Hot Pink Thigh-High Boots, Super Powers, and an Intense Offer

{Image from Mehmet Goroglu on Flickr}

If I was a super hero, I’d wear a zebra-striped cape and hot pink thigh-high boots. It didn’t take me long to figure that out.

I had more trouble trying to determine my super power. The thing that makes me unique and if magnified by 50, would become my super power. I wanted it to be something super cool like night vision, but with my eye sight, that’s not possible.

What about invisibility? A varsity cheerleader should never be invisible…wink, wink. Okay, that was over 10 years ago….but just let me have my little dream.

After wasting 30 minutes “building relationships” on Twitter and brainstorming ideas, I realized my super power would be intensity. It might not sound like much to you, but it’s that spark that makes me stand out.

Ask my husband, close friends, and family to name my top characteristics, and intensity would be one of them. I’d bet you a big pile of money.

My intensity leads to me to fight through brick walls to reach my goals, tell people the honest to goodness truth when no one else will, and never take no for an answer. It causes me to dive into projects I’m not fully prepared for, take on big risks, and neglect other areas of my life.

Some people love it and some people don’t. I’m cool with that.

This ability allows me to intensely focus on every project I undertake. I’m able to rally my intense energy to do things like move to Brooklyn when I didn’t know anyone else who lived in New York City, work day in and day out for a year trying to convince homeless individuals who suffered from HIV/AIDS and substance abuse that there was hope, and decide to join the diving team when I’m afraid of heights.

I try to include my “super power” in each area of my business, because it’s who I am. I tell people to be authentic—that they’ll build true fans by being themselves. And, I seriously try to practice what I preach.

You super power isn’t what you want it be—it’s what other people think your super power is. I realized what mine was by asking my closest friends and family members. I had completely overlooked the fact that I intensely tackle every project. You often take your most memorable characteristics for granted.

For instance, my mother-in-law’s super power would be creatively fixing problems. She can look at a problem and come up with five out-of-the-box solutions for it in a matter of minutes. She probably doesn’t realize that it’s her super power, because it comes naturally to her. This makes her an amazing teacher.

Why should you figure out your super power?

Trying to figure out your super power may seem like a silly exercise, but it’s not. Once you know what your super power is, you can use it to your advantage by:

• Building your brand around your personality and what makes you unique.
• Understanding how your unique gift sets you apart from other creative entrepreneurs in your niche.
• Figuring out what products you’d be really good at making and what services you should offer.

Why do you want to build a brand around you?

First, you can’t really mess up if you build your brand around yourself. If you do it this way you’re not trying to be someone you’re not, make products that you don’t believe in, and provide services that don’t fit with your personality.

Second, no one can really copy you. Only you are you. I see creatives and artists get really worried about people copying their work. {You might not agree, but I think worrying about that is a complete waste of time. Period.} When you build your brand, products, and services around your personality, people might imitate it, but that’s all it’ll ever be. You’ll always be the real deal.

Third, people who relate to you will start to like and trust you—and that my friends, leads to sales, repeat customers, and referrals. Think about the last time you referred someone you know to buy something. Did you do it because you like and trust the company?

People will even pay higher prices just to get something from a company that they know, like, and trust. Don’t believe me? Answer this: Do you ever buy brand names at the grocery store instead of buying the inexpensive grocery store brand? Why?

We’d like to believe that every purchase that we make is logical…but the truth is that we all make lots of irrational purchases. We purchase based on emotion.

How do you figure out your super power?

Listen to the stories that people tell about you. You’ll start to see threads that connect each story. You might realize that everyone talks about your sense of humor or that everyone mentions your ability to put a positive spin on any situation.

Ask yourself questions. What would your closest friend say is your best quality? What do you do better than anyone you know? What skills do you have that you take for granted? What do people compliment you on that comes naturally or seems easy to you?

Now what?

After you’ve figured out your super power, you should really use it in your business. This might mean letting your super power shine through in your blog writing, on your website, or in the services you provide.

Whenever you feel like your products or services seem vanilla {got that term from Tara Gentile—love her}, spice them up with your super power.

Do you want to go one step further?

Because I’m intense, I’ve decided to offer something a little more intensive than just this blog post. I want to work with someone who resonates with this post—with someone who wants extra help infusing her blog/website/brand/products with her super power. If this sounds like something you need, send me an email at blacksburgbelle@gmail.com telling me your super power and giving me the links to your blog and/or website. I’ll give you 10 ways you can make your stuff less “vanilla” by infusing it with your super power.

In 48 hours, I’ll pick one person—and notify that person by email. My decision is subjective and final.