Unleash Your Potential

You may have heard the story of the potato, the egg and the coffee bean.  A father trying to help his daughter look at her life options took her into the kitchen and put water into 3 pots – one for the potato, one for the egg and one for the coffee bean, and put them on to boil.

 

A little while later they turned off the water to check the contents. The potato once hard was soft; the egg which was once fragile was now hard; but the coffee bean became something different.  It changed the water that surrounded it into a delicious drink.

 

Basically what happened to the coffee bean is that the hard times (hot water) unleashed its potential.  Before that it was just a bean sitting on a shelf, but when challenged it rose to the occasion.

Unleash the Potential in Popcorn

There are other hard shelled objects that react to heat.  Take, for instance, a kernel of popcorn which becomes soft and fluffy and delicious to eat.

The heat unleashes the potential hidden inside the kernel.  While some kernels respond to their full potential, others hold back.  Some pop only part way, keeping a bit of the kernel attached as if for protection.  Others refuse to pop, remaining closed to the opportunity presented to them.

 

You may know people who are like the popcorn.  Some fully embracing change, others a bit hesitant and still others holding back.

 

Change and difficult circumstances offer both uncertainty and opportunity.  How we manage the change makes the difference.

 

Take a moment and think about how you handle the hard times.

 

Do you shy away and hide inside your shell?

 

Do you venture out a little, but cling to the safety of old habits?

 

Or are you willing to unleash your full potential, to go boldly out into the world, embracing change just like the popcorn kernels that explode into their full potential?

 

The thing is, you never really know what you can do until you are subjected to a challenge.  If you don’t “get out there”, you don’t have the opportunity to discover your skills and abilities.

 

You don’t become a good speaker by sitting and reading about speaking, you have to take the plunge, get up on the stage and speak.

 

You can read all the articles you want about leadership, but you can’t be a leader without followers, so you have to get off the couch and tackle a project and lead.

 

How many opportunities have you missed or passed up because you were afraid?  I know I have passed up a number.

 

How many times have circumstances closed around you and left you sitting on the couch wondering what to do?

 

Now is the time to unleash your potential and here is something that will help you do just that.  Pam Hamilton's Crushing The Lies That Keep You Invisible 

Let's get visible together!

 

Fran Watson