Your niche and your journey

Your niche and your journey

A niche is the nook where something precious is hidden for safe keeping and displayed for public viewing. That something is you. We talk about people finding their niche in life. We mean finding their purpose and the work or lifestyle that will make them happy and successful.

You can stumble across your niche or search it out. It may bring you fame and fortune but it will more likely bring only one of these.

If you succeed it behoves you to remember that luck played a substantial part. You don’t have much control over luck, contrary to the oft-repeated statement that you make your own. By definition luck is good fortune from an unknown source. You make the only contribution you can to your success in life by following some simple rules. Here are the six questions you must ask yourself if you are to find your niche:

Do I have insatiable curiosity? Here’s the paradox: You will only discover your niche, your little specialist corner, if you maintain an unstinting curiosity about everything. The wider your interest, the greater the chance of finding your niche. You won’t have only one niche in life. You must always be on the lookout for the next one.

Is my self-knowledge good enough to be used properly or is it simply navel-gazing? Self-knowledge is the main key to finding your niche. You discover it by open-ended questioning that shows who you are and that is analysed by someone who helps you discover what your answers mean. Unlike tests that define you in a box, open-ended questions release you from one.

Does my perception enable me to see more than what is going on around me? Perception is Speedy Observation followed by Fast Interpretation executed with Confident Determination. To be perceptive you must be alert and sensitive. We are not all born this way, though some are. For most people it is a slog. It involves making mistakes and learning from them. Perception is a precursor for the next requirement for finding your niche.

Do I employ analysis to look for answers that show me the way rather than prove me right? We now have so much data available and can analyse it so fast that the original route to invention, ‘hypothesis > thesis > analysis > conclusion’, has changed to ‘wildly creative concept > data analysis > experiment > probably fail > try again > win’. Sounds longer; is actually shorter.

What is the source of my confidence? Confidence comes from only one source. That is understanding that you have capabilities, can apply them within your own high personal standards and recognise that Einstein – and others – were, or are, cleverer and will remain so. You need to learn how to substitute for your lack of Einsteinism. It depends on your standards, however developed, and your sensible interpretation of them.

Do I recognise the journey of life for what it is? You meet all sorts, stop at some incredible – and a few undesirable – places along the way, don’t always reach your destination but always know where it is. Old Age and Beyond is the beginning of the time when you pass the torch for others carry your influence forward for you. That influence is the accumulated work you did for other people in your life. It is its only real test.

My piece today started out as “How to make money out of mustard”. You may think I have wandered somewhat from the subject.

I think I have hit it right on the head.