding. People that operate in their Zone of Competence are coasting through life. We get one shot at this. Instead of aiming for a participation ribbon, why not do your best to win.

Zone of Excellence

This is something you get consistent feedback for excellent work. You do this better than almost everyone else. The majorly of us plateau in our Zone of Excellence. The positive feedback and stellar results we achieve makes it comfortable. It takes intention to push past this place of excellence to your unique Zone of Genius. These are harder to delegate due to the fact that you do it better than most people. 

Zone of Genius

What do you love doing so much that doesn't seem like work? What area of your work generates the most favorable results in the least amount of time. When in our Zone of Genius, it's easy to get into the flow state. Anything in this zone is work you should be doing. The challenge for most of us is to align our careers where we spend our Zone of Genius. 

Your Zone of Genius is the thing you do brilliantly, better than anything else. Don't get caught in the trap of comparing yourself to others. Everyone's Zone of Genius is different. It's not about comparing yourself to the accomplishments of others. Measure success with yourself as the metric. Did you do the best possible work that you could do? Find your Zone of Genius and start being the best version of yourself.