You and I know what is probable, but seldom understand what is possible.
Andrew Shapiro is an example of someone who blew through “probable” and set a new standard for “possible.” Inspired by his father’s triumphant battle with cancer, Andrew committed himself to setting a Guinness World Record for pull-ups. He practiced incessantly, building his endurance by doing ten pull-ups a minute for six hours while watching movies to pass the time. He pressed on despite sore muscles and blistered hands. Then, at a Relay for Life event in Virginia, he achieved his goal by performing 7,306 pull-ups in twenty-four hours. Andrew not only set a new record but also raised four thousand dollars for the American Cancer Society.
Increasing capabilities to Andrew Shapiro’s level of skill can be summarized by this equation: time x effort = capacity.
Capacity is your ability to produce. And confidence is your belief about your capacity. Both can be built up with extensive and intensive training. The more you expand your life skills, the more competent and confident you are to successfully deal with the range and variety of challenges you face at work and at home.
In my new book, The Potential Principle, I offer four powerful tools for creating breakout improvement personally and professionally. Each can be used in the four areas of growth as mapped out in the Potential Matrix (the performing quadrant, the learning quadrant, the thinking quadrant, and the reflecting quadrant). The fourth tool is this:
Increase your capacity, in order to grow your confidence and move closer to realizing your true potential.
Success breeds confidence, and confidence breeds success. It’s a virtuous cycle that begins when you commit yourself to spending the time and effort it takes to raise your level of skill.
The Potential Principle includes many tips about how to start this process and keep it going. A great way to begin is to take inventory of the abilities you have right now. You get better by both exploiting what you already know and the skills you’ve developed and by exploring new skills and knowledge.
As you consider adding new skills, make sure you know which ones, if developed, will enhance your existing skills toward improvement in the performance you desire. And study what the most important skills are in your priority areas. Ask yourself, “What one thing, if I started doing it and kept doing it, would give me the biggest return on my investment of time and energy?”
Improvement is hard work, but it pays off. To better your best, dedicate yourself to doing what it takes to increase your capacity. It will give you the confidence you need to achieve your goals and become the person you were meant to be.
Order The Potential Principle at http://bit.ly/potentialprinciple.
New York Times bestselling author Mark Sanborn’s new book The Potential Principle: A Proven System for Closing the Gap Between How Good You Are and How Good You Could Be is scheduled to release September 5, 2017 and provides a map and method for becoming better than best. By identifying the four key areas in which growth is possible—thinking, performing, learning, and reflecting—and applying the four tools of improvement in those areas—disrupt, refocus, engage, and expand— Sanborn reveals the secret for achieving breakthrough improvement in any area of life. Mark is president of Sanborn and Associates Inc., an idea studio dedicated to developing leaders in business and in life. He is a noted authority and an in-demand speaker on leadership, customer service, and extraordinary performance. To book Mark and share the message of The Potential Principle with your team, please contact Michelle Joyce at michelle@michellejoyce.com or (704) 965-2339.
