One of my presentations is called "Be a Gem". I came up with the idea after shopping and having a one on one consultation with a Tiffany Jewelers' consultant. Did you know you are like precious jewels? You didn't just happen. Through a series of experiences, education and challenges you have became the person you are. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds come to be valuable gems after they are found, cut, grinded, cleaned, polished and placed in beautiful settings.

Depending on how you view yourself, you can either see your brilliance and acknowledge your genius in certain areas or not. When you don't see your brilliance or genius your focus is shifted to areas of your life that may not be working well.

See your brilliance shift your focus.

Recently I've met several people who are experiencing some of life's challenges, looking for work, facing grave illnesses, changes in their marriage and in the void of not knowing their next steps. How people manage their responses to their particular situation manifests miracles or pain.

The difference lies in how the person sees themselves, either as a brilliant genius who loves life or as a dull, dumb and dumpy person. If you are the latter, here are some suggestions to help you shift your perspective. If you are the former, I've also included strategies to evolve and receive more, do more and expand your world.

Believe in yourself:

Belief comes from looking back and reviewing the achievements that you have achieved. So often when people look back they can pick the hard times (or see them that way), rather than see the good times. We all know people who knew us way back when and who shared a story with us about the positive difference we made in another persons life. We learn about people who looked up to us. We feel great when we hear those stories. Are you surprised that someone remembered you? Sometimes people are surprised that anyone noticed them.

Teenagers focus on their internal dialogue, focusing on narcissistic internal perspectives, assuming that everyone thinks the way they are thinking (which is all about them). If the teenager has a negative perspective about who they are they assume others also think negatively about them. If they think positively about themselves then, of course, that is how everyone else thinks. They are so into themselves that often they don't see how others think about the world and the internal dialogues others may be having (which may be different than their own).

As they mature and through increased experiences; which includes travel, meeting people and reflecting and questioning inner thoughts, beliefs and assumptions as well as expanding their perspective, young adults begin to see the brilliance of others and themselves.

Of course some people didn't have these experiences and didn't get to appreciate others and themselves this way. That's okay, it is never too late to learn that you and I have the power to change our thoughts and beliefs. You and I can change no matter what our age.

It is this power (the power of thought) that gives us the freedom to discover our genius and take action.

We can re-frame our beliefs about ourselves. We can change our focus from seeing how we haven't grown to cheering the positive ways that we have. We can choose to see how strong, powerful, smart and effective we are. By acknowledging our growth and our resiliency, we can come to believe in our ability to manifest success in our lives.

Resilience:

Do you let negative comments just roll of your shoulders like water off a duck's back? Are you persistent and tenacious with enthusiasm no matter what?

By acknowledging yourself as a brilliant genius you will shine, no matter what. My mom is a great role model for this. She is always smiling and has always sought ways to make her work better and impact more people positively. She did it at home. She believed in my brother and me. She would often tell us that she knew, no matter what happened, that we would be able to meet her on a date she asked anywhere in the world. She was convinced that we would get there no matter what. I would imagine she said, "get to Japan on the 23rd at 11 am", and I would figure out how a 14 year old would get there. I spent hours and hours figuring out strategies and ways to accomplish my goal. I had a vivid imagination and I always saw myself getting there, no matter what. She acknowledged me as a brilliant genius who could get where I needed to be when I needed to be there. I believed her and knew I could.

I imagined all kinds of scenarios that could prevent me from getting there., but I always figured out a solution.

As I matured and went out on my own I learned that I had to be a cheerleader for myself. I had to be resilient and stay focused, holding on with faith that the powerful thoughts I believed about myself were true.

Love what you do

This is a personal assessment. You have to be vigilant and focused to notice all the little things that you love doing. What little things have you always done because they made you happy? Write them down, start around the age of 9 or 10. What games did you play? What made you really happy and why? Sometimes people get distracted and lose the connection between their actions that made them happy. Take a few days to analyze the times that you were happy. Too often people will say a hobby like 'sports' and leave it there. You have to go deeper what about the game you love. What about your position? What skills did you develop that make you really proud and happy? The deeper you go and define what you loved doing, the easier it is to stay in your brilliant genius zone.

I am sure you heard over and over "Do what you love and everything else will fall in place". You have to do the digging and define what you love doing. No one can do it for you.

Be a Brilliant Genius

You already are that person, however you may need some grinding, cutting and polishing to make sure that everyone else sees your brilliance. Start with believing in yourself and top it off with loving what you do. When you do that everyone around you will embrace your brilliance.

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Who is Pegine?

New York Newsday calls Pegine (pronounced Peg-een) “a walking one-woman antidote to workplace cynicism.” Feisty and fun, Pegine Echevarria is one of 58 inductees into the prestigious Motivational Speakers Hall of Fame (awarded by GetMotivation.com) that includes luminaries Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie and Tony Robbins. The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) named her one of 100 Global Thought Leaders on Diversity and Inclusion. Recipient of many awards for leadership, diversity, and business, this former gang member has impacted millions of people.

To read more about Pegine’s interesting life, lessons and articles as well as laugh while enjoying Pegine in action click on www.pegine.com

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