UNLEASH THAT POTENTIAL

BY
DR UVIE-EMEGBO ANDERSON

FAGBA, LAGOS, NIGERIA
23 - 03 – 2007

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In every one on earth, God has planted a seed of greatness. That seed continually begs for expression. In every seed there is a tree and in every boy, there is a man. We all have potentials (qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to success), gifts, talents that are unique to each of us. Usually, these are things we can do better than most people. Scientists are mainly deep thinkers; explores are adventurous; preachers are usually orators, football mid - fielders are ball jugglers and good dribblers and great public relations officers have persuasive abilities.

    You have something of great value. What is it? It could be in speaking, writing, the skillful use of your hands or feet in designing things, creating music or in possessing a creative and deeply introspective mind.

     To unleash that potential, you must

(1)        Discover yourself

You are an untapped gold mine, an unexploited oil well, an uncharted sea. You must reach within yourself to find out those ideas that keep churning out of your mind. Don’t let them lie fallow. Act on them. Don’t wait for the opportunity to come because usually it will come disguised as work. Remember, the rule of nature is use or disuse. Brain storm, reflect and try out of several alternatives. Don’t say it can’t be done. You are not a failure if the idea doesn’t work, but only if you just gave up without giving it your best shot. It may be that you keep finding needs no one is meeting or identifying ways to offer a service better. You come alive when you discover your purpose; that which no one else but you can be.

 

(2)        Identify Your Passion

There are subjects you are concerned or enthusiastic about. There are things you would rather do. There are tasks you could gladly do for free even if the world is prepared to pay you for them. In your area of interest, you unconsciously become a custodian of knowledge - a resource person. You excel at your interests. The challenge is to make out time to develop them. Who knows, soon enough you may be smiling to the bank on account of them.

(3)        Be inspirationally dissatisfied

You don’t have to do what others are doing! Refuse to maintain the status quo. It’s all about becoming fulfilled in life. There are things in the society that only you can effect a change in. Despise mediocrity, ethnicity, racism, gender, discrimination, procrastination, indolence and lateness. Rise up to leadership. You can make the difference where you are. How determined are you to better your situation?  Robert Frost remarked that, “two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by and that made all the difference.”

(4)        Be focused

“Life is jealous of scattered energies”. To enhance your marketability, pour your efforts into mastering at least one skill. Google is all about internet search; eBay is about online sales and CNN epitomizes ground breaking world news. Where is your focus? Stop dissipating your energies in every activity. You will burn out. Put all your eggs in one carefully selected basket and thereafter, watch the basket closely. Nurture your skill and talent. It’s your unique selling point (USP)

(5)        Network

The power of synergism cannot be over-emphasized. You need a network of friends, business partners and co-visionaries to keep you fired up-because sometimes the zeal to unleash that potential may diminish. A strong network believes in, supports and empowers you to achieve true greatness.

(6)        Have a larger than life vision 

Incubate a vision for your life that uses your potentials as a tool to achieve it. The vision must outlive you. It is when you desire to live for such noble ideals, that the sky becomes your stepping stone.

(7)        Practice, again and again

Practice makes perfect. Look for as many opportunities as possible to put your skills and talents to use. Antoine Fisher, the famous screen write wrote 41 drafts of the screen play that bears his name, before it was accepted. Volunteer for some charity work. Step forward to do some thing where others retreat to the background. Be proactive. As you practice, your short comings will become obvious and then you can really do something about them.

(8)        Undergo training

It’s just not enough to be skillful, talented or gifted. Even the best of achievers set aside time to be trained and re-trained in the area of their greatest competence. Mega motivational speaker, John Mason is reputed to spend about 10 hours weekly improving his speaking ability. Attend workshops and seminars. Do some online courses. Get some certification. Go for a master’s degree. Whatever you do, do something. Don’t stay stagnant or you will become history. Training refines your raw talent, polishes it, brings you up to date and takes you faster to your desired success.

(9)        Stay positive

“When the morning’s freshness has been replaced by the weariness of midday, when the leg muscles quiver under the strain, the climb seem endless, and suddenly, nothing will go quite as you wish. It is then you must not hesitate” (Dag Hammarskjöld). No matter what, never stop believing in your abilities. Make positive confessions. Write out and paste your vision and goals in places where you can easily see them. Never affirm self limitations, for what you say you are you are. Remember “Rome was not built in a day”. 

 

So, what is it going to be? When it’s all said and done, keep it in mind that, ”what lies before us and what lies behind us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). The world awaits you!

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