Transform Potential Into Achievement
“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” — Confucius
It was author and screenplay writer Steven Pressfield who acknowledged: “The song we’re composing already exists in potential. Our work is to find it.” Every man yearns to express his potential through his life and work. The dictionary defines potential as: latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness. If we wish to lead an authentic life, we must be willing to embrace our potential to create that life in earnest. Potential evokes the impression of an idle car, roaring with possibility before hurtling down the road. It is the car’s engine and driver that decide the car’s speed. Yet without someone to take control of the vehicle, there is little potential to speak of. I recall taking an elective subject in automotive design at university. The lecturer, a former automotive designer, spoke of how the badge ornament on the Ford Mustang, the galloping wild horse, came to be. The final design evokes a sense of movement and potential, so that even while stationary, the car conveys the image of movement.
Regrettably, many people are held back by limiting beliefs, fears, and doubts related to their potential. Left unchecked, these destructive energies perpetuate into a contracted self-worth. Whatever we buy into long enough and with conviction forms our reality. Potential must be recognised within ourselves foremost when we abide by our highest distinction. In doing so, it summons our dormant strengths and commitment toward greatness. Consequently, the power of potential is the idle horse ready to gallop. Potential necessitates discipline, attention, and commitment to bring it to life. “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free,” declared the Italian sculptor and painter Michelangelo. Potential is harnessed when we give ourselves to the process. The greatest minds in history began life with little potential. Abraham Lincoln’s learning difficulties as a young man is an example of one who transformed potential into achievement.
Rise Above Your Obstacles
“Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential.” — Winston Churchill
To cultivate potential, we must move in the right direction without becoming fixed on the path which leads us there. Potential must be obvious to the individual and is accompanied with passion and desire. “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes time. Vision with action can change the world,” states futurist and author Joel A. Barker. Self-awareness is a favourable virtue to understand our strengths and limitations. We must emphasise our strong points while coming to terms with our weaknesses. That is why we must make it our duty to nurture our strengths since passion and enthusiasm alone only get us so far. An indomitable will spawned by inspiration rouses potential. It is through dedicated focus toward a vision or dream that transforms desire into action, since strong aspirations alone are insufficient.
Whatever is possible is attributed to the mind that can conceive it. The realisation of our goals and dreams is constrained only by our limiting beliefs. They slow if not halt progress altogether, because the same creative intelligence that manifests our desires also gives birth to our insecurities. The power to unleash potential is overcome by rising above our obstacles instead of being defeated by them. Each time we rise above our defeats, we embrace who we are and nurture our potential.
The Birth Of Ambition
“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” — Maya Angelou
Potential is clothed in hard work, an indomitable will, commitment, and courage. To take a contrasting view, I equate lack of potential to simmering water which never boils because the heat is turned down. In recent times there’s been much discussion given to the widely held opinion that we use ten percent of our brain power. While acknowledged as an urban myth, I believe we are yet to tap into our other faculties such as intuition or the deeper subconscious mind to harness potential. In The Power of Habit, author Charles Duhigg suggests we reveal our potential by developing sound habits. Many failures are attributed to poor habits formed throughout people’s lifetime. To nurture potential, we ought to form a strong foundation to harness those gifts and nurture them as we evolve. I am fond of the saying: “Life doesn’t know what it will become until you create it”
Potential exists in all living things and is the lifeblood of universal intelligence. To allow this intelligence to act through us brings to life that which resonates with our deepest self. The same energy which gives birth to our ambitions does so at the right time and not a moment sooner. We cannot escape our potential any more than refusing to inhale oxygen from the air surrounding us. However, how we use that potential forms the foundation for life to express herself through us. Steven Pressfield struck upon a crucial point, that all potential exists within the space-time realm. Our task is to birth that potential by giving it life through dedication, commitment, and inspired action.
Call To Action
Do you want to lead a remarkable life? Are you committed to taking action despite your fears and doubts? Have you had enough of not achieving the success you seek? If so, download your FREE copy of my eBook NAVIGATE LIFE right now, and start your amazing journey of greatness today!
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