Discovering your potential and generating opportunities
W E A L L H A V E U N L I M I T E D P O T E N T I A L
As a counsellor, over the past few years I’ve noticed the thing people want to focus on has shifted from “How can I stop being in pain?” to “How can I reach my potential? It’s not that I don’t work with people in pain — I do — however, the end goal seems to have changed, which led me into training as a life coach.
We all have that whisper to grow, expand and shine in the way that only we can. It’s just that, sometimes, the volume of that whisper is turned down until it becomes really quiet — so quiet that we cannot hear it anymore, and some of us have even learnt to ignore it. This can happen for multiple reasons: lack of self-belief, doubt, or the ability to fool ourselves into thinking that other people are already doing it (and probably better than us, so what’s the point?) This is how some of our goals never leave our to-do lists. We sabotage our attempts, or find ourselves in a position where we haven’t got the strategies to move forward.
The key point to remember is that we all have unlimited potential, but we need to learn how to tap into it.
D I S C O V E R I N G Y O U R P O T E N T I A L
A huge part of discovering our potential is:
1. Uncovering OUR UNIQUE gifts, passions, talents, and messages.
2. Sharing these with the world in some way.
P U T T I N G Y O U R G I F T S O U T I N T O T H E W O R L D
I meet so many people with incredible talents, gifts, and beautiful minds, but they often struggle to get themselves out into the world. So – sadly – all their ideas stay on paper. Successful startups never come to light, therapy rooms stay empty, songs don’t get listened to, books don’t get written, and some really worthwhile messages and opinions never become part of important conversations. This is a tragedy, not only personally, but also for the world. When we R I S E U P and share our unique gifts and talents, it has a ripple effect: we can’t help but influence and inspire others to do the same. We change the world, one person at a time.
If you don’t yet know what your unique talents, gifts and messages are yet, don’t worry about it. Start from where you are.
G E N E R A T I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S I N T H E W O R L D
So let’s look at how you can start putting yourself out into the world and generating opportunities that create momentum…
1. WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IN?
The more authentically we represent ourselves, the easier it is to attract the people, circumstances and opportunities that resonate with us.
To be authentic, we need to know ourselves first and then be brave enough to share that. Start with asking yourself these questions:
what do I believe in?
what do I stand for?
what do I want people to know about me?
what types of people do I most resonate with and which opportunities do I want to attract into my life and why? Which qualities do I need to develop in myself in order for this happen?
what is unique/different about me?
if I could describe myself in 5 words what would they be?
what are my strengths/skills/messages?
what do I want to contribute to the world?
2. M A X I M I S I N G Y O U R O N L I N E P R E S E N C E
Our online worlds, particularly if they are public, are becoming our online CV’s. The likelihood is before someone employs you, dates you, meets up with you, and buys from you, they’ve googled you, looked at your social media (if it’s public), checked out your work history on LinkedIn, and watched any videos or blogs you might have. Freaky, but true. The internet is an extremely powerful tool for generating opportunity, if used in the right way because it enables people to get to know you.
Spend time reviewing your online world. How you are representing yourself - do you shine through? Is your messaging clear? Are you being congruent between who you say you are and who you actually are? If you were visiting your online world, which 3 words would you use to describe this person?
Once your foundations are clear, experiment with different platforms and ways of expression. What worked? What do you enjoy the most? What generated the most opportunities? (Give this time, don’t expect immediate results )
3. F I N D W A Y S T O S H A R E Y O U R P A S S I O N S F O R F R E E
Doing things for free is a great way to get yourself out in the world. You can develop collaborations, meet new people, test new ideas and refine your skills. It also helps build relationships with others and develop trust and credibility.
Here are some examples of moving passion into opportunity:
Passionate about cooking? Bring a dish into work once a month, organise a bake-off for charity.
Animal welfare your thing? Apply to be cat-cuddler in a rescue centre and learn about how organisations run (seriously that’s got to be an amazing job!!)
Want to be a public speaker? Find 3 places where you can get in front of an audience. This could be a village hall, amateur dramatics society or a network meeting where you have to introduce yourself.
Desperate to run a successful blog? Find 3 platforms that are looking for people to write a guest blog and practice writing to deadlines.
4. U S E S U C C E S S F U L L A N G U A G E
Language is extremely powerful. Not only is what we say an affirmation to ourselves, it also generates feeling in others. If you don’t believe in yourself and doubt what you are doing, your language will reflect. This sends out an unconscious message “I’m not good at this; don’t invest in me”. On the flip side, if you are enthusiastic and passionate; it’s contagious. Over time people will start associating you with that subject and that enthusiasm; with that comes opportunities.
5. J U S T S T A R T
The whole point with goals, dreams, changes and ambitions is that they are meant to be challenging. They create a gap between where you are now and where you want to be. You aren’t meant to know everything or to be 100% confident before you start. It is the action that closes the gap–and grows your confidence. It sounds obvious, but if you paralyse yourself with the fear of perfection before you begin, you are lowering your opportunities to 0%. Not very good odds!!
This month open your eyes to the abundance of opportunity and potential that surrounds you,
Love, Ismene xxx