Accepting Limitations - Original Post April 6th 2010

Seth does it again. This time he’s talking about refusing to accept limitations.

It's absurd to look at a three year old toddler and say, "this kid can't read or do math or even string together a coherent paragraph. He's a dolt and he's never going to amount to anything." No, we don't say that because we know we can teach and motivate and cajole the typical kid to be able to do all of these things.

Why is it okay, then, to look at a teenager and say, "this kid will never be a leader, never run a significant organization, never save a life, never inspire or create..."

In the UK, we tend to do just that. We’ll look at a teenager and say, “She’s a trouble-maker, a layabout, she’ll always steal because she’ll never stop taking drugs”. She’ll never get a proper job.

At Barnardo’s Scotland we don’t say never. We don’t accept limitations, and we believe in the power of potential. I'm lucky to know many of the members of ABN. Many of you run great businesses, many of you have achieved so much and are going to achieve more.

When I'm notI’m working to help kids do the same. Many of them are those kids that others have written off. Teenagers. Toddlers. All children.

If you believe in your potential, and you believe in the potential of others, click here, or come and talk to me at tonight’s face to face networking event. I’ll be the one talking about potential.

Joy comes from using your potential.” Will Schultz

Posted via email from mikemuses's posterous