“The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is the will to try it and the faith to believe it possible.”
212 Degrees
“Most people live in a very restricted circle of their potential being. We all have reservoirs of energy and genius to draw upon of which we do not dream.”
William James
“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”
Malcolm S. Forbes
There is good news and hope for us all. Research suggests that all of us have the potential to be great! Ok so this isn’t exactly a news flash nor is the research new. In fact, many studies that indicate that each of us has the potential to achieve just about anything we work at dates back many, many years.
According to author Aubrey C. Daniels in his book “Bringing out the Best in People,” it takes 10 years of deliberate practice to become an expert at anything or roughly 10,000 hours of practice. If we break this down, that would be an average of 20 hours of practice a week for 50 weeks for nearly 10 years. Studies show that 96% of variance in performance can simply be attributed to practice thus eliminating the notion that people are just naturally born great. Hard work and practice make the difference between mediocrity and greatness. Consequently, each of us can become experts at something if we choose to!
If nothing else, it is important for each of us to know that our potential is great—that we can do great things. Indeed, each of us can accomplish anything we set our minds to. It may not be easy, or fun, or painless or even believable at times but the potential is there for all of us. Unfortunately, the bad news is that not everyone takes advantage of their opportunity. Let’s be different though and take advantage of our opportunity by doing all we can to be great!
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