It is a frustrating feeling that you hate to go to work, but you have no choice because you have bills to pay. And if you don’t get a job, what are you going to do? That’s what everyone is doing. Running in the rat race can make you feel stuck, going nowhere, and that life has no meaning at all.
If this is the kind of feeling that you are experiencing right now, it simply means that you are not living to your full potential.
I believe that God makes no junk. Every one of us can excel and do good in life. And that every one of us has some great potential in us, waiting to be unleashed.
The problem with most people is that they fail to realize their potential. They are playing it small and they don’t live up to their maximum potential.
There are many reasons why this is happening…
- They have been conditioned to be afraid to try new things
- They believe that they need to get a job after graduating from school and that being an entrepreneur is hard
- They are afraid of failure, being rejected, and that they may get embarrassed when things don’t work out
- They allow their fears and their worries to take control of their lives
Eventually, they don’t dare to pursue their dreams.
Even if they do, they give up as soon as they hit the first roadblock. And this is why most people are not successful.
They don’t live out their full potential and they let their surroundings to shape them rather than shaping their environments with their decisions.
If you’re feeling trapped inside, going nowhere, and you have no idea what to do with your life, this article is meant for you.
Here are the 13 tips that can help you unleash your inner greatness and live out your life with your full potential:
1. Work and live for a bigger purpose
What is your vision? What do you want to accomplish in your life? More importantly, who do you want to be?
Always start by asking yourself questions. If you want to understand yourself better and live a fulfilling life, you must first identify what you want out of your life.
And to do that, you must ask the self-discovery questions.
The more you ask yourself, the more answers you will get. And the more you can understand yourself better.
Here’s a wise quote from Lao Tzu:
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”
So learn to understand yourself. Know what you want out of your life. And find out who you want to be.
It is not enough to just think and dream about what you want. You must become the right person so that you can attract the right results in your life.
You can become successful when you develop and become the right person with the right characters, traits, habits, mindsets, beliefs, and qualities.
It is who you are that will determine what you get in your life.
Hence, to live up to your full potential, find out who you want to be. And be that person from day one.
Remember, you don’t have to be great to start, but you must start to be great.
2. Set goals and achieve them
The next thing you want to do is to set goals to achieve your vision. You can’t just dream about what you want, you must set it as a goal and create a concrete plan to achieve it.
Most people fail to live a successful life because they only dream about what they want.
And that’s all they do. They don’t turn their visions into goals and they don’t come up with a plan of how they are going to achieve what they want.
Setting goal is the first step of turning the invisible into the visible.
When you write down your goals, you must also commit to them. You must then create a plan of what you need to do to achieve it. And more importantly, take massive action to get the results you want.
So don’t just say that you want something, do it.
Believe in yourself that you can have whatever you want. Whether your goal is to travel the world in 6 months or to build a 100-million dollars business, you can do it.
But first, you must believe in it, set it as a goal, create a plan, and then work on that plan relentlessly.
That’s how extraordinary people produce extraordinary success in their lives. If they can do it, you can do it too.
By the way, do check out my Goal Setting Formula masterclass here and learn how to set empowering goals that drive you to achieve them.
3. Develop and improve yourself consistently
There is no way you can achieve greatness and live your full potential if you don’t commit to constant learning and improving.
How can you tell if you have reached your maximum potential? You can’t unless you constantly upgrade yourself and work hard to get there.
I’m someone who strongly believes in learning and personal development. I’m where I am today because of the knowledge and the skills that I developed over the years.
And I’m happy to say that I’m proud of all the books that I have read, the seminars and workshops that I have attended, and all the skills that I have developed in my journey.
And thanks to my willingness to learn, I’m growing myself and getting nearer and nearer to my dream life.
And the same goes for you.
If you want to unleash your greatness, you must commit to constant learning and improving as well.
Even if you are just a student, there are things you can do to brush up your skills and to increase your knowledge. Like if you find it hard to write, reach out for professional essay writing help. When there is will, there will always be a way.
Every master was once a beginner.
How do you think Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Steve Jobs, Gary Vaynerchuck, and many others achieved outstanding success in their lives?
Well, they work hard and they strive to improve each day. They commit to doing better than they were yesterday.
And that’s what you must do too.
4. Give your best at everything you do
Are you giving 100% to the things that you desire to achieve? There is no way you can reach your potential if you are not willing to do your best.
Since you’re going to be doing it anyway, why don’t you just go all out and go all in?
That way, you will greatly increase your chances of success.
A lot of people choose to play it safe and small. That is not the way extraordinary do things. Great people prefer to play it big.
“It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do.”
Yes, your playing small is not going to serve the world. And there is nothing enlightened about shrinking.
Trust yourself because you are meant to shine.
Thus, dare to dream big and think even bigger. And when it comes to pursuing your goals and living your dreams, be 100% committed and give it your best.
5. Take care of your health
When we talk about reaching our full potential, many will only think about success, fame, and money. Little did they know that one of the most important assets in life is none other than their health.
In order to have the energy and a sane mind to pursue and live your greatness, you must take good care of your health.
What’s the point to have all the money but at the end of the day, you don’t have the energy and health to enjoy it, right?
What we want here is to strive for the best. We want to be successful and at the same time, be healthy enough to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
So, do not ignore your health. Exercise at least a few times each week. Don’t be afraid to sweat and eat healthy foods.
If you’re a heavy smoker and you drink a lot, perhaps, it is time to reconsider your habits and time to make a shift.
Read: 20 Simple Ways To Take Great Care Of Yourself
6. Learn to say “no” and give priority to yourself
I love this quote a lot:
“If you want to make everybody happy, don’t be a leader. Sell ice cream.”
Sometimes, you just need to learn to say no to others so that you can stay to your priority.
If you have decided to get rid of the bad habit of drinking and your friends invite you over for a drink, what will you do? You reject them, politely and unapologetically.
You know what is right for you and what you should do. And if you’re always being the yes man, you will get nowhere.
Being a yes man means you’re not being true to yourself. You’re living someone else’s life.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” said Steve Jobs.
Hence, keep your promises and the commitments that you have made to yourself.
Don’t just set a goal to work hard to build a successful business and the next thing you know, you end up having fun watching YouTube.
That is not how it works. You will never live to your full potential that way. So stay true to yourself and give yourself the priority that you need.
And learn to say ‘no’ to the things that don’t serve your life and your purpose.
7. Expand and go outside your comfort zone
This is exactly what you need to do if you want to live up to your maximum potential.
If you always do what you have always done, you will always get back the same old results that you have always got.
Do you get it? In other words, if you want to improve and do better regardless of whether it is in your life or at work, you must do something else.
You must make a change, improve your strategy, and take different actions to produce different results.
Have the courage to do something uncomfortable and venture beyond your comfort zone.
If you want to explore the sea, you must be willing to lose sight of the shore.
For instance, if you want to build a successful blog and all this while you have been writing articles and publish them to your blog, perhaps, it is time to try new and different things.
Maybe it is time to try to post video posts? Or maybe you should try guest posting on other people’s blog? Have you tried paid marketing like Facebook ads or maybe endorse influencers to promote your business for you?
Sometimes, success is about trial and error. You will never know the result until you do it.
Thus, have the courage to do the things that seem crazy, new or uncomfortable to you.
Read: 15 Ways How to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone and Live Great
8. Live with passion
Want to live your full potential? Well, just live your life with passion. That’s fundamental.
How can you live your maximum potential while going through life tired, sleepy, lack of energy, and without any enthusiasm?
Shoe Dog, a memoir by the creator of Nike, Phil Knight, is a great and awe-inspiring book that I recommend you read.
The word “shoe dog” refers to someone who is obsessed with shoes. Someone who loves shoes so much he dedicated his life to become a footwear expert.
And that’s the spirit you must learn from the creator of Nike – be obsessed with what you do and live your life with passion.
If you study the life of extraordinary people like Phil Knight, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and many others, you will discover that they are all very passionate about what they do.
In the case of Phil Knight, he talks about shoes, dreams about them, sleep with them, and are absolutely obsessive with them.
And that’s the spirit and character you need to unleash your potential.
“There is no greatness without a passion to be great, whether it’s the aspiration of an athlete or an artist, a scientist, a parent, or a business person.”
Tony Robbins
Read: 7 Clear Signs That You Have Discovered Your Passion in Life
9. Keep your eyes on the progress, not the prize
Another good habit you must develop to live your full potential is to always keep your eyes on the progress, not the prize.
While it is true that it is important to understand what you want out of your life, but it is your progress that will determine if you are going to get it.
Like driving in the dark, you just need to identify your destination. You don’t have to see the whole path, as long as you have your headlamps to light up the path in front of you, you can still arrive at your destination safely.
You don’t have to see the entire staircase. You just need to focus on the progress and take the baby steps.
Take one small steps and the rest of the journey will reveal itself. Like what Confucius famously said:
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
You just need to focus on taking the small steps.
As long as you are moving in the right direction, no matter how slow, you will eventually get there.
10. Stop comparing yourself to others
If you always compare yourself with others, you will never satisfy and you will never be happy.
People feel stress because they always want to do better than others. They want to achieve more than others and they want to be more successful than others.
Everyone has their own timeline. If you’re 40 and you’re still broke, but you are relentlessly pursuing your dream, eventually, your time will come. Success will be yours.
The key is to NOT give up and have the grit to work for what you want.
When you see your friend buys a bigger and more expensive car, it may seem like he or she has made it and you’re still swimming and getting nowhere.
And I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to compare yourself with others.
As long as you know what you want out of your life and you are working hard to achieving it, you’re good to go.
Who knows, after 5 years, maybe you will be richer and more successful than your friend. And who knows, if you work hard enough, maybe you will drive an even better car than your friend, right?
The key is not to compare but to work and live according to your own timeline.
Some may figure out their careers early on, some change later in life, and others have many careers. it is not too early or too late for anything.
So, you’re not ahead or behind of others because everyone is on their own timeline. Don’t compare.
Read: 13 Things to Do Instead of Comparing Yourself to Others
11. Inspire and help others
One thing that can help you live up to your full potential is to always help and inspire others.
I like how this article from Brazen.com puts it:
“This is the best-kept secret of those who achieve superstar status in their fields. Anyone can merely get the work done. The superstars, however, do their work in a way that profoundly inspires others.”
Apple is successful because their products are inspiring.
There are a lot of motivational speakers out there, but few achieve superstar status like Tony Robbins. One thing for sure, Tony has the biggest audience because he energizes, inspires, and instills confidence.
Similarly, think about Google. Why do many people prefer to work for Google than other companies? Well, because Google has a big vision, they want to change the world, and they are absolutely inspiring, isn’t it?
Hence, be a superstar and live your full potential by being an inspiration to others.
When you help enough people to achieve their goals, they will help you live your dreams in return.
12. Be unique and be yourself
Like I said earlier, God doesn’t make junk. Everyone has talents, and if you think that you have none, that’s because you haven’t found it yet.
One of the main reasons people fail to realize their potential is that they are always trying to copy others.
When they see that others are doing good in their e-commerce business, they wanted to sell products online too. When they see that their friends are doing good in real estate, they decided that they wanted to be in real estate too.
My friend, success is not about copying others, it is about living true to yourself and achieving greatness according to your own uniqueness.
If you’re reading this right now, maybe you’re inspired to want to be a blogger, but not everyone is destined to be a writer.
Maybe you’re good on screen and you can be a famous YouTuber?
You see, the key is to know your strengths and work on them, not simply copying others and do what others did.
Here’s an interesting article about being yourself that you should read:
Read: How I Learned to Be Me (Finally, at 47 Years Old)
13. Don’t wait and just start
Want to live your full potential? Then don’t wait and just get it started.
You have a dream, pursue it. You have a goal, work on it.
You know what you want in life, so work hard and make progress each day so that you can achieve it and live the life that you want.
A lot of people choose to wait. They think that they have time, but which in fact, we don’t have a shorter time than we all know.
It really doesn’t matter where you have come from or what mistakes or failures you have made in the past.
The thing is that you can always start right now and make a new ending, a wonderful ending that you truly desire.
So don’t wait and start right now.
It is never too late to unleash your greatness and live up to your full potential.
There is no better time to do it than now.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.”
