2 Big Questions Answered By The Power Of Triangulation

I’m not Special Agent Timothy McGee on NCIS. He’s an MIT graduate whiz.

I do envy his triangulation skills though. A few days ago I started thinking about the math of triangulation. Like most people I went directly to Wikipedia.

In trigonometry and geometrytriangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly (trilateration). The point can then be fixed as the third point of a triangle with one known side and two known angles.

Once I got my eyeballs facing front again, I re-read it. Then again. It finally made some sense.

Triangulation may help us solve two of the most pressing questions people have about their life pursuits.

1. Where am I?
2. Where am I headed? (What we usually want to know is, “Where do I want to go?”)

I’d like to give you three points of a triangle to help us pinpoint the answers:

a. Desire
b. Natural Aptitude
c. Skill

Let me explain in today’s video

Mentioned in today’s show:

Mitch Rossell, aspiring country music star – let’s call him a “star in the making”
My Word A Day Video using Mitch as an illustration. Look at the links in the notes to that video for more on Mitch.
Donald O. Clifton, a pioneer in the notion of soaring with your strengths
Soar With Your Strengths, the book
StrengthFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
The Element by Sir Ken Robinson, another book

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