I was in the pet store the other day and I saw a fish in a tank all by himself.
He was a pretty good size and the tank wasn't much bigger than he was.
I asked about it and the lady told me that this specific kind of fish will only grow to the size of its environment.
Just like some people.
Sometimes we get settled in a situation and then accept any limits we perceive as part of 'the way it is'.
Financial limits, growth limits, we let our environment dictate what we can accomplish.
What if, instead, we decided we wouldn't let those limits constrain us? It can be a risk, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing.
Greatness happens when we stretch ourselves.
In that zone where we reach out and take risks, we engage with our real dreams and passion.
Look at the people who are in your life.
So many people just show up, rather than investing and really putting in the effort.
Do the people in your life support you in your passions? Do they encourage you to challenge yourself? Are these people positive and upbeat? The people who surround us have a huge impact on our daily lives and can strongly affect our perception of the possible.
To give yourself the best opportunity to express your purpose in life and connect with the passion in your heart, be sure that the people you include in your life are good for you and good to you.
We need people who help us learn who we were meant to be and support us on that journey.
Look at other factors in your environment.
Are the books you read helping you forward your purpose? Do they make you happy? Are you learning something interesting? How you spend your precious free time is very important.
Your discretionary time should be budgeted even more carefully than your discretionary income.
You can always get more money, but there is never any more time.
Use that time to teach yourself to grow personally and professionally.
If you get into the habit of supporting your goals and caring for yourself, you'll be surprised how much more productive you'll feel, and that feeling will encourage you to continue to grow and challenge yourself to the next level.
Find your own power.
Consider your heroes.
If you look at the strengths they have, their 'powers', you'll find that you have all that same capability for greatness already within you.
You just have to learn to let it out as they did.
You need to give yourself permission to embrace your own power rather than be constrained by your current fish tank.
Live a spectacular life.
If someone comes up to you and asks how things are going, how often do you just answer 'okay'? Okay? Just okay? Why not great, fantastic, wonderful? Don't limit yourself to a life that is just 'ok'.
Figure out what it would take to have a life that was spectacular and then do what it takes to make it happen.
Know where you need to put your attention to get the biggest return on your time and energy.
Invest in your passion so that the time you spend is invested wisely and is fulfilling even when you haven't made it to goal yet.
You'll know you're on your way and that will continue to fire your passion.
Be your best self.
How often do you hold back an opinion or decline to share an idea because you think there is a risk.
The risk is there, but it is often more a risk to yourself when you hold back than a real consequence of speaking out.
Silencing your voice limits your personal power.
It keeps you from shining.
It keeps you constrained rather than helping you grow.
When you let fear hold you back, you give power to your fear rather than keeping that power for yourself.
What real consequences would happen if you just said what you thought and shared that part of yourself? Are they worth giving up your power for? In this world we're all necessary.
We each of us have the capability for tremendous power and ability to affect change.
We just need to get a grip on our own lives to unlock our gifts and share them with the world.
Once we're willing to push the limits of our fish tank and expand beyond our current boundaries we are able to see what we can truly accomplish.