Potential means something is possible or could develop into reality. Potential can also refer to someone’s ability to achieve, succeed or develop.
Everyone, absolutely everyone has potential, much of it untapped.
Why is this? There are many possible reasons; some obvious and some less so.
There is lack of awareness; there is the ‘comfort zone’; there is fear, which I have covered in another article; there is lack of curiosity; there is lack of knowledge, and there is lack of self-worth.
This article aims at encouraging you to unlock your potential and unearth the treasure hidden inside you.

John Maxwell says:
“God’s gift to us is potential; our gift back to God is developing that potential”.

Even when we actively and intentionally seek to develop our potential, there is always more. All of us are born with individual gifts and talents, but many people will live life without knowing what those are and without developing them. Developing potential requires effort, requires soul searching and introspection, requires stretching, and will definitely require change. Time on earth does not mean that we automatically develop our potential or grow in character and wisdom. Many people simply drift through life, and arrive at one unplanned destination after the other. Many people misinterpret experiences as knowledge and think they will automatically be better afterwards. It is only when we apply the knowledge gained from our experiences, especially the hard ones, that we can claim to have learned from the experiences. Life happens and setbacks occur, but we don’t need to allow them to control our lives because we are unprepared. Intentionally developing our potential opens our minds and prepares us for the difficulties which are sure to arise.

In order to do justice to our existence, it is our duty to search out our gifts and talents, our strength zones, and then develop them. I am grateful that despite a long and unsatisfying career, as well as several emotional and physical setbacks, I have (re)discovered my strength zones, and have been given an opportunity to use them for the greater good. In so doing, I am fanning the flames of my God-given gifts. I am also acutely aware that I have a limited time left on earth, and that I need to make good use of time because we don’t know what tomorrow brings.

Much as financial investors expect a ‘return on investment’, John Maxwell speaks of ‘return on failure’ which comes about when we intentionally apply the lessons learned. I propose the existence of ‘return on talent’. This is another way to stress the importance of developing our potential.

Many years ago I had a mentor who tutored me through a goal setting program. He alluded to the fact that about three percent of people make things happen, another ten percent watch them happen and participates, and the rest spend their life ‘wondering what happened’. This may sound ridiculous and even funny, and may not be exact, but the moral of the statement is that most people are not intentional about developing their potential.

I invite you to read the poem below, written by Myra Welch in 1921, and then read on.

The Touch of the Master’s Hand
Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar. Then two! Only two?
Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?”

“Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three…” But no,
From the room, far back, a grey-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loosened strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet,
As a carolling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: “What am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice,
And going and gone,” said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,
“We do not quite understand.
What changed its worth?” Swift came the reply:
“The touch of the Master’s hand.”
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd
Much like the old violin.

A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine,
A game — and he travels on.
He is “going” once, and “going” twice,
He’s “going” and almost “gone.”
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.

The poem draws a parallel between the violin’s transformation and the potential which may be dormant and undervalued within individuals. This poem explores themes of redemption and the hidden potential within the discarded and neglected.
No matter how old you are, no matter where you are in your life, no matter what your current situation is, your true value is hidden in developing your potential. There is always room for more. Just like the old violin found its true value even though it was old, so it is that it is never too late for us as humans to discover or rediscover hidden, discarded or undervalued gifts and talents, and so find our true worth.
We are here to help you find your potential.
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