The major difference between those who record outstanding success and those who fail or those who merely get by lies in whether they attain their full potential or not. Those who attain their full potential break down every barrier, knock off every limitation, scale over every hurdle and become the best they can be. They never allow anything to stop them from the full utilization of their potential. Eventually, they become world beaters and pathfinders because they surpass the limits set by the society on what is achievable. They shock the world and stun themselves by their accomplishments as a consequence of pushing the envelope until they fully utilize their potential.
Those who aim for the top never stop until they get to the peak of their potential. Those who attain their full potential never grow less than they can be, never do less than they can do, and never go less than they can go. Those who do not attain the fullness of their potential do less than they can do, achieve less than they should achieve, and live in the shadow of their full potential; they live with the regret of the greatness that they could have accomplished but which they failed to. As observed by Charles Schulz, there is no heavier burden than an unfulfilled potential.
Michael Phelps was introduced to swimming at the age of six by his mother. He ended up becoming the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time winning a total of 28 medals. But the Ijaw people in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria are born to swim; they mostly live in water. Ijaw kids are introduced to swimming by the age of two. It is unthinkable to come across an Ijaw person who is not a swimmer. But why has no Ijaw person ever won the Olympics or even any major tournament in swimming? They never fully grow their potential in swimming despite being born to swim. So, it is not about capacity or ability; it is about maximizing the ability.
Why people fail to attain full potential
There are a number of reasons many potentially great people never taste the reality of their greatness. Here are some of them.
Giving room for excuse
An excuse is an alibi for skirting responsibility and a vehicle for shifting the buck. It is the chosen haven for those who have forsaken their paradise. Hence, those who make excuses hardly ever make anything else. Excuse is an energy drainer and a destroyer of potential. The same excuses given by some people for not doing what they ought to do are the reasons others advance for moving forward. For whatever you do not want to do, there will always be a preponderance of excuses but for whatever you want to do you can always find a reason. No one can rise above the excuses permitted. Therefore, excuses limit ability and deter success. Human beings are wired to find solutions to any situation but most people are comfortable with making excuses whenever they come across obstacles in their pursuit.
In his attempt to develop the electric bulb, Thomas Edison carried out 10,000 experiments that failed. Yet he did not give up. If at that point he had given up on the excuse that the time was not right or that he didn’t have the appropriate technology many people would have sympathized and reasoned with him but he would never have become the reference point that he is today; he would never have attained his full potential. He kept on with it in spite of the series of failure that he encountered until he got it right. Those who are going to attain the fullness of their potential don’t give up because of excuses; they keep on in spite of excuses.
Excuses are the cemetery of greatness. As said by Thomas Edison, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
Getting overwhelmed by challenges
Many of those who fail to realize their full potential are those who get overwhelmed by challenges. When confronted by seemingly difficult situations they cringe and switch to default mode. Instead of taking decisive steps that can take them out of the situations, their thinking is paralysed by the enormity of the challenge and they are unable to do anything about the situation. Instead of riding on the storm to greatness, they allow the storm to sweep them into inactivity.
It is an insult to the human mind for anyone to be overwhelmed by challenges. The truth is, if properly deployed, the human capacity is always greater than the challenges we face. That is the secret of all the inventions that have been made. That is what took the world from riding horses to driving cars. It is what took humanity from living in caves to staying in mansions. So, rather than succumb to situations, those who want to grow to the fullness of their potential think out of the box to get a solution.
In Japan, the preference is for fresh fish, albeit the rivers that are close to the country are deficient in fish. This posed a problem to the fishing companies as they had to travel to very far places for two to three days to get fish for their market. By the time the fish were brought they were no longer fresh and did not attract as much money as they should have.
To solve this problem, the fishing companies installed freezers in their boats to preserve the fish. But frozen fish and fresh ones are not the same. So, though the fish were bought because Japanese loved fish, the shipping companies did not get as much value as they would have wanted for their efforts. To improve their services, they got fish tanks filled with water in which the fish were kept to ensure they were alive until they got to the market. But by that time, the fish were sluggish and not as lively as the Japanese would have preferred. So, they did not pay as much money as the fishing companies would have wanted.
The fishing companies did not surrender. As a way of solving the problem, after catching fish and putting them in the fish tank, they got a small shark and put it in the tank with the fish. The presence of the shark ensured that the fish remained active as they had to strive to escape the shark’s teeth. Although the shark ate some of the fish, the fish were as active as the Japanese wanted them. So, the fishing companies were able to get good value for their efforts.
The point here is that no problem is beyond the human capacity to solve. Problems appear insurmountable because people are either intimidated into inactivity or fail to creatively interrogate the issue.
Never surrender to situations; those who do never attain their full potential.
Failure to pursue excellence
Excellence is exceeding set standards. In any human endeavour, there are set standards that separate success from failure; these are the irreducible minimum that can be tolerated from anyone or organisation involved in any activity. Meeting the standard is nothing exceptional because it is expected. It is when the standards are exceeded that excellence is achieved.
Anyone who makes excellence his or her pursuit will attain full potential but those who do not can’t achieve that.
What drives excellence? It is a combination of knowledge and action. When acquired knowledge is put into practice, performance changes and the outcome gets better. Seeking knowledge is finding ways to get better at what one is doing and seeking new methods of executing a task. The more knowledgeable a person is the more effective he becomes. The more knowledgeable a person gets the more result-oriented he becomes. So, being a person of excellence requires having a seemingly insatiable thirst for knowledge which must be utilized. Nobody is honoured for having good intentions. People are rewarded for the actions they take. So, the proof of knowledge is its appropriate deployment.
Not doing what will take them closer to their goal daily
Success is a journey but some people get stuck on the way and are thus unable to realize their full potential. One of the hallmarks of those who get to the peak of their potential is that they commit to doing something that will drive them closer to achieving their full potential daily. They do not allow anything to stop them from doing this. This requires discipline.
Discipline is critical to being the best one can be. Those who want to go far in life consistently subject themselves to self-discipline to achieve their desired goals. Those who are more particular about giving in to indulgence fall by the way side; they never experience the joy of attaining their full potential.
Preferring money to relevance
The love of money has destroyed many great careers. Those who love money in excess always shoot themselves in the foot. At 20 years of age, Nicolas Anelka was on his way to becoming one of Arsenal Football Club’s greats. In 1998/99 season, he scored 17 goals in 35 appearances for the club. This made him one of the most sought after young players in Europe. As a consequence of his rising profile, he pressured Arsenal for pay rise at the same time that Real Madrid was showing interest in him. Arsenal wasted no time shipping him off to Real Madrid for £22.3 million.
But after moving to Real Madrid, his career plummeted. He was completely out of form in Madrid that the club wasted no time dispensing with his services. From Madrid, he moved to PSG from where he moved to Liverpool and later Manchester City. From Manchester City, he moved to Fenerbahce from where he joined Bolton and later got transferred to Chelsea. Anelka had the capacity to become an institution in football but he became a rolling stone because he put money ahead of relevance.
Those who put money ahead of relevance never get to the peak of their potential.
Last line
According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, the only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. Never forget that.
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