Xavier Quinonez Strengths

Consider a service position where you can help others solve their problems.

Look for work opportunities that allow you to fix whatever is wrong, from restoring art objects to cars to inadequate telephone service.

Read the syllabus when you get it, and attack assignments or areas that you consider problematic.

Build relationships with people who appreciate your ability to help them identify problems.

Select classes in which you learn to solve problems.

Interview individuals who work in organizations where the work is experimental or discovery-oriented. Ask how each day assumes its own life. Take notes. Afterwards, look for recurring themes and behaviors these people share.

Shadow employees who continually respond to the varied requests of their customers, tourists, guests, and patients.

Live in the moment. Calm yourself before an exam with positive self-talk. Recall your personal history of dealing with surprises on tests.

Challenge yourself by taking courses that involve experiments. Compare your flexibility to that of various classmates. Notice how you make adjustments to produce desired outcomes.

Designate places to which you can retreat when you need to give your full attention to your studies. Choose venues where the potential for interruptions and extraneous noise is significantly reduced.

A career in law may excite you, as it requires the use of logic to build cases and find creative and effective ways to present them.

Choose careers that will allow you to be a leader and voice your ideas.

Don’t be afraid to be different. Discuss with professors the various approaches you can take to tackle an assignment.

Reflect and write down your ideas for possible solutions to problems.

Do more than is expected. It is not difficult for you to expand on an idea, and you will learn more about the subject.

Choose work environments that challenge you. Opt for situations where your success is measured each day.

Seek a position that lets you do what you do best every day. Inform people that you have a need to exceed, not just meet, minimum requirements.

Seek opportunities to apply several of the ideas and concepts you have learned. Address groups and conduct demonstrations so others can benefit from what you know.

Intentionally nurture friendships with people who are as driven as you are.

Choose challenging, effective classes taught by instructors who have reputations for helping students reach their educational goals.

Choose work environments that challenge you and in which your success can be quantified with scores, ratings, and rankings. Avoid situations lacking meaningful, objective measurement criteria.

Search for jobs that offer incentives for best performance. Financial bonuses, trophies, trips, promotions, rings, cars, or learning opportunities enhance your performance in ways that hard work and long hours cannot.

Regard grades as your scorecard. Invest more effort in classes where the results of tests, papers, and projects are posted for all to see.

Seek out highly competitive people and study with them. Know that you will push each other to learn more, faster. Figure out how to manage the inevitable undercurrent of tension that will exist.

Intentionally surround yourself with competitive people.