If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
- Sir Thomas Aquinas

Remember, what you do does not define who you are. We all have tremendous potential, and there are a lot of areas in which we can be effective. And whether or not we reach our potential, our value remains the same - because it comes from "being human."
- Jim Hackett, CEO, Steelcase Inc.

And it isn't the things you do, dear,
It's the things you leave undone
Which gives you a bit of a heartache
At the setting of the sun.
- Margaret Sangster

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.
- Norman Cousins

The only way you can live a truly creative life or know the highest happiness is by developing your own unique potential.
- Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Each honest calling, each walk of life, has its own elite, its own aristocracy based on excellence of performance.
- James Bryant Conant

There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less.
- Kurt Hahn

All of us are born musicians. Many of us pass off this earthly scene, however, with much of our beautiful music still buried deep in side of us, unplayed and unsung. Don't let that happen to you. Like a geode, open yourself up and let all that latent potential shine.
- Grant M. Bright

We are going to need organizations that are culturally equipped to adapt. They must have internal processes that are creative, generative, and productive rather than controlled, confining, and normative. In short, we must UNSHACKLE THE HUMAN BRAIN and exploit its productive potential.
- Karl Albrecht

If you are truly a leader, you will help others to not just see themselves as they are, but also what they can become.
- David P. Schloss

Break The Chain
One day a man went to the Circus. He saw many animals; some very powerful. He noticed that all of the very powerful animals were kept caged up. All except for the Elephant. The Elephant looked to be probably the strongest of all. But, the only thing used to restrain him was a little bracelet and chain around one leg fastened to the ground with a peg! The man wondered why the Elephant didn't try to break free from this restraint. He noticed a man who was taking care of the animals and asked him this question. "Why doesn’t this powerful Elephant try to break free from this little chain"? The animal keeper just laughed and said: "Many years ago when the Elephant was small and not as strong as he is now, he did try over and over to break free. But he just couldn't do it. Finally, he just gave up and has never tried again to break free. He doesn't realize that with time he has grown bigger and stronger. He just thinks, "What's the use! I can't do it. I tried before and couldn't do it. I won't even try." Sometimes we forget that circumstances change. Perhaps you set a goal for yourself some years back. Maybe it didn't work out. You might reason "I tried, it didn't work, I can't do it, I won't even try again." However, could it be that over the years your circumstances have changed? Re-analyze. Perhaps you now are able to break free of restraints that at one time prevented you from reaching your goals.

Don't rate potential over performance.
- Jim Fassel, Coach, Giants

Some people see more in a walk around the block than others see in a trip around the world.

The greatest discovery of our generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.
- William James

Most of us die with much of our beautiful music still in us, un-sung, un-played.
- Grant M. Bright

A fisherman was observed throwing the big fish back and keeping the small ones. When asked why, he replied that he only had a small frying pan! Some of us act in real life as if we only had a small frying pan, thus limiting our true potential.

The greatest good we can so for others is not to share OUR riches but to reveal THEIRS.

Some people go through life trying to find out what the world holds for them only to find out too late that it's what they bring to the world that really counts. OR "It's not what the world holds for you it's what you bring to it" (Anne of Green Gables)

Use Your TALENTS: Two boys were walking down a country road when they noticed two milk cans ready to be loaded onto a train for delivery to a nearby city. The boys looked around and seeing no one, they dropped a big bullfrog into each of the cans. During the journey, the bullfrog in can #1 said to himself: "This is terrible, I can't lift the cover of the can, I never had a milk bath before, I can't brace myself against the smooth sides, I'm trapped, there's no use trying anything." When the cover on can #1 was taken off, why, there was a big dead bullfrog. The bullfrog in can #2 was in the same tight spot, but this frog said to himself: "Well, I know I can't lift the cover off and there seems to be no other way out of here, but let me think, what is it I am good at? Well, there's one thing I know I'm good at and that's swimming." So he swam and swam and swam, and churned the cream floating on top into a lump of butter and sat on it. When the cover was removed, out he jumped, hale and hearty.

PEAK PERFORMANCE:
Mental Training Techniques of the World's Greatest Athletes:
Great athletes train their minds as well as their bodies. There are various mental conditioning techniques many use when preparing for an event. Perhaps the best known technique is visualization, creating a mental image not only of the desired result (the gold medal, a new world record, a hole-in-one), but also of every move that will be taken en route to the ultimate goal. We can apply these techniques in the business world. Determine your mission and identify what your major goals are. Break down the big goals into a series of smaller goals. Be detailed and precise when setting your goals. When each smaller one is achieved, you'll find you have increased confidence in tackling the next and the next. It's self-motivating because you're creating visible proof that you can indeed accomplish what you set out to do.
- Charles A. Garfield

FULL POTENTIAL: Do you continue to develop your full potential? A man received a blue ribbon at a county fair for his pumpkin that was shaped like a gallon jug. When asked how he grew it, he said he inserted the pumpkin into a gallon jug when it was small. It stopped growing when it filled the jug. Have you stopped growing because you have placed yourself into a mental container? How can you expand/break out of your container? The only real limitations are self-imposed. We must choose not to let others decide what we can or cannot be!

THE SLIGHT EDGE CONCEPT: The difference between mediocrity and superior performance can be attributed to being as little as 1-2% more efficient in terms of planning, study, application, interest, attention, effort, etc. Consider the difference between golf players:
# 1 Jack N. earned 230K with an average of 70.3
# 24 Bob C. earned 50K with an average of 70.9
The difference of 0.6 is only one missed putt in every 18 holes.

If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful after all.
- Michelangelo

Genius is the capacity for taking infinite pains.
- Carlyle

In an experiment, a scientist place a number of fleas in a glass jar. They quickly jumped out. He then replace the fleas back into the jar and placed a glass plate across the top opening. The fleas began jumping and hitting the glass plate, falling back down into the jar. After a while, the fleas, conditioned to the presence of the glass plate, began jumping slightly below the glass plate, so as not to hit it. The scientist then removed the glass plate as it was no longer needed to keep the fleas in the jar. Do you have a "self-imposed" lid that prevents you from achieving new heights?

Geniuses themselves don't talk about the gift of genius, they just talk about hard work and long hours.
- J.C. Penney

The fact is, the difference between peak performers and everybody else are much smaller than "everybody else" thinks.
- Charles Garfield

Most people are content to let "perfect days" happen at random rather than PLAN for them.

PRACTICE does NOT make perfect. However, actual practice combined with the practice of perfection in your imagination can lead to perfection.

An airplane on the ground rusts out faster than when it is in the air. If a ship stays docked in the harbor it will gain more barnacles making it unseaworthy. Are you making full use of your abilities and talents?