"Your potential is really up to you."

A thought by John C. Maxwell in his book, Talent Is Never Enough (p. 18). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

It really is.

John continues, "It doesn’t matter what others might think. It doesn’t matter where you came from. It doesn’t even matter what you might have believed about yourself at a previous time in your life. It’s about what lies within you and whether you can bring it out."

He says, "There’s a story about a farm boy from Colorado who loved to hike and rock climb. One day while climbing in the mountains, he found an eagle’s nest with an egg in it. He took the egg from the nest, and when he got home, he put it under a hen along with her other eggs.

"Since he hatched among chicks, the eagle thought he was a chicken. He learned chicken behavior from his 'mother' and scratched in the chicken yard along with his 'siblings.' He didn’t know any better. And when he sometimes felt strange stirrings within him, he didn’t know what to do with them, so he ignored them or suppressed them. After all, if he was a chicken, he should behave like a chicken."

John goes on, "Then one day an eagle flew over the farm, and the chicken-yard eagle looked up and saw him. In that moment, he realized he wanted to be like that eagle. He wanted to fly high. He wanted to go to the mountain peaks he saw in the distance. He spread his wings, which were much larger and stronger than those of his siblings. Suddenly he understood that he was like that eagle. Though he had never flown before, he possessed the instinct and the capabilities. He spread his wings once more, and he flew, unsteadily at first, but then with greater power and control. As he soared and climbed, he knew that he had finally discovered his true self."

He then says, "Phillips Brooks, writer of the song 'O Little Town of Bethlehem,' remarked, 'When you discover you’ve been leading only half a life, the other half is going to haunt you until you develop it.' Not only is that true, but I’d also say this: Not reaching your potential is a real tragedy. To reach your potential, you must first believe in your potential, and determine to live way beyond average."

So let's do it. Yes, yes #continuethought

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Just Continue That Thought...

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