What is the one thing that you most love to do—and why aren’t you doing it?

You undoubtedly have heard of my good friend Jack Canfield, creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® book series. Jack and I have shared the stage many times, and he is one of the wisest, most caring people I’ve ever met.

It was Jack’s vision and passion that led to the emergence of a entirely new genre- inspirational anthologies, now a billion-dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100-million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul® franchise, Jack understands what it takes to create success doing what you love.

A wonderful writer with great insight into what really motivates people, Jack has a lot to share. So, this month I’d like to offer an inspirational article from Jack. I believe his unique perspective will help you overcome whatever challenges you may be facing, and reach whatever dreams you may be chasing.

I hope his article on finding your core genius will give you a fresh perspective on what you are truly capable of!

For your freedom,

T. Harv Eker

Stay Focused on Your Core Genius

I believe you have inside you a core genius... some one thing that you love to do, and do so well, that you hardly feel like doing anything else. It’s effortless for you and a whole lot of fun. And if you could make money doing it, you’d make it your life’s work.

Successful people believe this too. That's why they put their core genius first. They focus on it—and delegate everything else to other people on their team.

For me, my core genius lies in the area of teaching, training, coaching and motivating. I love to do it, I do it well, and people tell me that they value it. Another core genius is writing and compiling books. Along with my co-author Mark Victor Hansen and others, I have written, co-authored, compiled and edited more than 100 books.

Compare that to the other people in the world who go through life doing everything, even those tasks they’re bad at or that could be done more cheaply, better, and faster by someone else. They can’t find the time to focus on their core genius because they fail to delegate even the most menial of tasks.

When you delegate all the things you hate doing or those tasks that are so painful, you end up putting them off—you get to concentrate on what you love to do. You free up your time so that you can be more productive. And you get to enjoy life more.

The Difficulty with Delegating

Surprisingly, most people are afraid of looking wasteful or being judged as being above everyone else. They are afraid to give up control or reluctant to spend the money to pay for help. Deep down, most people simply don't want to let go.

Others (potentially you) have simply fallen into the habit of doing everything themselves. "It's too time-consuming to explain it to someone," you say. "I can do it more quickly and better myself anyway." But can you?

Delegate Completely

One of the strategies I use and teach is complete delegation. It simply means that you delegate a task once and completely—rather than delegating it each time it needs to be done.

When my niece came to stay with us one year while she attended the local community college, we made a complete delegation—the grocery shopping. We told her she could have unlimited use of our van if she would buy the groceries every week. We provided her with a list of staples that we always want in the house (eggs, butter, milk, ketchup, and so on), and her job was to check every week and replace anything that was running low.

In addition, my wife planned meals and let her know which items she wanted for the main courses (fish, chicken, broccoli, avocadoes, and so on). The task was delegated once and saved us hundreds of hours that year that could be devoted to writing, exercise, family time, and recreation.

Most entrepreneurs spend less than 30% of their time focusing on their core genius and unique abilities. In fact, by the time they've launched a business, it often seems entrepreneurs are doing everything but the one thing they went into business for in the first place.

Many salespeople, for example, spend more time on account administration than they do on the phone or in the field making sales, when they could hire a part-time administrator (or share the cost with another salesperson) to do this time-consuming detail work. In most cases, in a fraction of the time it would take them and at a fraction of the cost.

Most female executives spend too much time running their household, when they could easily and inexpensively delegate this task to a cleaning service or part-time mother's helper, freeing them to focus on their career or spend more quality time with their family.

Change Your Fate: Save Your Genius

Identify your core genius, then delegate completely to free up more time to focus on what you love to do.

I believe that you can trade, barter, pay for and find volunteer help to do almost everything you don't want to do, leaving you to do what you are best at, which will ultimately make you the most money and bring you the most happiness.

© 2006 Jack Canfield

If you have questions about this article or any of Jack Canfield's work, you can take this opportunity to ask Jack a question at www.AskJackCanfield.com