ANNALEE ASH ON FINDING YOUR STRENGTHS
Thanks to everyone who has attended our virtual town hall and our series of video interviews discussing ways we can all stay positive and healthy and get stuff done during the coronavirus quarantine. We discovered that one of our clients, Annalee, has a great deal of experience looking for the positive through her work as a StrengthsFinders coach. Here’s what Annalee has to say about focusing on the positive in people and leveraging their strengths! What if I told you you’re not one in a million but one in 33 million! And what if I told you that you really can’t be anything you want to be, but you can be more of who you really are! Research tell us that globally, only 33% of those who are employed are engaged in their work. Over four decades of research, 2 million global interviews, billions of pieces of data, algorithms, and continued studies of strengths psychology, we know that it’s actually more like 27%. This fact is sad, but true. The strengths movement began back in 1960 with Donald O. Clifton. Clifton is considered the “Father of Strengths Psychology.” One day he called his colleagues in and suggested they study what makes people happy and successful instead of focusing on abnormal psychology. They agreed, and the strengths movement took form. Over time, it has helped nearly 20 million people discover how and why they think, act, and feel the way they do. Clifton used the data he collected over 40 years and boiled it down to 34 talent themes. The personal configuration of themes is so individual that the chance of someone having the same top five talent themes ranked in the same exact order is one in 33 million. The chance of having the same top five
themes regardless of rank is still one in 275,000. The message is clear: You are specifically and wonderfully made. I love sharing this aspect of discovering your strengths, especially with parents and kids. It explains so much in a nutshell about just how unique we all are created. We are never going to be “just like our big brother or sister” or anyone else we compare ourselves to. We really do have our very own innate and unique gifts that can and should be celebrated and nurtured. StrengthsFinder is the assessment tool that can identify and unleash the talents in any individual. While we don’t need disasters to bring communities together, knowing, understanding, and appreciating the talents and strengths of one another can assist greatly, and we can see this now with the coronavirus pandemic. Families, businesses, governments, educators, nonprofits, workforce developers, and individuals can be lifted higher when we all unite to support each other to discover who we are and deliberately do what we love most every day. Focus on your talents and strengths, learn to manage your weaknesses (or ignore them) with the assistance of others and your faith, and live each day fulfilled and enriched knowing you’ve made a difference in the lives of others. I believe it is why we are here.
Annalee Ash is a GALLUP-certified CliftonStrengths coach, speaker, and facilitator. For more info on StrengthsFinder, reach out to Annalee at AnnaleeAsh8@gmail.com. -Anale e Ash
CHICKEN PESTO QUESADILLA This Kearney family recipe is a favorite because you don’t have to measure anything — it’s all to taste. by Frank Kearney
CONGRATULATIONS CORNER
LAWRENCE M c CRAE
INGREDIENTS • 1/2 onion, diced • Olive oil •
Precooked or grilled chicken breast, shredded or chopped into small pieces
When a coworker lost his grip on a 185-pound matrix frame Mr. McCrae was installing, the whole thing fell on his hands.
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Juice from 1 lime 1 jar pesto sauce
School may be closed but the kitchen is open. Here is Chef Quarantine, cooking up a storm when not injuring his father during extreme workouts. Notice the noise-canceling earbuds that block everything your parents say except words like "money," "food," or "car" — an absolute must for anyone with parents! And with the NCAA considering allowing athletes to profit off their likeness, he charged me $20 for this photo — can you believe it?
Mexican shredded cheese
An insurance doctor said he didn’t need treatment and could work in commercial construction, so he wouldn't be entitled to benefits (we see this a lot — they have a BS exam by a doctor who works for the insurance company and use that to cut off a hardworking person’s benefits), he knew he needed a lawyer to fight for his compensation and medical treatment so he could get better. Mr. McCrae showed extreme resilience because even after eight months of no benefits or medical treatment, he persevered and never lost hope or faith. And we won the benefits that he rightfully deserved.
Flour tortillas
DIRECTIONS 1. Sauté onion in olive oil. In a bowl, mix onion with chicken, lime juice, pesto, and cheese. 2. In a pan over medium heat, lay one tortilla and spread chicken pesto mix over one half of the tortilla, then fold it over so it is closed like a half-moon. 3. After 1–2 minutes, flip the tortilla
making sure the cheese melts. Repeat.
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