This is an outstanding book about how one should look at his career.

There are many things good about the book. However, what I found most useful is a section called ‘Targeting Talents. This section helps us identify our talents and start thinking about how we can put them to work building the kind of world we want to live in. It points out that talents are more than abilities related to writing, music or dance.

Talents include a wide variety of natural abilities. It argues that our talents are unique to us but skills are often as much the result of someone else’s is doing as our own. Skills are often acquired to fulfil someone else’s view on what we must become or what we must do.

Here is a verbatim quotation from the book: “You may have undiscovered talents. With a relatively small degree of talent, and considerable training and technical skill, you achieve competency, perhaps even a high degree of commercial success. However if you pursue what you have real talent in, you will experience the joy of being fully alive in your work.

Often we have so much invested in training and developing our skills that we are unwilling to admit we have little real talent for the area. When we admit it, we feel a sense of relief. For now we can go on to discover our genuine talents and pursue them with a passion. Developing talent is the road to your creative best.”

The book suggests that when we are looking for our talents, we must look for

1. What we enjoy doing

2. What we enjoy thinking about

3. What we enjoy learning about

4. What we enjoy as a process

The book features a Talent Quiz with 75 abilities listed. We rate ourselves on each on a scale of one to ten, and arrive at out top ten talents. We also get feedback from others who know us well to check if our self-assessment is right.

I find this a very powerful exercise, which can shape the way we think about our future.

“So what do you suggest?” asked Prasna.

“I suggest that people should try this talent quiz. Face the results squarely and take a call on their future career.”

“Why this sudden interest on talent?”

“I had tried this exercise years ago. Recently a set of people who are were working creating a vision for their organisation tried it. It helped them look at their own roles very differently, in the new context.”

“How did that help?”

“It is too early to say. However, the team believes that this exercise will help them to unleash their potential to be more creative, more productive and enjoy their work-life better. “

“Do you believe it?”

“I believe it is not impossible. What will make the difference will be their passion and persistence.”