What is Your Superpower?

The older I get, the more I realize that if anything I do comes naturally and easily, then it was meant to be.

Yet we spend so many years of our precious time, effort, and energy on things that just weren’t meant for us. Think about relationships, friendships, and even careers, that you almost had to force. Deep down, nothing felt right about it. For some reason, you thought you were on the right path, so you pushed forward. It didn’t work out well. Did it? We’ve all been there. We’re all guilty of being determined to make it work.

Let's think about falling in love with your person. Ahhhhh. It was so easy, right? It seemed like all of the stars aligned and everything happen so… perfectly. No forcing. No games. No pressure. It was simple and everything about it felt so right. Almost serendipitous.  

Now, let’s apply that same logic AND feeling (magic) to your career.

What do you do effortlessly?

What gives you energy and satisfaction?

What do you absolutely love doing?

That, my friends, is your superpower. (putting on red cape)

Let’s dive in!

Knowing What is Not Your Superpower

Over the past 15 years, I’ve had the opportunity to practice all areas and aspects of fundraising, special events, campaigns, grant writing, major gifts, planned gifts, etc. If I had to pick my least favorite fundraising activity, without hesitation, what I would pick one hundred percent, every single time is grant writing. I have written countless grants. Do I enjoy it? Not even a little. Is it a necessary part of fundraising? Absolutely. Does it extract all of my joy, happiness, energy and a little part of my soul? Yes. Guess what? Grant writing is NOT my superpower. And that’s okay.

Finding My Superpower

A couple of years ago, during our weekly meetings, (or as I liked to call it, “Biscuits with the Boss”) with the assistance of my supervisor, I found my superpower.  My previous boss (Sarah J., I adore you!) pointed out to me that I excel at building strong relationships.

She simply said, “Relationship-building is your superpower.”

Wait… what?

Woah.

That was a total “aha moment” for me.

I had never really thought about it too deeply. Until now. As a development office of one, it was a constant art of keeping all the balls in the air. What I noticed is that any of the days where I was scheduled for one-on-one donor meetings, towards the end of the day, (instead of feeling exhausted) I felt AH-MAZING! Not just amazing, but spectacular, energized, inspired, and so pumped up about our mission. Even after a 90-mintue lunch with a donor where all they did was rapid fire questions at me, I walked away feeling fantastic. Why? For one, I was out of the office. Two, this was an opportunity to share the mission and all of the amazing work we are doing. All possible with their support, of course. Three, I enjoy meeting new people. Four, I love storytelling. Not just my stories, but THEIR stories. Stories about their life, hopes, dreams, all the things.

FACT: I will literally listen to someone talk for hours. And genuinely enjoy every second of it.

Now, with this amazing superpower realized and unlocked, I was unstoppable.

Once you identify your superpower, everything changes.

I was inspired.

I leaned into what is.

I showed up differently, with confidence, clarity, and energy.

And that’s where the magic happens.

Need help finding your superpower? Let’s become unstoppable together! At Purposeful Outcomes Philanthropy, LLC, we offer fundraising coaching for nonprofit professionals, leadership teams, boards, and volunteers who are ready to step into their strengths and elevate their impact.

Ready to unlock your superpower? Let’s talk.