The 7 cornerstone skills of life

By Brian Maynor

 

There are seven skills we all need to master when it comes to life.

Recently I read an article by the renowned Leon Ho, founder and CEO of Lifehack, where he talked about seeking health, happiness and success in life and laid out these essential skills.  It doesn’t matter which area of life we focus on, personal or professional, the same set of seven skills applies when we’re building the foundation of our health, happiness and success.  To continue the building analogy, together they serve as the cornerstone.

While each skill has value and importance on its own; the real power and stability come from the set as a whole.  When used together, they give us the power to completely transform any situation.

Here’s a breakdown of those seven skills:

1.   Creativity.  We are all creative in different ways, but this skill isn’t dealing with our artistic or musical abilities.  Instead it is focused on our ability to think creatively.  This is how we come up with uncommon and inventive solutions to our problems, and see things from a different perspective.  This skill is essential when it comes to change.

2.    Learning.  It’s true we never stop learning.  In fact, learning is how we make advance through life, but sometimes we struggle keeping up.  When that happens it isn’t a reflection of our intellect or intellectual ability.  It simply means we need to figure out how to learn more effectively.  One way to do this is to actually want to learn.

3.    Memory.  Learning is futile if we can’t remember what we’ve learned.  This is something I struggle with personally, because it seems there is more information available than my mind can hold.  Even using technology as a backup, we still have to work on not overloading our memory.

4.    Focus.  This skill is the driving force of life.  Think about it.  There is some amount of focus required in everything we do.  In fact, focus is what keeps us on track with our goals.   When we lose our focus we can feel stuck, listless or even lost.

5.    Motivation.  Motivation is our reason for doing something, and without it our dreams will not become realities.   When we reach a point in life where we’re unhappy it usually means we’ve lost our motivation, or purpose.  Without a purpose it is nearly impossible to stay focused, and we just learned that without focus we could get lost in life.

6.    Habits.  Life is a series of routines and routines are nothing more than a collection of habits we’ve created over the years.  These habits can be positive or negative, and the fact that we seem to do them without awareness means they can seem in control of our lives.

7.    Time.  Our habits take up our time, which means they can be making good use of it, or bad.  Time is the only commodity we can’t create more of, so we should all be more mindful of how we spend it.  It’s only too late to change how we use our time, i.e. change our habits, when we run out of it.

There may not be a single secret to living a happy, healthy and successful life, but using these seven skills together as a set is about as close as we can get.  Again, each one alone is valuable and important, but it’s easy to see the power of using all seven towards the same goal.  The momentum would be unstoppable.

 

 

I’m always excited to hear from you, so please email your questions, quandaries and conundrums to [email protected].

 

About Brian Maynor

Brian Maynor has built a reputation as one of the leading style coaches in the Southeast and is quickly expanding his eponymous company, BRIAN MAYNOR and his FIND, FLATTER & FLAUNT line of image consulting services. A professional with a fresh, upbeat and down-to-earth personality and boundless creative energy, he works frequently with with local celebrities; Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit organizations; modeling agencies; fashion designers; production companies; record labels; media and individuals. A regular contributor to various fashion blogs and online communities, Brian Maynor is one of the most trusted and recognized style experts in the region, utilizing his education and training as a broadcast journalist to serve as a style lecturer, emcee, and commentator for over a decade. He has appeared at fashion shows, expos, and charity fundraisers, as well as events with big brands like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Chico’s and Macy’s. His approach is innovative, creative and fashion-forward, balancing fresh, modern styles with classic pieces to keep one’s look grounded. To learn more, visit http://www.brianmaynor.com.

 

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