Potential & Tenacity

“It is continuous effort, not strength or intelligence that is the key to unlocking our potential…”
— Winston Churchill

“It should be quite obvious not all of us are born with the same gifts or talent. Some people have multiple gifts, some do not. Not all of us have the body or muscular aptitude to stroll the beach with confidence; nor do we all have a photographic memory, but all of us do have an unlimited supply of potential in that we all have at least one gift on which to build. Right now, all of your POTENTIAL is tucked away or in storage. It is only when that potential is coupled with TENACITY it can be brought forth through a commitment to learn and achieve. With the application of tenacity an astonishing thing happens: Your potential takes the shape of a winning lifestyle.style…”

Believe me, it is not a high IQ that guarantees success. It is not those who are good at taking tests, have the ability to recall or, are a quick study. It is the “TENACIOUS” person, the person with TENACITY, who through their continuous effort will be assured success. The reason is they will eventually unlock the potential they have within. For example, it is obvious, at least to most around me, that I am probably not the smartest or the quickest study of my friends, nor among those whom I meet. What I do have that most do not is the “break the door down or die trying” attitude, which has always helped me to get to the next level. It is this spirit and outlook that has helped me keep going, kept me pushing, kept me learning, and kept me changing so that I could become all it would take to become what I need to be to get where I want to go.

So far in my short life of over 60 years, I have had several PhD’s that have worked for me. Oddly enough, I have never attended formal college. I am not belittling or putting down education for I very much believe in education, finding it to be most valuable and necessary if one is to become all they want to, or can be. It was Jim Rohn who said, “A formal education will make you a living, but self-education will make you a fortune.” Proving once again, it is not usually the one with the high IQ getting the accolades for great achievement; it is the one who would not quit or give up on their dreams; it is the one who pushed until they became what it took to attract their dream, making it a reality.

Take for instance the people on the TV game show, Jeopardy. These people are amazing at their ability to recall facts of all kinds and in many genres. It is amazing to watch them answer question after question doing so quickly and decisively. Category upon category from music to history these people are obviously quite intelligent in so many facets of life. What is inexplicable to me is to hear what they do for a living. As I listen to them provide the game show host with their name and some pertinent information, what I focus in on most is what they do for a living. More often than not these seemingly intelligent people work as a social worker, teacher, secretary, administrative assistant, or for the government in some capacity. What I find most interesting is NONE of them own their own business. What this tells me, once again, is it isn’t one’s IQ that makes one a success, it is their ability to take advantage of their potential. The begging question is then, “Do they have the tenacity to use the potential they have or are they unable to believe in themselves enough to become all they were meant to be and have all that is available to them?

More often than not we are standing on the door step of achieving what we desire, but for some reason, we can’t seem to take the necessary extra or last step. Here we are standing on the threshold of achievement, but for some unknown reason we give up and walk away. All we needed to do was open the door or, in most cases walk through the door. I say this because the door is often already open, but our heads are down in defeat because our eyes are not fixed on our goal(s). We stopped our continuous effort of pushing forward and once the effort stops the passion fades. Once the passion fades the strength to carry on weakens therefore, the goal is never realized and the POTENTIAL is never tapped. As a result we never realize the gift or gifts that lie dormant in us. These remain hidden, becoming part of an unused arsenal, which was readily available and could have been used in our quest to design a winning life style.

So, the next time you want to accomplish something, give some thought to what it will take to make it happen then muster up the TENACITY necessary to achieve your goal. As the Bible says, “Count the cost before you start the project.” In other words make the commitment to follow the project through to completion; or stated another way, continue the effort until the objective is reached. In doing so, you will continue to unlock the potential, which lies in you. Who knows, you just might find you have more gifts and abilities than you realized…

Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…

Respectfully,

Rick Cox