Inspiration Corner: Maximising your potential

By Rabison Shumba

We are all born with potential to do the best in life. It should be everyone’s desire to become who they were born to be. It is however sad that sometimes some people discover when time is far spent what they are on earth for. By then it is of no use to them and those around.

Time is a very precious resource that must be spent accordingly. This means every day that goes in life is as important as the one just passed. There are no moments to miss especially if they have to do with unveiling and maximizing what is stored within.

Sometimes it takes other people to show an individual what they are made of. I have not always been a writer; it took the affirmations of others to finally realize that I had a whole career waiting to be exploited. Other people can observe potential in an individual.

Coupled with the right affirmation and support, individuals may grow to become the best they can be. It also sometimes takes negative people to destroy every figment of potential an individual may have. Some people may not be happy to see progress in others hence they go to great lengths to stifle the potential in every way possible.

• Read Books – You maybe the next greatest carpenter the community has ever seen. You cannot rely on what you see in vision alone, you need to read books that have been written on the subject of your passion. Read widely in order to increase your relevancy level.

• Increase your exposure level – Exposure can be achieved through travel, research and meeting people. Your potential relies heavily on what you have been exposed to since birth. Endeavour to increase what your awareness of the environment, the market trends and possibilities even beyond the confines of your country. You may never go beyond your level of exposure.

• Have mentors around you – Mentors help get the best out of an individual. If you have no one to stretch you, you will never know what you are capable of. You will settle for what you know of yourself. Mentors are like mid-wives, they help you to birth that you could be carrying already. They use their God-given resources, time and experiences to build others.

• Attempt difficult tasks – One way to really maximize possibilities in your own life is when you attempt things that are seemingly hard by normal standards. If you always settle for the easy tasks, you could scratch on the surface in terms of what you can do. You will not know what you can do until you take that one step forward while disregarding the fears of failure.

• Enter into competitions and challenges – Competitions are important in life. You should be in a position to know who is better than you so as to know who to consult in areas where you fall short. We live in a world where we compete for virtually everything from resources, to attention, to the air we breathe. Challenges should build you; your resilience and determination. They are not there to bring you down.

• Do something new – When did you last do something for the very first time? Your potential could be in the things that have not been discovered yet. Who says you are not the one to invent the next biggest thing. It only comes when you cultivate an unwavering desire to do new things and create new ideas.

• Follow through on your passion to limit – Once you discover what your passion is you need a determination to follow through. You need to increase the activities that are lined up with that passion in your life. Attend seminars, go to college, find a common interest group, build others in your area, engage the existing systems and so on.

Rabison Shumba is an author, speaker and life-coach. His books include “The Greatness Manual“, “Fountain of Inspiration – Vol. 1 and 2” and an anthology entitled “Showers of Inspiration”. He co-authored “101 Great Ways to Enhance Your Career” and participated in several international writing contests.