has always been easy for you (effortless in fact) to lend an ear to others in need.

Then, remember that when you were in grade school, you seemed to have the unspoken role of peacemaker. Rather than belonging to any particular group, you were friends with everyone. Your peers would come to you frequently when faced with conflict. You were able to listen to both 'camps' and at times, to negotiate between them in order to settle a dispute.

Later as an adult, it seemed natural that work colleagues would come to you when they had personal or work-related problems. They would even remark at how you seemed to "understand them," and how they felt like you "were really listening."

All of these subtle indicators suggest the same thing. Your ability to listen and to allow others to feel heard is one of your gifts. Combined with this is a natural ability to help others solve problems by listening carefully to them and then remaining unbiased as you offer suggestions or advice. This is an example of how two of your gifts work together to allow you to help others. Out of defining your gifts comes the ability to shape and define your life's purpose. Ultimately you are able to use these gifts in living your life's purpose.

In another example, perhaps you remember being fascinated with understanding how mechanical objects work. As a child, you took apart mechanical remote cars and electronic toys in order to understand how they were put together. In high school, you thrived in shop class and even worked weekends helping your father provide maintenance and repair on large assembly-line machinery. It felt so natural to then pursue a career in mechanical engineering in college. Your ability to understand the mechanics of how things worked and your use of this knowledge