The achievement of your life’s intent cannot occur if your days are so full of distractions that you can’t focus on what is meaningful. Instead of letting your schedule schedule you, consciously take the time to schedule your priorities. Many of you may confuse the idea of constraints and the activities you choose to engage in with making sacrifices. On the contrary, the constraints will allow you to cut out the meaningless and focus more fully on the tasks that push you to create your meaningful legacy.

When thinking about constraints, ask yourself the following question. What do I agree to never do again because it limits my potential and prolongs me achieving my goals? Limiting your own behavior may also help you to never limit someone else in the achievement of his/her goals. Remember, you need to generate value for, not extract from, your stakeholders. By limiting select behaviors, you increase the opportunities to add value to others in your life. Here are examples of constraints that may be beneficial.

I agree to not:

• stay stuck in my daily habits and routines
• be pessimistic towards others
• focus for too long on mistakes, failures, imperfections
• spend so much time planning that I don’t take action
• avoid human contact
• stop learning about my stakeholders and how I can generate value for them
• take too long when making key financial decisions
• think of growth and development in my career as a linear process

In order to truly unlock your potential, you must have a keen awareness of your uniqueness and embrace limitation to drive creativity and success. It is easy to be overcome by or paralyzed by the endless choices and possibilities confronting you daily. True creativity is driven by these limitations because they are liberating and allow for a focus on experiences you find truly meaningful. Let go of outcomes, failures, imperfections…be unencumbered by results…but continue to show up for the learning process. By challenging accepted norms everyday, you create an environment akin to an upward spiral of success.

If knowledge is the new global currency, then knowledge of thy self is the most profound and important tool for you to employ when unlocking your own potential. By thoroughly understanding your skills, strengths and potential and then placing constraints on yourself to not perform the tasks that don’t add value to your brand, you will achieve your life’s intent much faster. In parting, I’ll leave you with two thoughts:

You must first be limited to become limitless.

Quit trying so hard to think outside box and get back in it.