The #1 Reason People Don't Reach Their True Potential

The #1 reason people don't reach their true potential: they are unwilling to pay the price of success.

Many people don't want to invest their time in order to grow themselves. Many people don't want to invest their money to join forces with others to help them accelerate their growth. As a result, they will never reach their true potential.

There are A LOT of unhappy people spending their time away from work escaping, complaining, or simply doing nothing instead of paying the price to change their circumstances.

"We are anxious to improve our circumstances but unwilling to improve ourselves. We therefore remain bound."  ~ James Allen

These unhappy people begin dreading Mondays on Fridays. They've made it a habit. It's easy. And, they just keep doing what they've been doing to fix it. Nothing. It doesn't make sense, but that's what a lot of people do. They hope and wish for things to get better in their life.

These people will spend their weekends wasting the time and money they say they don't have on meaningless things that will not change or improve their circumstances long term, but will make them feel better short term. Some will say, "But, I don't know how to change my circumstances?" Knowing how is not the issue. Not knowing how is just an easy excuse. Not taking action is the real issue.

If we don't know how, we must learn how while we're doing it.

Some will say, "That's impossible and doesn't even make sense." However, that very same person has already done it in the past and has the evidence to support the belief that we can learn how to do it while we're doing it. We all learned to walk without anyone teaching us at a time we didn't yet know how to walk.

Mom and dad didn't teach us. They only supported us. Balance cannot be taught. We learned to walk without having any prior knowledge of "how" to walk. How? We had a burning desire to make it happen and never gave up! We didn't have to know how to make it happen. We simply had to want to make it happen and believe that we could make it happen.

One thing that helped us is that we didn't have to listen to others because most of us couldn't even speak or understand language at the time. No distractions. Just endless action toward accomplishing our goal. We didn't lie around and wish and hope that one day we would suddenly walk.

We simply saw others doing what we wanted to do and made a choice that we were going to do it too. No one told us we couldn't do it. But, everyone encouraged us to do it. So, we did it. Then, we grew up and learned to communicate with others and those in our social circles started to plant doubt in our minds. We started to see others that didn't believe they could do what they want to do. So, we begin to believe we couldn't do what we want to do.

Because of what we believe, the price most of us will pay is not the high price to achieve success, but the higher price of settling for far less than we're capable of in this life. That's a very high price to pay.

Why are we willing to pay the higher price of settling for a mediocre life where others control us and set our agenda when we could pay the price to live the life we wish for and dream of where we are in control of ourselves and set our own agenda? A life where we do the type of work we want to do, when we want to do it, where we want to do it, with the people we want to do it with. Why won't we pay the price for this life?

The reason: we don't truly believe it's possible. So, we don't do anything. And, we have to live with the results of doing nothing. Until we change what we believe, nothing will change. What we believe will determine what we will achieve.

Do not believe:

• This is who I am. (Those paying the price are growing and changing.)
• This is the life I must live. (Those paying the price are creating and shaping their life.)
• I'm stuck. (Those paying the price are never stuck. They're always moving and transforming.)
• There is no way out. (Those paying the price have many, many paths to follow.)
• There are no options. (Those paying the price create multiple options.)
• No matter what I do, nothing will change. (Those paying the price act intentionally and everything changes.)
• I tried, and it didn't work. (Those paying the price are never trying. They're always doing and learning how to make it work.)
• It might work for someone else, but it'll never work for me. (Those paying the price don't make excuses. They find a way to make it happen.)
• There are no opportunities. (Those paying the price have unlimited opportunities.)

If we believe these things, we will make our choices based on our beliefs. What we believe leads to our feelings. How we feel leads to our actions. And, our actions lead to our results.

Do you truly believe paying the price will change your circumstances? If so, you will pay the price? If not, you won't. If you don't believe paying the price will change your circumstances, where's the problem? Hint: the answer can always be found in the mirror.

"Self-mastery is the hardest job you will ever tackle. If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self. You may see at the same time both your best friend and your worst enemy, by simply stepping in front of the mirror." ~ Napoleon Hill

In life, one of two things are going to happen. You will either move forward and pass others on your way to success, or you will be passed by others on their way to success. We must become responsible, take action, and begin making effective choices. We must act, or we will be acted upon.

If you don't like your boss, your job, your spouse, your circumstances, work on yourself, so you can make the situation better. Or, work on yourself until you can make a change that will make your life better. But, don't think you have to settle and waste your time providing the evidence to support your lack of belief. There are endless opportunities for those willing to pay the price and reap the rewards.

"Opportunities are never lost, they are just found by someone else."  ~ Dexter Godfrey

Just because you believe something doesn't make it true. But, it does influence your behavior. Believing you can will cause you to do certain things. Believing you can't will cause you to do other things. If you want different results, you must choose to do something different. Don't ask yourself, "Can I?" Ask yourself, "How can I?"

If you're unhappy with your job and you're not doing anything to intentionally make it better when you're not at work, don't worry. If you stick with it long enough, you'll get used to it. 

This thought reminds me of story I read a while back:

A man went to a fortune-teller to hear what she had to say about his future. She looked into a crystal ball and said, "You will be poor and unhappy until you are forty-five years old."

 "Then what will happen?" asked the man hopefully.

"Then you'll get used to it."

Just take a look around at all the people who are "used to it." They are everywhere. They are unwilling to pay the price and therefore remain bound. Listen to their voices as they waste their time and money. Read their social media posts as they hunger for Fridays and dread Mondays.

Being unhappy at home is rooted in being unhappy at work. What you do when you're not at work is what determines where you work, when you work, and what you get paid to work. If you want to change where you work or who you work for, change what you do when you're not at work. Don't waste time and money on things. Invest time and money to develop yourself. As you do, you will have many more options.

What I learned long ago was that I was willing to work hard to help someone else achieve success while I was complaining about the miserable life I was living every day. If we will work hard for others, why won't we work harder for ourselves?

Why was I choosing to be miserable every day to make someone else happy? I would pay the price for others, but I wouldn't pay it for myself. That doesn't even make sense. But, people do it every day. Anyone working in a field they're not interested in, or a job they're not happy with, or for a boss they don't like or trust is doing this every day. They are paying the price for someone else.

Why do most people settle? Paying the higher price of settling is automatic and requires little or no effort. All you have to do is what you have to do. The minimum to keep getting by.

But, paying the price to succeed has to be intentional and requires extra effort. A LOT of extra effort if you're already miserable, or you've been coasting through life for many years aimlessly. You will have to make up for lost ground.

We get out of life what we are willing to invest into it, plain and simple. Invest a lot, get a lot. Invest a little, get a little. What will it be? It's almost too easy! This is not a complicated lesson.

Success is a choice you must make. It will require sacrifice. To be clear, if you don't pay the price to succeed, you WILL pay the higher price to settle for something less. 

What's common sense is not always common practice.

If there's something you want to do or something you're not happy with, take control of your life today. Begin making choices that will change your circumstances. If you want help through one-on-one, confidential, professional coaching, and are willing to "pay the price" and make changes in your life, contact me or my wife, Ria Story. We offer coaching in any location online using skype.

If you want to take responsibility for results, we can help you get results. If you want to blame something or someone outside of yourself for your circumstances, no one can help you.

"The number one reason for lack of growth in people's lives is the absence of joining forces outside themselves who push them to grow. Instead, they keep telling themselves that they will somehow, by willpower or commitment, make themselves grow. That never works." ~ Dr. Henry Cloud

FREE downloads available:

Click here to access Chapter 11 “Get Out of the Way and Lead” from my book, Defining Influence.

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Make an impact!

Mack Story

My passion is to help you live with abundance, achieve success, choose significance, and leave a legacy. In other words, I want to help you make a High Impact !

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Mack’s story is an amazing journey of personal and professional growth. He began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership. He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

Mack is the author of Blue-Collar Leadership Series, Defining Influence, & 10 Values of High Impact Leaders. He's an inspiration for people everywhere as an example of achievement, growth, and personal development. His passion inspires people all over the world! Order signed copies here.

Mack’s experience as a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Speaker includes an international training event in Guatemala with John as part of the Cultural Transformation in Guatemala where more than 20,000 Guatemalan leaders were trained.

Contact Mack at 334-728-4143 or [email protected] for Keynote Speaking, Corporate Training, Professional Leadership Development, Cultural Enhancement/Transformation, and Process Improvement.