We can be just as afraid of our strengths as we are of our weaknesses, and just as afraid to succeed as we are to fail. In her book, A Return to Love, in a passage that was made famous by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 Inauguration Speech, Marianne Williamson writes:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure about you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Connecting with your strengths is about learning how to acknowledge your own gifts, accept compliments graciously and to present yourself confidently as the extraordinarily unique artist that you are. I've addressed accepting compliments graciously in a separate article, so we'll examine the other two skills here.

1. Acknowledge your own gifts

Ask other people what they love about you. Create a booklet of these "testimonials". Then, make a list of everything that