“There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential.” ~Rusty Berkus
Pampered youth perception
Taken directly from a CBS 60-minute special on millennials:
“They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating, and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds.”
I think every millennial has an unkempt amount of “you can do anything you want to” in their fuel reserve. I believe this is a direct result of how many have been raised. I also believe there is error to this generalization of all millennials – but that for a fair amount this has contributed to our somewhat deserved mindset.
What the recession is doing is forcing everyone to go back to the basics. For a while things got too easy, and any personal development expert will tell you that one of the worst things people or companies can do is get complacent once on top of the mountain.
Taking the post back to the topic – the positive attribute towards our healthy dose of self-confidence (despite what some may consider arrogance or negligence to things that don’t matter much to us) is the ability to innovate and do things differently – for a good cause.
What this is, in a nutshell, is a perceived amount of potential that each of us has been ingrained to believe we obtain – which is a GREAT thing. When used productivly, millennials have come up with nothing short of what is defining our digital future. Twitter, Facebook and anything else you can think of that simply didn’t exist 10 years ago.
It’s in the realization of what our perception is of our potential where we either shoot for the stars – or settle for where we’re at. If you’re perfectly content with the way things are – then one would consider your potential met. But it’s safe to say for the majority, especially young entrepreneurial millennials, we will never be content until we know just how far this “potential” will take us.
So how do we get there?
“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” -Liane Cordes
Continuous effort
Also known as – daily, consistent improvement (or the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen). I think the daily exertion we take on ourselves to improve our weaknesses is the only way to fully realize our potential.
And continuous effort is not easy.
It takes dedication, passion – a purpose. It takes inspiration.
It takes all these reasons and more to explain why the richest 2% of adults own half the world’s wealth. It’s not easy.
Perceive your limitless potential
Lastly – never put a limit on your potential. That’s like putting a cap on what you can do. No one can tell you what you are or are not capable of. No test score can describe the wherewithal you have within you to accomplish your dreams. How far you allow your potential to take you entirely depends on how high you perceive yourself as capable of going.
To wrap the post up, please re-read the following quote from William James until it really sits in – with the right mindset and attitude we are capable of anything.
“Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make very small use of their possible consciousness, and of their soul’s resources in general, much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into a habit of using and moving only his little finger.” ~William James
