Everyone needs skills. No matter what kind of career you have or want, there are skills that you need to have in order to excel. Skills are those things that you do, such as analyze, listen, add, or write. Some skills are developed through schooling, training, various jobs you have held in the past, and even hobbies and other recreational pastimes. Other skills may just come naturally to you, like telling a story.

Try to think about activities you enjoy and do well, those things you can do without thinking or that engross you to the point that you don't notice the passage of time. Perhaps you loved campaigning for student body president back in high school. Speaking extemporaneously, planning a strategy, and persuading people to vote for you gave you more satisfaction than any term paper or soccer game ever did. Perhaps the thing you liked best about your last job was the vacation away from it when you did construction on your house, hammering nails, mixing concrete, and making something tangible with your hands. Finding a career that lets you use some or all of your favorite skills will greatly enhance your chances for satisfaction and success. You will enjoy your work because it will feel more like sailing with the wind rather than rowing against it. Values, passion, and desire count for a lot, but in order to excel at a career, you have to prepare yourself with the necessary skills.