Maximise Potential

 Maximise Potential is my pet project. I believe each one of us has enormous reservoirs of potential waiting to be unleashed. However, this potential must be harnessed before it becomes latent. Here are some tactics to maximise potential 

The author Napoleon Hill said that “Definiteness of Purpose” is the first quality required for success after analyzing the richest men in America. Decide what you want to achieve in your life. Write down your short term and long-term goals. Make it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time bound. I like this line "Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement."  When a new year starts people start setting resolutions in my opinion it is better to set a long term vision for your life which will keep you energized throughout the year and beyond.

Create a personal mission statement and vision for your future. My mission is simple “I want to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs.” I have also expanded it further and try to read it daily. It does inspire me. I came up with this in 2010 and it has helped me read everything I can get my hands on and share my learning with everyone. Find a place to spend some time alone and journal what you want to be known for and you will find your mission only through some alone time.

Never stop learning. If you are through learning you are through life. The avenues for learning are many and most of it is free. Identify the experts in your field, read their blogs, read their books, listen to their podcasts, document what you have learned and share what you have learned. This process will work. As Reid Hoffman said in Blitzscaling you need to become an infinite learner. Learning is the antidote to aging. So, keep learning all the time.

Read broadly and expand your horizons. It is important to be open to additional information. What I do is scan all the NY times best sellers and WSJ best sellers. I am usually caught up on the business best sellers. I also look for any good biographies. One of them which I liked was Einstein by Walter Isaacson. Reading from a totally different field can give you innovative ideas. Of course, there is also the art of knowing what to ignore which comes with practice. Again, the books you like would be totally personal to you.

Put fitness on your radar by engaging in a balanced exercise program. There is a lot of research which shows regular exercise releases pleasure inducing chemicals. Exercise is something that needs to be done constantly and it is a lifestyle change. Even a 30-minute walk is a good refresher. It also increases your learning capacity. Again if we make this a life style change we wouldn’t need any resolution.

Keep track of your victories however small they are. We can’t wait for others to approve. The first and most crucial step is self-approval. Sometimes we wait for external recognition to feel good. The best way is to acknowledge yourself every time you do something good. However small the achievement is never let that go without appreciating yourself. This is one of the best ways to build self-esteem as you would be feel great by yourself and wouldn’t need others to appreciate to feel good.

Practice gratitude. We can be happy with what we have while we strive to become better. Despite whatever is going on in our lives we all have quite a lot of things to be thankful for. Whenever I feel a little off I quickly jot down the things that I am grateful for. This shows that life has generally been good, and it is for us to investigate the blessings and opportunities that life offers.

One of the best quotes from Stephen Covey "Don’t prioritize your schedule. Schedule your priorities." Time management is an oxymoron as you cannot manage it. You can only manage yourself. Decide what you want and organize all your activities around that. That is simply what time management is. Just concentrate on what must be done that day and if you do this every day you will be productive.

Believe yourself when no one else does. This has been said a lot of personal development authors and it is difficult to know who said it first. However it is worth adapting to make our lives better. People only believe results not words or the other way to put is as Frank Sinatra said, "The best revenge is massive success." It is important to have faith in yourself despite how the outer world reacts to you. All of us go through tough times and we feel inadequate. The best way to improve in this area is to attack your problems head-on and take new actions. The best antidote to fear is knowledge. If any area of your life is not working analyze it and identify what needs to be improved and take necessary action.

There are 168 hours in a week. How we use it wisely is our choice. Everyone has 24 hours. It is what we do with that time which makes the difference. There is absolutely no question that we are in an age where even 5 min seems like eternity. Everything is instant but unfortunately anything we want requires sustained effort over an extended period. It is easier to give up when we see the long road ahead. However, if we just concentrate on what needs to be done that day we can focus only on that. For example, just exercise for 30 min today that's it. Don't worry about losing weight and do this consistently eventually leading to the outcome you desire.

Fear is normal, but we shouldn’t allow fear to sabotage us. As Mark Twain said, “I have had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” Worry is something we all have, and the reason is we do worry is we are uncertain of the outcome. How would we feel if we are already prepared for the worst possible outcome? So, think of the worst possible outcome and be ready for it. At the same time act to minimize it from occurring. Tim Ferris talks a lot about this in his Ted Talk.

Take time off to renew, recharge and rejuvenate on a periodic basis.  There is a lot of research which shows that taking time off in fact makes you more productive. It is also well known that a lot of creation does occur when people take time to detach themselves and allow their minds to wander freely. The coming week till Jan 1st 2025 is a great time to renew and rejuvenate so you are in full force for 2025 to be a great year.

Define what success means to you. It may not be the same definition of success by society. When you know with crystal clear clarity on what you want in your life success is easier to define. Don't compare yourself with others as this definition is only for your view.

Treat everyone with respect. Practice the golden rule. Everyone in this world is a worthy person and deserves respect for being in the game of life. Being kind never goes out of fashion.

If it is meant to be it’s up to me. This basically means taking responsibility for everything that happens in your life. Every success book talks about taking responsibility because that is the key to a great life. When we take responsibility, we feel a sense of control and ultimately how we respond is totally under our control.

The beautiful proverb “There is nothing noble in being superior to another person. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.” Your only race is against yourself and keep expanding your horizons. There maybe people who are much faster than you which is fine. Admire them, get inspired but never forget that you are running your race. The only finish line that matters is the race you are running against.

Don’t compare yourself with others. Be happy in your own skin. Comparing with anyone is not an effective use of your time. Everyone is on their own journey.

“Life is like a river. There is a river of joy and river of sorrow. The key is to not to stay on either bank for too long.”  There will be setbacks, disappointment and regrets as we take the journey towards life. This is inevitable but it is not permanent once we understand that we can handle everything better. As Brené Brown brilliantly said we feel courage and fear at the same moment. Anytime we put ourselves out there we will feel fear and shame. The more we get used to these uncomfortable situations the better we feel.

I have been writing in a journal for over 14 years now and it is extremely effective. Your life is worth recording. As Steve Martin said, "Be so good they cannot ignore you."  There is always a place for someone who is excellent in what they do.

Successful people don’t do different things they just do things differently. I think Shiv Khera said this. There is something unique about you and you need bring that out.

Discover your talents. You have a reservoir of talent which must be tapped.

There is a 10000-hour rule. To be successful at what you do you need to put in 10000 hours of deliberate practice in the same field. This usually takes 10 years and of course it is a specific type of practice which involves getting better on the areas which gives the maximum return on your investment of effort.

The following books have made an enormous difference one me

• The Success Principles

• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

• Think and Grow Rich

• The Speed of Trust

• Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

• First Things First

• Built to Last

• Great by Choice

• Die Empty

• Good to Great

• The Magic of Thinking BIG

• Success through Positive Mental attitude

• The Power of positive thinking

• Leaders eat last

• Rising Strong

• Daring Greatly

• The Gifts of Imperfection

• Drive

• A Whole New Mind

• Outliers

• David and Goliath 

• 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

• Blitzscaling

• Mastery

• Start with Why

• This is Marketing

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” 

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” 

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all” Helen Keller 

Good maxim “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Stephen Covey said private victories precede public victories. In other words you need to master yourself first before you get the external results.

Communication is everything and it requires constant practice to improve. As it has been stated often excellence is a journey not a destination. 

“Happiness can be defined, in part at least, as the fruit of the desire and ability to sacrifice what we want now for what we want eventually.” Stephen Covey. 

Your life matters and you can become great in whatever you choose to do. The only thing is you need to decide exactly what you want your life to stand for. Only you can decide that and no one else can. So, go ahead and make your life stand for something that is deeply personal and meaningful to you.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and wish you a great end to 2024 and great start to 2025.

The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.