“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking potential.” – Winston Churchill

For me, today, it is all about putting in the work!  I learned an amazing lesson when I was out on a job site with my father when I was a young kid.  My father had several employees over the years for his brick laying company one of which was a man named Bill.  Bill was not the strongest or the smartest man that ever worked for my father but he was always on time in the morning, was willing to stay late and always kept moving even if it was not that fast.  He would make mistakes and complete tasks slowly but my father never gave him any grief.   One day I asked my dad why he didn’t fire Bill due to lack of production, he said “how could I fire Bill, he is the best employee I have.”  My father could see the confusion I had on my face so he started to explain something that I could not understand for many years to come.

What my father tried to teach me that day was that Bill was the best employee he had becasue Bill gave everything he had to the company even though everything he had did not measure up to many of the other men that worked for him.  Bill’s potential in his role for my fathers company was not the greatest but he was reaching it everyday that he showed up.  It was explained to me at that time that if any of the other men put in the effort that Bill did with what he had, they would all be masters at their craft in no time.

So I ask myself today, am I putting fourth the most amount of effort possible to all aspects of my life?   When I answer that honestly I have to say no.  I am ok with that because it is honest and it allows me to see the places in my life that I can work harder at to achieve my potential.  It also allows me to take responsibility for the things that I fall short with, learn a lessen as a result and refocus my effort the next time.

Affirmation:  I am the responsible for achieving my potential and today I will put forth the effort to reach it.

Call to Action: Take an honest look at the thing in your life that you are not satisfied with and ask your self am I putting forth all the effort needed.  If not allow this CYLFriday to be the day that you do and please share with us your results.