Many of the entrepreneurs I meet start businesses that allow them to use their unique talents. It’s the passion that drives them.

Every entrepreneur I’ve worked with has personal strengths. Some are brilliant at branding and marketing, others have a knack for crunching numbers, and still others are powerful coaches that help people reach their goals.

For my part, I’ve always been a people person and love connecting with people. At an early stage in my career, I learned that I had a natural aptitude for sales and networking. I have been blessed to be able to utilize these skills to build a Legacy Business and empower others to tap into their true potential.

The reality is most of us know the areas where we naturally thrive. Often, we put these strengths center stage as we built our businesses.

And yet, so many entrepreneurs feel they aren’t tapping into their true potential.

If each one of us has unique, God-given talents – and I truly believe that to be the case – why is it that when we utilize these talents, we aren’t tapping into our true potential?

As I’ve coached clients at Celeste Giordano Coaching, I’ve found 4 factors present over and over again for entrepreneurs who feel that while they are utilizing their skills, they haven’t tapped their true potential. As I describe each one, take a moment to think about how these play out in your career and business.

1. Stuck in the Status Quo

Many business owners are so bogged down by their mounting responsibilities and hectic schedules that they find themselves under-utilizing their God-given gifts. But by failing to use their unique gifts, they don’t produce the results they seek in their business.

Here we are just two weeks into January, a time of renewal and fresh starts, and many entrepreneurs are already feeling stuck in the same patterns as last year. Despite their hopes for turning a new page in 2018, they find themselves falling into the same, daily habits and routines that held them back from achieving their goals.

Before the month slips away, ask yourself a few questions:

• Are you spending the bulk of your time doing what you do best? Or do you feel pulled in so many directions that you have little time to do what you love?
• Do you find yourself struggling with the same challenges year in and year out?
• Have you reached a plateau in your sales or business growth?

If you’ve answered “Yes” to any of these questions, this year is not likely to look any different than last in terms of reaching your full potential. And make no mistake: this will directly impact your performance this year.

2. No Picture of Prosperity

One of the reasons we fall into the same old habits is that we simply stop dreaming. Whether it’s because we feel worn out after a difficult year, we have too much on our plates to stop and see the forest through the trees, or we’re just trying to keep the ball rolling, we can’t break the cycle of mediocrity.

If you want to tap into your true potential, you must allow yourself to picture what a prosperous year would look like for your business, yourself, and your family.

After all, tapping into your potential will involve real effort. To consistently put forth that effort, you need to have a clear vision of what you’re working to achieve, as well as the confidence, self-discipline, and drive necessary to make it a reality.

Take some quiet time to visualize how your life would change if you actualized your potential and took your business to the next level. Then commit to making 2018 the year that you’ll push to reach higher and use your God-given skills and talents.

3. Lack of Planning

You have skills and talents that can help you boost sales and accelerate business growth. But without planning, your ability to realize your potential is limited.

Last week, we talked about why plans thrive whereas resolutions fail. If you want to achieve greatness in 2018, you need to have a master plan.

Put together a concrete, measurable, realistic plan that lays out the action steps you need to take daily, weekly, and monthly to reach your goals.

At Celeste Giordano Coaching, I preach the power of process. The fastest road to success is to ensure you implement systems that allow you to utilize your skills consistently.

Let’s say you’re a marketing whiz. One system you might put into place is a routine for creating and distributing weekly emails and a monthly newsletter to your prospects to generate more business. With a sustainable process in place, you set yourself up to utilize your skills to make the maximum impact.

4. Taking on Too Much

Another reason entrepreneurs don’t utilize their best skills is because they wear too many hats. When you’re scrambling to manage every aspect of a growing business, little time is left to focus on doing what you do best.

Let’s say you run a personal training business. Coaching clients is your biggest strength and the driving factor behind your success. How should you spend the bulk of your time? Training, working with people, and sharing your health and fitness expertise, of course. That sounds like a no-brainer, right?

Where the rubber meets the road is that you need to delegate some of the other business responsibilities that consume your time, like balancing your books or producing your marketing materials.

Make building a support team around you a priority. If you can’t afford to hire full-time staff, don’t fret. Outsource to freelance service providers you trust to deliver quality work. Ask colleagues for recommendations if necessary.

When you get the support you need, you can spend more of your time doing what you love — and that’s when your business will prosper!

Tap Into Full Potential THIS YEAR!

You’ve likely heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. You won’t see different results without shaking up your status quo and pushing yourself to grow.

There’s still time to actualize your potential and “Double Plus” your income THIS YEAR.

Contact me to learn what practical steps you can take to make 2018 the most productive and prosperous yet.

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Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “double-plus” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.

To learn more about Celeste, click here.

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