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“Do You Know What’s Limiting You?”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2017-03-07) from his book, No Limits: Blow the CAP Off Your Capacity (p. 7). Center Street. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

For some people that is an important question but for others, it doesn’t matter.  I think it matters to you. 

John says, “I remember an illustration my dad used when speaking. An old-timer saw a boy fishing and went over to see how he was doing. The boy had already caught two small fish, but as the old man was walking over, the boy landed a huge bass.

“’That’s a beauty,’ the old man said as the boy unhooked the fish. But then the boy tossed the fish back into the water.

“’What are you doing?’ the old man cried out. ‘That was a whopper.’

“’Yeah,’ replied the boy, ‘but my frying pan is only nine inches wide.’ That one always made me laugh, and it made me aware of how a person’s thinking can limit him.”

He goes on, “I also vividly remember one of my teachers telling the story of three young boys whose route to school went alongside a high wall. Every day as the boys walked to school, they wondered what was on the other side of the wall. Finally, one day, their curiosity grew so strong that one of the boys said, ‘Let’s find out,’ and threw his cap over the wall. ‘Now I have to climb the wall to see what’s on the other side,’ he declared.

“The other two boys gawked at him in disbelief. But then as they watched him begin to climb, they threw their caps over the wall and joined him. They didn’t want to be left behind. They wanted to experience the discovery themselves, not just hear about it secondhand.

“I still remember thinking, I would have thrown my cap over the wall, too. I wanted to go new places, make new discoveries, push myself to do more than I thought I could do. I still do. Sometimes achieving those desires requires bold commitment. Many times, since the day I first heard that story, I’ve mentally thrown my cap over the wall to commit myself to growth discoveries.”

John then says, “Today, I’m asking you to throw your cap over the wall.”


So, will you?
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