The Wisdom in Your Potential...

"There are two great days in a person's life ... the day we are born, and the day we discover why.” ~William Barclay

You ask, “Why what?” Why you were created the way you were created? Why you have the unique DNA that you have? Why you have these dreams in your heart? Why you have this urge inside to unleash the potential and go after your passion?

What is YOUR why? What is your potential?

After pondering a bit on these questions, I thought I would share with you some wisdom I have found. Four steps to begin to find your why…your potential:

1. Define who you are….what do you value most in life?

These could be qualities like openness, honesty, and trustworthiness, or traits like creativity, focus and aptitude. Think of your best friend. What characteristics does he/she display that you value/appreciate?

2. Identify your strengths….what are you really good at doing?

Some people can make the most incredibly attractive scrapbooks of their children’s activities. They just know the right colours, shapes, and tag lines to create a treasured keepsake of memories. Other people are a total wiz on the computer and ‘wow’ me with how quickly they can assess and FIX hardware and software quandaries. Still others have the patience to spend an entire day with 25 first graders on a field trip to the biggest museum in town, and walk away with a smile on their face and a spring in their step.

3. Discover what you know…life has taught you much; you know more than you think.
I have one child who is good at spelling. (The other child…not so much.) It is rather effortless for my youngest to do well on spelling tests and Spelling Bees. She is no National Bee champ or anything like that, but plain and simple, she knows how to spell some fairly difficult words.

4. Acknowledge your uniqueness…there is only one YOU.

The marvelous Liz Strauss says, “Know who you are and where you stand – claim your space.” The amazing Marianne Williamson says, “We can always choose to perceive things differently. You can focus on what's wrong in your life, or you can focus on what's right.”

What is YOUR why? What is your potential?

The legendary speaker Tony Robbins began a new series on television this week called Breakthrough. Watching Tony pour his heart into the featured married couple was inspiring and encouraging. Everyone watching the episode could see the potential of these two people. One of my favorite quotes by Mr. Robbins… “Life is found in the dance between your deepest desire and your greatest fear."

Can you learn to dance with your potential?
If inside, you feel that you were made for more, but are afraid to move, I encourage you to decide today to take that first step into the unknown. Then take another step.

…Step even when you are afraid.
…Step when you are insecure.
…Step when you are safe.
…Step when it’s stormy.
…Step when you don't see what's coming.

Before long, you will find that each step you take weaves together to create a beautiful dance...a dance that is your amazing life…a dance that is uniquely YOU. I look forward to the day when I see you teaching others to dance too.

Now it’s your turn...

What wisdom have you gained in dancing with your potential?

The Wisdom in Change...

As the old saying goes...The fastest way from point A to point B is a straight line. Let me ask you a question. When was the last time in your life you got from point A to point B on a path that was straight, quick and uneventful? Or do your journeys sometimes consist of an intermittent rendezvous in the road ditch, a ‘critter’ or two popping out from nowhere to make you swerve, or do you find yourself meandering through the curves of the path with an occasional stop at the famed ‘look-out’ point???  I thought so. Me too.

Changes will occur on your journey from point A to point B.

Many times I have heard people (myself included) talk about how they started down a new road going after a new point B and suddenly life “got in the way”. They were forced to slow down or take a different route. A significant change had occurred they were not expecting. There are times when I’ve been traveling down a road to my point B, found the strength to keep life events from forcing me off course, but then woke up one day in the ditch alongside of my trusty road which I knew would bring me to the Promised Land. That’s when the voice in our head says “Hey, this isn’t so bad. I can see my path – it is right there next to me. I’ll be fine over here for a bit because it only takes a little hop to get back on track.”

Changes will occur on your journey from point A to point B.

Last week, my kids wanted to play Mario Cart Wii and challenged mom to a race. Of course since I am only a wee bit competitive (Ha Ha!) I agreed to their offer...as I was hungry for a win, even if it meant toasting my kids at Wii. (keeping it real here) The race course they chose had many twists, turns and obstacles. Some of the corners required a very sharp turn. My constant over reaction coupled with inertia sent my car onto the grassy area next to the race track on several occasions. My adorable little Mii (pronounced Me for those who have not had the Wii (We) experience) in my super fast roadster was driving right next to the path, but the grassy area slowed my vehicle to a snail’s pace. The other cars on the track would wiz by Mii. Eventually I found myself in 12th place...out of 12 cars! Who knew that one could drive SO CLOSE to the original path, thinking they were doing JUST FINE only to find they really were not part of the race at all! A slight change in the course (grass in this case) made all the difference. Going from point A to point B included a change in the ground beneath me, which I did not expect.

Changes will occur on your journey from point A to point B.

Me? (or Mii?)

I’d like to share some wisdom I have learned in life. The principle goes something like this: we first need to be A-ware of something then we can B-eware of it. For example, if we are first A-ware that change is constantly happening in our lives, then we can B-eware of how we are dealing with change...are we Reacting or Responding...are we Listening or Talking...are we under control or out of control. The result: Life experience has made me aware that change is a part of my life. Period. Thus, I choose to beware of how I deal with the changes when they happen. The goal (which I will most likely continue to pursue always): become a master of change for my own life.

Now it’s your turn...

What is your relationship with change? How do you deal with the change when you find yourself in the unexpected grassy area next to the path you want to travel? What wisdom have you gained from experiencing changes going from point A to point B? We’d love to hear your wisdom.

The Wisdom in the Road Construction of Life..

Living in the Midwest portion of the United States, we experience four unique seasons. They are commonly referred to as Winter, Winter, Winter and Road Construction. You know you are in the middle of Road Construction season when the interstate traffic is moving quickly and freely and then, without warning, you need to apply the brakes forcefully and come to a screeching halt.

Recently, as I drove across the city, twice I encountered big orange signs reading “Road Work Ahead” and “Detour” - I was already 15 minutes behind schedule – my heart sank. As I began to slow, I realized that the detour was not for the interstate I was driving. Instead, I shared in the pains of heavy traffic because I was driving on the road that was the rerouted destination for the detour folks. Then to add to the mess, just two miles ahead, road work was happening and three lanes of traffic were forced to merge down to two. All this activity forced road users to a snail’s pace. The road construction severely hindered my progress and there was nothing I could do about it.

I would imagine you also have found yourself, crawling along some stretch of highway moving ever so slowly because road work was near. Possibly you have felt the discouragement as you watched the minutes tick by on the clock and realized the situation was out of your control.

This experience illustrates an important life principle we can learn from. When road construction is encountered in your life, the best route is to:

Expect it, Accept it and Move through it to find the open highway.

The reality is that all of us have or will experience some type of road construction in our life. It could be some basic “Road Work Ahead” like when things get really busy at work and we need to put in some extra hours. Usually this “Road Work” is a temporary inconvenience. Other times the fast lane may be closed for a bit requiring us to “Merge”. Watch out for the “Merge” in life as it has a tendency to create indecisiveness – should I do this or should I do that. On occasion we encounter bigger surprises when we are required to take a “Detour” and reroute our course. When unforeseen “Detours” happen in life - they take us along unfamiliar territory. A new road can seem to go on forever and our faith is tested. We may experience thoughts of doubt because we can’t see how or when we will get back on the main road.

The challenge comes when we find ourselves in the construction season being forced deal with it. This is where the “Expect It – Accept It – Move Through It” principle comes in.

• Expect It – The reality is that our roads will deteriorate and need to have maintenance done on them. Just like you and I will find challenges along the way in our life. We just don’t know what the challenge will be or where the detour will take us.
• Accept It – Maintaining the right frame of mind during the road work of life has the potential to alleviate stress and make a tough situation seem easier. Maya Lin said, “To fly, we have to have resistance.”
• Move Through It – Remember Dory from the movie “Finding Nemo”? Does this sound familiar…”Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” Our kids got the message, how about you? Once we move through the congestion, unfamiliar detour route, and bumpy roads we are sure to find open highway.

So until the next big orange construction sign pops up in your life, remember:

Expect it, Accept it and then Move Through it to find the open highway on the other side.