Potential verse Performance

When I decided to start my own consulting company, I attended a training seminar designed to help get your business off the ground. One of the instructors talked about the concept of potential vs. performance in terms growing your business into a successful venture. As with any start up, I have encountered wall after wall of obstacles that try and derail your efforts. It is your actual performance , not your potential that determines whether you succeed or fail.

Everyone has the potential for greatness in some form or another. By taking a good, hard look at your strengths and weaknesses, you can determine what skills or attributes you possess. These skills, when properly applied, can lead you to success in both your personal and professional endeavors. So if this is truly the case, why do certain people succeed and others fail? Potential alone does not guarantee success, in fact in often gets in the way and leads you on the path to failure.

Performance, that fully utilizes your potential is what will create the proper environment for you to flourish. Remember the Nike ads..."Just do it". Too many times people want to blame everything around them for failure, except a lack of proper execution on their part. The truly successful people in life do not sit on the sidelines, rather they look for ways to constantly get in the game. Everything you do will not be an instant success, rather you learn from trial and error. The mere fact that you try will at the very least be a learning experience.

In the past two years since starting my business I have made numerous mistakes and squandered quite a few opportunities. Fortunately, this was not from inactivity, but from trying and failing. The beauty about this is, there is always another day, and always new opportunities to succeed. You learn from your mistakes and adjust your performance accordingly.

You need to make the commitment to yourself that you will succeed, and that you will do what ever it takes to achieve your vision. You already know you have the potential to reach your goals, however your performance is what will ultimately determine if you get there.