Finding Your Special Sauce

If you’re struggling to set your sail (or thinking of starting a business), you need to know what makes you you. That’s your edge. That’s your leverage. That’s your special sauce.

In this post, we’re going to walk through a simple exercise to help uncover that recipe: the one made up of your nature, your interests, your skills, your stories, and the things you’re drawn to - and then how to apply it!

Understanding Your Layers

We hear a lot of people say they don’t know their strength’s, don’t know why they’re special, don’t understand themselves, or just think they’re just like everybody else.

However, when you take the time to write and layer your interests on top of your skills & experiences, you find your special sauce, a recipe that is uniquely yours.

There is no one more qualified to be the best at being you. 

The intersections of these qualities will reveal the opportunities that you are specially ready to take on.

And remember you are not a baked cake, you can keep on learning and developing new interests - be confident you are uniquely you. No one has the same combination.

So let’s try that exercise, grab a pen and paper or make a copy of this Google Sheet. Fill out these columns, and please pump your own tires a bit:

• What is in your nature?

  • Are you outgoing, creative, humorous, social, athletic, a really good friend, are you an efficient worker, a hard worker, etc?

• What are your interests?

  • For me I love baseball, selling, travelling, writing and more.

• What skills have you learned and tested.

  • Is selling a tested skill? Is a solid swing a part of those skills?

• List important experiences in your life.

  • Did you travel to a place you loved? Did you volunteer at a place you felt fulfilled? Did you grow up being exposed to a special industry or trade?

• What do you consume?

  • What music do you like, what books, movies, websites are you drawn to?

Now you have the sauce, step two is applying the sauce to the right place.

Fertilizing the right garden. So if your special sauce is:

• Bravery

• Math

• Aviation

I would suggest applying that to being a fighter pilot!

If you still think you don’t have any special sauce, I recommend you look deeper at the types of books or websites you like, maybe it’s travel websites, maybe it’s fashion blogs, what are the things your drawn to naturally and apply your sauce there.

Everyone has special in them - you have special in you.

Lastly you don’t have to have a lot of layers in the sauce to be special. I would argue even one ingredient can be so good it can make and be someone’s special sauce.

"If you are amazing at trumpet - then fucking kill on trumpet and share your song."

Did this exercise provide any interesting insights for you? Hopefully this reflection can help fill your cup and pump your tires seeing the incredible combination of a human you are!