If you’re like me, there may have been early signs in your life that you were meant to do something special. It’s hard to describe, but I have always felt this way. As a child growing up, I had a sincere belief that I could do anything with my life and that I was born a special human being. I believe that others around me felt that I was destined to do something more than the average. I’m not bragging, I’m telling you how I feel or felt. What cemented this feeling was people constantly telling me how “talented” or how much “potential” I had. It gave me reassurance of my internal feelings about what I believed I was capable of achieving. The problems came when I started getting older and I had yet to achieve much. Do you know the feeling?
Not Living Up To Your “Potential?” I Know The Feeling.
If you’re one of those people who has always heard things like “you have so much potential,” you know exactly what I am talking about. Maybe you too had a special feeling growing up that you were destined for something really good with your life. Well, what happens when the years start passing and you haven’t lived up to the billing? What happens if Mr. Talented is working a dead-end job stuck in mediocrity? I’ll tell you what happens, you start to question things. It takes a bit of a mental toll when you were the young entrepreneur that was so supposed to do something special and instead you’re just not getting it done come mid-20′s and instead find yourself working for a paycheck, living at home, headed back to college to finish your degree because you aren’t really sure what else to do. Maybe your story is a little different, but I know I can’t be the only one that has had this experience of not living up to the billing. The fact of the matter is that not everyone is ready to find success at an early age. But that doesn’t mean you have to roll over and accept it.
Regardless of your age and circumstances, it’s about taking control of your life. You have to stop with the excuses and start taking action. If you break it down it really is that simple. This is what I did and sure enough, it worked. Surprise Surprise. Prior to taking control, I ended up finishing my bachelor’s degree and soon started following what society told me to do. You know what I’m talking about. Get good grades, go to college, get your degree, get a good job, and work your way up the ladder. It wasn’t long after graduating that I realized it wasn’t going to work. I went on one single job interview and I honestly believe the guy could sense I wasn’t meant to be an employee. He asked me several times about my experiences as an entrepreneur and my current venture of selling tools on eBay. I told him it got me through college but I needed something more “secure.” I said those words, but I’m not sure I meant them. Do you know the feeling?
The thing is, it’s when you get out of your comfort zone that greatness happens. I didn’t need something secure, I needed something more, actually. I walked away from the interview confused. Everyone in my life was telling me to get a J-O-B but yet I gave a very minimal effort to do so from the time I graduated in June until August. Why? Because deep down I knew it would never work. I had been an employee before and I was a horrible one. I admittedly sucked at every job I have ever had. I lacked passion, and work ethic, and I hated the job. I did it for money, plain and simple. I clocked in so I could get a check to survive, but you could catch me in the break room as often as possible reading books such as John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership or Dale Carnegie’s How To Win Friends and Influence People. I wasn’t happy with being an employee and that’s because I wasn’t meant to be one. I had reached a point in my life where I was ready to break out that “talent” and “potential.”
What happened next? I began the pursuit of the life I have always desired.
The last two years have formed the foundation for what I am going to achieve over the next decade of my life. I’ve transformed my work ethic from doing minimal work into going above and beyond. How was I able to make that change? It starts with one word, passion. It no longer feels like work. I’m passionate. I want it. I’m doing something I enjoy (being an entrepreneur) and YOU CAN TOO! Don’t ever allow yourself to feel you aren’t living up to your potential because you can choose to go in a different direction at any time. If you’re not happy, you can literally make a change here today that immediately transforms your future. You can either continue to accept something that you’re not totally happy with, or you can walk away from the comfort zone that leaves you stuck, refusing to accept something you’re not totally happy with.
You always have a choice.