Potential

There are moments in life that change us, and often, they begin quietly. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to look at you and see what you cannot yet see in yourself. We all carry unseen potential — pieces of ourselves waiting for the right moment, the right challenge, or the right nudge to emerge. Yet most of the time, we walk through life with a limited view of who we are. We focus on our flaws, our doubts, the reasons we think we’re not ready. We live in the smaller story we’ve written for ourselves.

When I first moved from New York to Tennessee, everything felt unfamiliar. The pace, the people, the culture, even the quiet. Starting over wasn’t easy, but I found an entry-level job that I liked — steady, honest work with the promise of opportunity if I stayed committed. I didn’t know what would come of it, but I showed up, kept my head down, and worked hard.

One day, the director pulled me aside. He told me he liked my work ethic — that I had something solid and dependable about me. Then he said something unexpected: he wanted to move me into a different position. More responsibility. Bigger expectations. He saw my untapped potential.

At first, I was nervous. Self-doubt crept in: Am I really ready for this? What if I fail? I hadn’t seen myself as someone leadership would invest in. I had been focused on doing the job, not rising in it.

But I took the chance.

That was 36 years ago, and I have never looked back.

What I didn’t realize then was how much power there is in someone seeing something in you that you haven’t yet recognized in yourself. That simple moment — a few words of belief from someone who didn’t have to say them — shifted the way I saw my own future. It gave me permission to think bigger, to stretch, to grow into something more. I would never have applied for that position on my own. However, when someone names your untapped potential, it does more than boost your confidence — it changes your trajectory. It gives you courage to take the leap you might have hesitated to take on your own. It shifts the story you tell yourself from limitation to possibility. In that moment, something powerful happens. Their belief acts like a mirror, reflecting not who you are today, but who you could be. It breaks through the walls of self-doubt and whispers, “Maybe they’re right. Maybe I can.”

That director has since retired but I did phone him years after that event to Thank him for seeing my potential and getting me on the right path. He said that’s what all good leaders should be doing – developing and retaining top talent.

When someone believes in you before you believe in yourself, it changes things. It cracks open the ceiling of what you thought was possible. It invites you to rise — not just because they think you can, but because maybe, just maybe, they’re right.

That moment in Tennessee set me on a different path — one marked by greater confidence, deeper purpose, and a quiet resolve to do the same for others: to notice potential, to speak it out loud, and to offer someone else the kind of encouragement that might change everything. Sometimes, it takes another person to help us see what we can’t yet see. A mentor, a friend, a boss — someone who looks you in the eye and says, “You’re capable of more.”  Because sometimes, the most life-changing thing we can hear is a simple, generous truth: “I see more in you than you see in yourself.” That kind of belief can awaken something in you. It’s a reminder that we often grow best when we’re seen clearly — and challenged with love. Many thanks to all of my coaches, mentors, leaders and accountability partners that have continually supported me in my quest to reach my full potential. Because sometimes, all it takes is one person to see your future — and nudge you toward it.

Ultimately, potential isn’t a destination. We will never be fully “potenched”! It’s not a title or a level of success. It’s a direction — a life of continued curiosity, growth, and alignment. You recognize it not by arriving, but by stretching. Trying. Risking. Becoming.

And maybe the most powerful truth of all is this:
You don’t have to be anyone else to live into your potential. You just have to become more of who you already are — more honest, more intentional, more open to the possibility that there is still more in you to discover.

Take care of yourself and each other!