The Freak Factor

Hello again friends! & welcome back to Rush Delivery.  In today’s blog I have been asked to read an article titled Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness by David Rendall.  This article can be found hereà Freak Factor by David Rendall

            Rendall begins his article by making you identify your own personal weaknesses.  By knowing what your weaknesses are you can begin to correct them, or as Rendall says in point number two use them to configure your strengths.  He lays it out in three well said points.

§  Weaknesses give important clues to your strengths.

§  You find success when you find the right fit.

§  Your weaknesses make you unique.

All three points are excellent explanations about finding your right place that I would never have thought of.  These are also a perfect segway into Rendall’s third point.  For each weakness we have an equal strength that applies, they are linked.  A few examples Rendall uses in his manifesto would be having the strength of patience also gives you the weakness of indecision, or the strength of positivity gives you the weakness of being unrealistic. 

      Rendall then gives some examples of such weaknesses earning great success for some.  Such as Virgin founder Richard Branson having dyslexia yet becoming the president of a record/cellphone/airline company.  He now owns his own island and is free to invest in such ventures as a jet that takes civilians into the atmosphere for short trips, although it’s still in the works.  Rendall also explains how disorganization isn’t always negative as we’re told.  Alexander Fleming found penicillin while searching through his messy desk after vacation.  If he wasn’t unorganized millions of people today would suffer due to the lack of penicillin.

      Rendall’s fourth and fifth points are about fixing your weaknesses.  His advice; forget them.  We waste our time and energy trying to fix what’s wrong with us when we should be focusing on boosting our strengths.  Trying to fix a weakness just makes you frustrated and even if you are able to fix it doesn’t become a usable strength.  Working on improving our strengths is easy and enjoyable, they’re our natural gifts and our best route to success as Rendall points out.

      His sixth point applies the same principal; don’t try to do both.  It’s much easier to improve upon what we already know and like and vice versa it’s tiresome and painful to work on something we hate.  Also trying to do both is too consuming in a world where everything is hustle bustle.  His seventh point advises us to pick our battles.  If you know you’re not great at math don’t become an architect, try being a producer instead.  Finding the right fit as Rendall puts it will help you improve your strengths and gain confidence.

      Rendall’s eighth point is about the power of uniqueness.  Being a freak isn’t something to be ashamed of; it means you possess something no one else does.  Rendall uses the example of the leaning tower of Pisa on how its imperfections over the years and numerous attempts at being fixed ultimately lead to it becoming a huge tourist attraction.  His final point is titled putting your quirks to work and he lays it out in four excellent points.

§  Pick situations that maximize your strengths.

§  Instead of procrastinating on things you hate just don’t do them all together.

§  Partner up with someone that is strong where you are weak.

§  Look for the freak in others.

Rendall’s first point of discovering your weaknesses is a perfect starting place.  I find this to be a key part of any plan.  If you know your weaknesses before you begin it will be easier to tackle the task at hand if the right positions are assigned to the right people, which is a perfect example of how to use it in a group project you may have in school.  His third point is also helpful.  If you are stuck on your weaknesses and just can’t get around it find what strength corresponds to it.  That’s a perfect way to realize what you should go after if you are unsure of yourself.  This would be a great tool for a student unsure about selecting their classes for next quarter.  Finally I feel Rendall’s fourth point of forget about your weaknesses to be the most helpful.  This is something people struggle with all the time when the answer is easy; forget about them.  A weakness can be easily concealed when your strength overpowers it.

In the creative world I have found my strengths to be useful.  I’m good at sparking initial ideas, as well as adding on to others ideas.  I’m also good at researching past ideas and using it to exemplify a current idea.  My weaknesses are I am easily frustrated when my ideas are shot down, although I do not take offense.