My purpose in life is Making Potential Possible. Like any such intention in life, there is a strong element of service to others, and also a mirroring reference to what we seek for ourselves.
Seth Godin recently wrote :
My purpose in life is #MakingPotentialPossible. Like any such intention in life, there is a strong element of service to others, and also a mirroring reference to what we seek for ourselves.
“It’s tempting to enter a field where mastery is assured, where you have a very good shot of being as good at it as everyone else.
It turns out, though, that the most exciting and productive fields are those where there’s a huge gap between those that are perceived to be the very best and everyone else.
The wider the gap, the more it’s worth to push through it.“
Yes, I am here to help others realise their potential, and at the same time, I wish the same for myself. Not only that, but for me to support others in realising their potential by making brave and transformative leaps.
I’ve seen over and over again (and yes, with myself) that high achievers can often choose to succeed relative to others while still playing safe relative to their own potential.
I’m using my own experiences here to support you in asking questions of yourself. Some examples from my own history :
- Have you ever entered a new environment and found you were at or close to the top of the group quickly? Did you choose to stay there or move to somewhere you were stretched more?
- Have you ever felt bored in one area that was key to you, yet justified staying put for various reasons?
- Have you compensated for one area of work or life by focussing on another where you were stretched, energised, enthused?
If you know you are a Ford, then those are great cars that function well, and absolutely, work in an environment with other Fords, Vauxhalls, Fiats, Nissans.
However, if you know you are an Audi, BMW, Lexus, would you be more fulfilled working at that level?
To stretch the analogy a bit, if you are a Mercedes, could you upgrade to Bentley? Porsche? Even shift and innovate to Tesla?
Ask yourself honestly, have you realised your potential ? have you settled ? what would it be like to really stretch yourself more?
As Mary Oliver said :
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life ?”