As you all know by now I am an avid cyclist and I also enjoy walking and running. As a cyclist I enjoy taking long rides in Halton Hills, Caledon, Belfountain, Terra Cotta, Erin just to name few of my favourite destinations. During the winter months I enjoy running in doors at the Mississauga YMCA. As a cyclist and running I am also trying to improve my endurance capacity and my time. I can ride a 100K in under 4 hours or at an average speed of 25K per hour. I can run a 10K in about hour and 20 minutes that is roughly 8 minutes per kilometer. I am not an elite athlete. However, I try to eat right and keep physically fit and health as part of my effort to improve my performance in cycling and running.
As result of being diagnosed with two medical conditions, I am usually cautious in how far I push myself to improve my performances. First, I suffer from very severe headaches called cluster or vascular headaches. They are currently in remission but whenever I experience attacks they are usually very debilitating. Regular exercise and eating right helps to keep my heads under control but if I over exert myself least I may trigger an attack. The second medical condition that limits the extent to which I push myself physically is the fact that I have a narrow chest wall and this can affect my heart.
I share the above to say to you that while I can certainly attempt to improve my time for cycling and running, my physical potential is to a large degree limited by fixed based on predetermined genetic boundaries or my known medical conditions. On the other hand, there are little or no limitations on our potential for professional growth, development and success.
Are you the best you can be?
Are you really trying your best?
How can you really exceed your potential?
Our potential for professional growth, development and success is only limited by our capacity to make the impossible possible and creating opportunities. In one of my previous blogs I mentioned Elon Musk of SpaceX, whose goal is colonize Mars. I also mentioned Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic plans to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists. Elon Musk and Richard Branson are attempting to create new markets and driving the demand for their products and services. We don’t all need such lofty goals and plans as Elon Musk and Richard Branson but we need to be visionaries and forward looking in order to exceed our potential. We have to seek to create value for others where there is a market need and in exceptional cases we have to create new markets and drive demand to exceed our potential.
Here are my six secrets to exceeding your potential in 2014:
- Have a vision and a plan. Visualise what you want and how to achieve it. Ask yourself, where am I now? Where do I want to be? How can I get there? Email me at mastbmckenzie@gmail.com and I will send you a copy of my developmental plan template.
- Be proactive and actively seek opportunities.
- Think outside the box. Do something new. Be innovative. Rekindle your childlike qualities and take some risks. Don’t fail because of inaction but rather because of your determination and courage to try.
- Be passionate and enjoy what you do. This will increase your motivation to work hard and drive up your creative energy for great ideas. Consider: What do you enjoy doing? What are you good at? What do you dislike doing? Where can you improve?
- Broaden your horizons and add new skill sets and competencies. The best way to increase your capacity and exceed your potential is to invest in your own personal and professional development. Network and connect with like-minded people. Sound your seductive siren. Read about me in Share News.
- Most importantly, believe in yourself.
Exceed your potential in 2014 by simply growing your capacity to provide value. Are you making the most of your time? Will you exceed your potential in 2014?
Mark McKenzie is a leading Subject Matter Expert in financial services regulation and supervision as well as a professional motivational speaker, corporate trainer and youth mentor. He can be contacted by email mastbmckenzie@gmail.com or by telephone 647-406-4622. Read my blog http://mastbmckenzie.blogspot.ca/ and always write me a comment and share. Follow me on Twitter @mackynacky. Connect with me on www.youtube.com, Google+, Facebook and Linkedin.