Because we all have a calling, a gift, some unique talent that makes us so kick-ass that no one else can stake a claim to it.

And if you deny it, you’re just denying you.

Whoa, deep.

I blogged for eight months about finding true fulfillment in your career, trying to find my voice in a foreign world, instead of embracing the content developer/writer/editor that I really am.

So no more of that.

You can see the old blogs below and on these pages as I rework the site, and meanwhile, here’s the new call to action, or PROMISE OF THE NEW SCRAPPY STRATEGIST:

To provide triggers for the first step in making true progress and momentum.
To offer a cheat sheet of information, thoughts and ideas.
To push for readers to not just talk, brainstorm, or dream, but execute. It’s better to do something imperfectly than not at all….

I promise to take hold of and cultivate the content inside all of us. So get ready to start doing.

And to also announce that it’s a New Year and time for a change…so this is the last entry in this blog’s original form…expect a re-do in about 30 days.

In the meanwhile, keep yourself moving…

Cate’s hedgehog was shaped unconsciously. And by a calling to contribute to a greater global good.

To recap: A journalist by trade who had worked her way to the top of the magazine editing industry, she  struggled with what made her truly happy, and with her passion.

For Cate, finding her true passion (and the third piece for her hedgehog-circles) developed slowly, as she traveled around the world, subscribed to international crisis group newsletters, and become more and more interested in nations struggling to stabilize their political structure.

And it eventually hit her: She needed to go work for an NGO—a non-governmental organization associated with the United Nations. (If you need to brush up on NGOs like I did, check out this recent article.)

Cate specific’s passion? A South American NGO. Why South America? Because unlike other country’s where corruption was too rampant, Cate could see meaningful progress in South America and its nations. These were economies turning a corner, finding their voice.

So Cate’s going to take the GRE. And then quit her job. And go to grad school for International Relations. And move to Colombia. She’s got her concept in her sights, and she’s moving forward. Of course this will take two to three years, but she now knows what she wants.

Well, great for Cate, but what the heck does this have to do with you? My whole point in telling you this story is that you don’t have to have it all figured out just yet. If you don’t have your hedgehog concept, don’t worry, it will come. Don’t think you need to quit your job and go on a soul search for your passion. Instead take a cue from Cate: Develop your interests and passions naturally. Take up a course. Learn a language. Join a club. If you enjoy it, great. If not, try something different. But trust me, it’s out there. Just open your mind and heart up to new possibilities…

And no, this may not happen overnight. For Cate, the realization took years, and came to her…in the shower. Great things take time. And you’re worth it.

Now get moving.

Keep that hand up if you made it to the top, and asked yourself: Is this all there is?

Case in point: Cate has the job she always dreamed about in journalism school. To know Cate was to know that she would clearly become a successful and respected editor—in fact, just 32, Cate is managing editor of a group of photography magazines. Let’s be clear: For Cate, this is the job.

Or at least it was…nine years ago as a college senior. Because today Cate no longer wants the big editor position. She’s lost the drive for the top.

So what if you get the dream, but it doesn’t actually fulfill you?

Which brings me to my new obsession: The hedgehog concept.

The wha? Stay with me for a second–I’ve been cuddling up with Jim Collins’ Good to Great, a study in what makes certain companies enduringly exceptional. I’ve been particularly caught up with his idea of the hedgehog concept, or “an understanding of what you can be the best at.” It involves the intersection of three crucial criteria that you can download here:

The Hedgehog Concept

So for Cate, she had two out of the three:

1. She was one of the best magazine editors in her field
2. She was making a decent paycheck, so clearly driving her economic engine

But what about that third point about passion? Ah—there’s the rub. For Cate, she had the skill and the money but not the fire in her belly for magazine editing—or journalism really—any longer.

So the lesson here: You can have the talent and the money, but still not be happy. For Cate, this ends up with a happy ending (or at least happy middle), which I will explain in part 2, where we will discuss how to figure out what you are deeply passionate about…

Meanwhile, for more info on how to find your own personal hedgehog, check out this video by Jim Collins and how you need to study the bug called you to better understand your hedgehog…there’s actually a ton of tools on this page to help explain the hedgehog concept…go ahead, get digging into a better understanding of you…