Today we're Supercharging Your Superpowers!

In the last couple episodes we've been building to this point, so if you haven't listened to them, I highly recommend you do so.

Leveraging talents we already have (aka, supercharging your superpower) and discovering new ones we can add to our repertoire using an alter ego are a few of the areas we're covering on today's Soul Roadmap Podcast.

Let's Dive in!

Note: some of the resources below may be affiliate links, meaning I get paid a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.

RESOURCES

TRANSCRIPT

Hello my friend,

I hope you’re having a fabulous day and that it only gets better from here.

Today we’re rounding out a three part series focussed on leveraging your talents and cultivated skills we already have to improve every area of our life.

The first part showed you an unusual place to find your superpowers if you weren’t sure what your superpowers were. The second part of this series focused on where we may not be fully leveraging our skills – our blindspots when it comes to our superpowers.

And today we’re going to talk about where we can supercharge our superpowers in areas of our life where we have those blindspots.

If you haven’t listened to parts one and two, I recommend you listen to them right now. This series was meant to build upon each episode.

I loved doing this series of podcasts, so if you love — or hate — this format, DM me @dina.cataldo on Instagram to let me know what you think.

I don’t think that any conversation about leveraging our strengths is complete without mentioning a couple people: Todd Herman and Beyonce

What do these two people have in common?

They both used a technique that Todd Herman has dubbed, “The Alter Ego Effect.” Get it?

So Superman had Clark Kent as his alter ego.

Wonder-Woman had Diana Prince.

Batman had Bruce Wayne.

Spider-Man had Peter Parker.

We’ve all used this to some extent – the “fake it ’til you make it” phrase may come to mind.

But I like Todd Herman’s take on it because he’s much more intentional about how he uses it.

Also, I find it relatable because I grew up in a comic book store where I ate this stuff up.

Todd even wrote a book about how to use the Alter Ego Effect in detail that I’ll link to in the show notes.

When you go to the show notes at dinacataldo.com/45, you’ll also find a free resource called “Jump Start Your Superpower” that will give you a taste of what it means to implement what you’ve learned in this series of podcasts.

It’s important that you recognize what your superpowers are and what they feel like when you’re at the top of your game.

For instance, if you’re a legal research ninja, what’s the skill or talent that you’re bringing to the table when you’re doing that?

Are you able to think through the relevant issues to get the search results you need?

Are you confident that there’s always an answer and that you’ll find it? Maybe you diligently follow every lead?

If you’re an amazing writer, maybe you have a knack for distilling complex issues into simple terms?

Whatever your skill, you may not bring that particular skill to areas of your life where you feel stuck.

For instance, you may avoid your finances or feel like installing software and other technical issues are just too much for you, and you put them off or never get to them because you always seem to put them at the bottom of your to-do list.

That’s a sign that you don’t feel confident in your abilities to tackle them. You’re avoiding them

What we resist persists. Which increases the stress we feel around that topic.

What if you tool some of the skills you have as a ninja researcher, an amazing writer or whatever other skill you have and connect them with the areas of life you avoided?

When you isolate your strengths then you can move them to other areas of your life for increased success.

This is where Beyonce comes in.

Remember “I am…Sasha Fierce?”

Let me read a bit of her explanation about Sasha Fierce from her interview with Oprah when that album came out.

Beyoncé says she crafted her stage persona to help her overcome challenges and give the best performances she can. She said, “It's kind of like doing a movie. When you put on the wig and put on the clothes, you walk different…It's no different from anyone else. I feel like we all kind of have that thing that takes over.”

Sasha Fierce usually appears, she says, right before Beyoncé is about to perform. “Usually when I hear the chords, when I put on my stilettos. Like the moment right before when you're nervous…Then Sasha Fierce appears, and my posture and the way I speak and everything is different. It’s kind of this character I’ve created over the years.”

When asked how she differs from Sasha Fierce, Beyonce explained, “I know definitely when that body suit [come on]..I could never walk out here [to be interviewed] and do that. If I’m on stage and I’m performing I would, but when I’m myself I would feel al little ridiculous.” She went on to explain that she uses Sasha Fierce when she “has to do something like choreography or anything that’s difficult.”

A few takeaways from how Beyonce uses her alter ego:

She recognized there was an area of her life that she needed to bring it, and it wasn’t second nature to her.

She found the traits she wanted to embody, and she brought them to that character she created.

She has a moment before she begins the task she’s doing — going on stage or performing — to embody those traits. She has a signal when it’s time – putting on her stilettos and hearing the music right before she goes on stage.

Then she embodies exactly who she wants to be in that moment.

The amazing thing about this is, that the more you intentionally practice the confidence and strengths you have, the more you will actually begin embodying them in any area of your life that you choose.

I want to stress something:

You already have the abilities that you want to have in these other areas of your life. Beyonce had the ability to perform before she developed this alter ego. She had practiced things that worked well in her life before. She just recognized that if she intentionally used those skills in an area of her life where she really needed to bring it for her fans that she would be more successful at it. And if I had to guess, she probably looked to other performers to see what they were doing that helped them perform the way she wanted to on stage.

So how can you make this work for you?

Well, I’m about to share that with you.

First of all, we’re all performers. We all behave differently from one situation to another. We behave differently at work than at home than around our best friends.

Secondly, if you don’t know what traits you need to become successful in a weak area of your life, start looking around you. Who have you seen who has embodied a characteristic you want more of?

What traits do they bring to what they do that you want to infuse into part of your life?

Get resourceful, and you’ll find what you need.

Now let’s shift gears and help you supercharge your talents by infusing them into those areas you’re avoiding or don’t feel confident in.

First, have what Todd Herman calls a totem or artifact.

A totem is an object that signals that you’re ready to shift gears and embody the traits you want to impart onto the task at hand. Beyonce has stilettos, when I am in trial I wear my heels and my sharpest dresses, when we go out we put on our make-up, Diana Prince had a lasso and gold bracelets. Choose what your totem will be.

Then wear them whenever you want to feel the sensations you desire: confidence, creativity, determination, sass.

When I need that extra boost of confidence, my outfit makes a difference. I walk and carry myself differently. I’m sure you’ve had that experience with something in your life.

Next, practice this intentionally over and over again.

When you're about to enter the situation, you actually feel what you want to feel. Imagine it. This may seem silly at first, but if Beyonce can do it, so can you!

You can isolate the strengths you have as a performer, researcher, trial attorney or any other successful area of your life and impart them into your weak areas.

This takes time, but it’s something we’ve all done at one point. Now you’re just doing it intentionally.

But what if you don’t know what strengths you need for that area of your life?

Start looking around you. Who have you seen has embodied a characteristic you want to bring into a weak area of your life?

What traits do they bring to what they do that you want to infuse into part of your life?

This is a mindset tool that you can put in your back pocket the next time you have an area of your life you want to improve.

Right now I’m working on improving my mindset when it comes to money. The traits I want to bring to that area of my life are discipline and a feeling of abundance. I have those traits in other areas of my life, but not always when it comes to my finances. It’s up to me to consciously remind myself of these when I think about anything to do with money. I’ve decided that one way to remind myself of this and take these traits into financial situations is to have several $100 bills with me at all times. It reminds me to have discipline when I’m spending money and to feel abundant every time I look into my wallet. They’re not for spending, they’re my totem.

I’ll also link to Todd Herman’s book there if you’d like to learn more about how you can make these concepts work for you.

I hope that you took something valuable away from today’s episode.

I hope you have a wonderful day, and I’ll talk to you soon!

SPECIAL NOTE TO YOU:

If you've read all the way to the bottom, I want to send you a special thank you. It's people like you who make my day because you're ALL IN! You eat up every bit of knowledge and want to improve your life daily. I'm sending you not only kudos for being so awesome but a big thank you because you make everything I do special.

Thank you.

Podcast

#45: Supercharging Your Superpower (Part 3)