Do you potentially have potential?

We are born with it and we carry it all the way through our lifetime, we don’t always value it, yet it is a constant in our life to make use of.

Yes…I’m talking about potential!

From as far back as I can remember, potential has existed within me and the people around me. I can recall my Grade 4 teacher telling my Mum that I’d have potential if only I focused more in class, did my homework or even worse didn’t daydream so much!

But what is potential? If we could harness it and bottle it, what would it represent to us?

It’s the promise of who we could become. That ability or talent sitting latently waiting in all of us, waiting to evolve and develop into something in the future. The beauty of potential is that it hasn’t been realised yet!

How wonderful, to think that the possibilities are endless and that success is within our reach.

Or is it…

A life lived with never realised potential can be a harsh reality as we pass by opportunities or experiences that allow our potential to manifest into talent, skill or expertise. We end up spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about success but often never doing anything about it. This results in discontentment and frustration; with people diverging away from their true skill sets into less satisfying career paths.

We’ve all heard “you’ve got potential” at some point in our career path! So what does it take for us to realise our potential?

AMBITION!

We must want to strive and achieve sufficiently that we tap into those skills that are waiting patiently to be unleashed. Ambition mixed with potential is a potent mix.

It is only when we identify our potential and apply a strategy to achieve what we want will we realise our true potential. Let’s look at the steps you should be taking to realise your true potential:

1.    It’s time to clearly identify your strengths and your weaknesses. Write them down in a list side by side – do not stress about how long either list is, just do it.

2.    Have a friend or colleague review the list and add any strengths or weaknesses they feel you have missed and ask for feedback. Having a feedback loop is critical to understanding who you are from the outside looking in.

3.    Own it – no one is perfect and yes we can all work to improve who we are but as long as you are aware of your weaknesses and work on them you will allow your strengths to truly shine.

4.    Ask yourself what success looks like to you? I’m not talking about the glittery kind of success I’m talking about the kind of success that you know will allow your true potential to shine through. Your dream job, that business you want to start, what is it that matches up with who you are.

5.    Tap into your passion. Your potential should be starting to take shape but whilst ever it is only on paper it is still not being realised. Time to tap into your passion and make a plan to achieve your dream. How are you going to rise to the top?

6.    Unleash your ambition. Put your foot on the accelerator, aim for your target and go hard. It’s time for you to excel by allowing all that you have to shine through. Be strategic with your choices, this is not about working over people but it is about being smart about the choices you make and the commitment you show.

7.    Don’t get distracted. Often as we set ourselves on a path to achieve a goal we can become influenced by the people around us or the environment we are in. Seeking advice is important but make sure you check in with your plan so that you can ensure you stay on track.

Finally, ambition is not a dirty word (for men or women) as long as it is focused on using our potential with our values to achieve a goal. I have to thank my primary school teacher for giving me the drive to say “yes I can”! My potential hasn’t always been realised but that’s okay.

Working in my business for over ten years, I know that there is so much for me still to achieve and that I am only now tapping into my true potential. I’m excited for what lays ahead!

I encourage everyone to go out and start, realise your true potential.

www.jenesis.net.au

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