What's Your Secret Sauce?
Just as all people have some form of human capital, I have my own distinct human capital. The following are five ways in which my human capital is unique, they're what make me different.
1. I genuinely love learning. I'm not referring to learning in a school setting necessarily, but rather, learning in general. I have always loved learning new information or concepts, as it would help me excel in school, but it also always gave me something to think or talk about. I find intellectual stimulation fascinatingly enjoyable, inherently making learning an essential part of my everyday life. My dedication to learning has pushed me toward talking to a whole host of various people, learning from their past experiences and the knowledge they hold in general. I listen to podcasts (business, finance, news, history, etc.) while I do common, everyday things, such as riding the bus or cooking, ultimately ensuring that the information stream never stops.
2. I am constantly and unintentionally selfless. As much as I try to ensure my own well-being first and foremost, I tend to care for others before myself. While I see this as something of a detrimental quality, most other individuals see it as a positive quality. I do everything in my power to improve the conditions of those I care for. In this way, I'm dependable. People constantly count on me to pull through and help them out with whatever they may need.
3. I am generally level-headed, lacking strong emotional responses in most contexts. I am not an emotional person. I like to get straight into things, no dancing around. If there's an issue, I would like to be notified about it. People can be extremely open with me without fear of upsetting me, as I tend to remain calm in the majority of situations. This sense of serenity allows me to remain productive, even in the face of external stressors.
4. I am extremely honest. I don’t like to lie. It's arguably more difficult and requires more effort than telling the truth. Some say I'm brutally honest at times, but I consider it just pure honesty. Due to this pure honesty, people tend to trust me. They know I'm nearly always going to tell them the truth and the truth often leads to further progress than dishonesty.
5. "The gift." Now this one is harder to explain. "The gift" is what my brother calls it, as he has it too, unlike the majority of the population. This quality parallels my love for learning. To simplify it, as it's hard to understand without experiencing it yourself, it's the ability to retain information and fully understand concepts with ease. No studying required. I'm able to do a minimal amount of work to comprehend complex ideas. Most people have to dedicate large quantities of time to learning one section of information or one concept, while I don’t have to. This doesn’t apply for all topics. I generally have to be interested in the topic for this characteristic to apply, but as long as I'm interested, learning comes easy. I would also like to clarify that this "gift" is not the a good memory. It's not a photographic memory my no means. I have a terrible memory in general, but learning I'm good at.
Having listed and described how I see myself in terms of my human capital and how it makes me unique, I conducted a series of five interviews of some of the people who know me the best and asked them, essentially, what I asked myself. The interviews are listed below with summaries of the key takeaways on how others see me.
- This individual focuses on my awareness and support of others. She says that I'm intuitive, as I am well-informed and quick to pick up on things. She expresses that my practical and realistic nature makes for good advice and that I have a deep understanding of people and their needs.
- This individual explains how although I have grown more open over the years, I have continued to stay grounded and authentic. She emphasizes my extreme dependability and selflessness, as I am always there for others when they need it. She says that I'm knowledgeable, including having street smarts.
- This individual highlights my open-mindedness and ability to be welcoming to new people. She also mentions how passionate I am about the things that I care about.
- This individual stresses my reliability, as I am helpful to others and am a good listener. She explores my level-headed nature, as I am not easily swayed by emotions.
- This individual explains that I thoroughly think things through before acting, emphasizing my thoughtfulness. He also touches on my diverse base of knowledge.
Kira, I think that by talking to your close friends that it helps you see in yourself what you might not normally see. This is a great thing to have because people tend to be hard on themselves but when they have friends to support them it can make everyone a better person and be more successful.
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