Most people never come close to realizing a fraction of their innate potential. When we’re young we naturally look to adults for validation and guidance. It’s during these formative years where major damage can be done to us psychologically by someone in authority like a guidance counselor who may try to predict our future or decide what we can or can’t do or accomplish.

The only person who gets to decide what you can accomplish is you. Fortunately, other people’s opinions have absolutely no bearing on what you can achieve. Your potential is limitless, however, there’s a catch….the realization of your goals requires skill and competence that you must painstakingly develop over time. Your actual expertise is determined by experience which is driven largely by your focus and work ethic.

You don’t become competent in any endeavor through affirmation, you develop expertise through sweat and hard work. Tangible progress is normally achieved through trial and error which necessitates doing the best you can every day then looking at your results and making appropriate adjustments. It’s self-destructive to delude yourself into believing you are experienced and competent in some area when you are not. Just because you’re good at one thing doesn’t mean you’ll be good at something else-competence is not universally transferable. For example, there are many men I know who think they can do home renovations only to find out how difficult it is to do anything for the first time. Over time you can certainly become competent in most areas because your ultimate potential is limitless but not before you put in the work to turn that potential into expertise and tangible accomplishments and results. Onward and upward!