How to be a Superhero – Part 3: Developing Your Superpowers

This is the third part of a five part series on “How to be a Superhero.” If you missed part one or two, make sure to check them out.

The Story of an Amaryllis

In November, my then girlfriend (now fiancée), bought an Amaryllis bulb (which is actually a Hippeastrum). Her hope was that the Amaryllis would bloom in time for Christmas. Being a flower lover, she read about proper Amaryllis care and she lovingly tended to the sprouting base of the plant. She made sure it was in a sunny location by the back patio door, she watered it when it needed water, and she checked it daily to make sure that the plant’s needs were met.

The plant was placed near a table in her house where I often sit and work on the computer. For weeks I would look down at the nub and comment, “Your plant is not growing.”

My girlfriend’s standard response was, “Yes it is growing. Just wait and see. By Christmas it will be a beautiful flower.”

Weeks passed and Christmas had almost arrived. All that was to be seen of this beautiful flower was a brown nub with a few tiny leaves poking out. Every time I saw this gangly little nub, I would make the same comment, “Your plant is not growing.”

A few days before Christmas, she finally made the conclusion to move the brown nub in front of a large window upstairs.

Within forty eight hours, the leaves that were poking out of that little nub grew an inch. The next day, the leaves had grown more, and within a week the leaves of the flower had grown over four inches. The flower grew because my beautiful, yet stubborn, girlfriend finally moved the flower to a different place where it was exposed to a different temperature, lighting, and humidity.

How Your Superpowers Might be Like an Amaryllis

As you pursue the adventurous life of a superhero, you might get to the point where, despite your best efforts you are not seeing an increase in the quality of your superpowers. Maybe you know what you want to do, but you haven’t been able to get any clients, create any products, or get hired for the job of your dreams. You are in a rut and don’t know how to get out of it.

You are like the Amaryllis, because you have great potential to be wonderful, but you are not growing. You are stuck in the wrong place unable to break free and realize your true potential.

In order to develop your superpowers, you must make some changes in your life. Some of these changes will be big changes, other changes will be small. Big or small, the important thing is that you are doing one or more of the following activities.

Change Your Environment – Your environment has a huge effect on your productivity and ability to develop your superpowers. Here are a few ways that you can change you environment to spur development of your superpowers.
Get Involved in an Organization – Many new superheroes will start their journey without a clear idea of the needs of the people they are helping. By joining an organization in the field you are interested in helping, you can surround yourself with practitioners in that field, other service providers, and people that are thriving in the field you have chosen. Getting involved in an organization also gives you credibility in the field and provides you with educational opportunities that are only available to members of the organization. A final benefit is that it gets you out of the house or office and into a new environment with new ideas, people, and opportunities for growth.
Try to Find a New Job – I have seen many people crushed by their current employment. They have no energy, no drive, and no desire to create a life of their dreams. By getting out and getting a new job, you can have a feeling of doing something new and exciting. This can push you to developing new ideas, learning new skills, and furthering the development of your superpowers.
Move Your Personal Workspace – Sometimes something as simple as moving your workspace can have a profound impact on your productivity. Maybe the desk you work on is a mess. Getting some new filing cabinets and getting everything clean and organized might make you more productive. Maybe you are in a dark corner of the room. Moving to a better lit corner might give you more energy during the day to develop the superpowers you are working on.

Increase the Knowledge of Your Superpowers

As you develop your superpowers, you will need to develop your knowledge of those powers. As Superman went to the Fortress of Solitude to study the knowledge crystals provided by his father, you will also need to find sources of information to learn about your superpowers. Some examples are:

Study a Book – As you develop your superpowers, you will need to develop your knowledge of those powers. As Superman went to the Fortress of Solitude to study the knowledge crystals provided by his father, you will also need to find sources of information to learn about your superpowers. If you are tight on cash, then you can go to the library and study the books about superpowers you would like to develop. In most cities, libraries are great sources of information about a wide variety of topics. If you don’t have access to a library, then order a book off of Amazon that is current and has a decent amount of positive reviews.
Take a Course – Many large cities and suburbs in the United State have community training and development programs. For $100 or less, these communities offer classes in graphic design, web page development, cooking, dancing, yoga, tai chi, and many other topics. You can also look into degree or non-degree classes at local universities and community colleges.
Get a Product – If libraries and your local community let you down, you can turn to the Internet to find a product that can help you develop your superpowers. There are many products available on product creation, web design, knitting, and any number of other areas that you might be interested in pursuing. Search sites like clickbank.com or the E-Junkie Marketplace for potential products that might provide you the information you need to develop your powers.

Small Changes can have a Big Effect

Sometimes a small change to the best environment for you will take you from being a small nub to a beautiful plant. When you are in the best environment, you might also find that you are stymied by a lack of knowledge of your superpowers. Working in the right environment, you can begin to study and learn more about your abilities. When these two tasks have increased your superpowers, you can then start taking action which we will talk more about in the next post.

Superpowers Take Time to Develop

Growing your superpowers will take time, energy, and in many cases some financial investment. The same way building a house takes buying and pouring a foundation, developing your superpowers takes spending time and energy in the right environment, with the right knowledge, and taking the right action. This is not an overnight process, but starting now is the best way to move toward future success.

If this post has given you some insight into helping you grow your superpowers, let me know in the comments how you are going to change your environment or learn more about how your superpowers can be put to use.

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