What are you capable of doing? Do you have any idea? Have you ever tested your limits? Thomas Edison suggests that very few of us have a clue about our real capabilities. What might we accomplish if we work together using our resources to their fullest? It is an awesome thing to consider. How wonderful it would be to be part of a world where we all explored our capabilities. Is that a ridiculous dream? Not necessarily.
The first step in discovering your capabilities is to try new things. You have no idea what you are capable of until you try. Janet always thought it would be incredible to climb a mountain, but she wasn’t in very good shape. She set a date in early September and gave herself a year to work up the nerve. She walked with her best friend, Judy, four or five times a week. They started out walking around the block, but every week they increased their distance just a little. By August, the ladies were hiking nearly twenty miles a week.
Janet chose a relatively “easy” first mountain to climb. It was over 14,000 feet at the summit, but she could walk it without climbing gear. On the scheduled day, the sun shone brightly, and Janet huffed and puffed and stopped every few feet as she reached the summit, but she did it! The view was astounding. Janet hadn’t known what she was capable of until she tried.
Your assignment today is to try something new. If you don’t like it, you never have to do it again. Remove the chains that limit you and jump in to the unknown.
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This may come as a great relief to those of you for whom math is not your strongest subject. The point of this quote is not to offend the mathematicians of the world. It simply points out that you don’t have to be brilliant in everything in order to be successful in life.
Lucky for us, real life offers numerous options for success. Your job is to find out which one fits you the best. Have you truly explored your talents? A good place to start is with things that actually interest you. You may be drawn to them because you have a certain aptitude in that area.
Andrew always loved the theatre. Ever since his parents took him to see Peter Pan in the second grade, he has been enthralled with the spectacle of a live stage production. As soon as he was old enough, he auditioned for plays, but he soon discovered performing in front of a crowd was not one of his true talents. He was crushed, but he remained on the periphery of the stage like a moth to a flame. Finally, someone put him to work hanging lights. Andrew is now an award-winning lighting designer. He makes magic on the stage through his artistic use of color and light. It took him a little while to figure it out, but he found his calling and achieved a level of success he never could have dreamed of when he was seven years old.
Your assignment today is to become a detective. Search for clues that might lead to your hidden talents. What do you really enjoy in life? What gets you excited? Think about all aspects of those items. Do you have an undiscovered talent hiding within them?
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Are you bored with your present life circumstances? It might be because you set your goals too low. No one likes to fail, but people often over-compensate by setting goals that are too easy to obtain. They reach them, and then they coast as long as they can, resisting a challenge or a new opportunity. They feel safe and secure in their accomplishments, even if they lead a slightly unfulfilling life.
This approach to life is a little like the duck-pond game at a carnival. Every duck has a number on its belly, so everyone is a winner. It’s the safest game at the carnival, but the prizes are usually pretty crappy. Do you want to have the guarantee of obtaining a prize, any prize, even if it’s a crappy one? Or would you rather go for the giant stuffed animal in the difficult game where very few winners emerge?
That’s a tough choice. You want to win. If you lose, you have nothing to show for your trouble. But what are you going to do with the mediocre toy once you win it? It will probably be discarded in a week or so when you move on to more exciting diversions.
Your assignment today is to take a look at where you are aiming. Examine the targets you have set in your professional life and your personal life. Are you aiming too low? If you haven’t even set your goals, your assignment is to find a few targets and take aim. It is very difficult to achieve success without seeing a goal before you. Find your targets and aim high.
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Cultivating a sense of humor is one of the best weapons in your arsenal of success. Humor is healing and unifying, and it can also lead to great accomplishments. Why is humor such an effective weapon? It might be because laughter is something to which everyone relates. It allows people to see their commonalities rather than their differences.
If you want to be a leader, you must not take yourself so seriously. Life is too important to be taken seriously! Poke a little fun at yourself. Admit it when you fail, laugh, and move on. You will gain more admiration by taking
