Have you ever felt that you are “drowning in a sea of opportunity?” If the answer is yes, then first and foremost take a moment to give thanks and recognize what a gift it is to have so many opportunities to lead and make a difference.
Those with a deep drive to achieve are typically the ones who see themselves as “drowning in a sea of opportunity.” Everywhere we turn we see possibilities — possibilities to lead, to make a difference, to improve processes, to learn, to grow, and to answer the call to leadership.
Those of us who are drowning in this sea of opportunity are the people that Marshall Goldsmith wrote about in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful.
Goldsmith writes, “If you’re not careful, you’ll be overwhelmed in due course – and that which made you rise will bring about your fall. This ‘I will succeed’ belief can sabotage our chances for success when it’s time for us to change behavior. Overcommitment can be as serious an obstacle to change as believing that you don’t need fixing or that your flaws are part of the reason you’re successful.”
Marshall Goldsmith explains that the paradox of success is the fact that the “beliefs that carried us here may be holding us back in our quest to get there.”
It takes a significant amount of self-awareness to see this reality in your own life, and it requires strength and courage to do something about it.
At SOS Leadership, we believe that recognizing that “what got you here won’t get you there” is a key step on your journey from success to significance. We define significance as “success that matters to you.” You may have achieved success, but have you found significance?
Questions to Ponder:
- Is a sincere desire to serve and add value, coupled with your proven ability to serve well, causing you to overcommit?
- Are the behaviors and beliefs that made you successful now moving you ever-closer to feeling that you are “drowning in a sea of opportunity?”
- What will you do to ensure that what got you here WILL get you there?