Know thyself.
—SOCRATES
I think self-knowledge is the rarest trait in a human being.
—ELIZABETH EDWARDS
I’m passionate about this book because I’m passionate about you! For fifty years I’ve worked to improve my life and to help improve the lives of others. Nothing brings me greater joy than helping others grow and get better. I’ve written this book specifically to lift you up and to help you increase your capacity.
How did I come to write this book? The idea came to me while I was enjoying one of my favorite things: great conversation over a meal with friends. While we were talking, one friend began to express the importance of potential and how people could reach it. It led to a great discussion that lasted two hours. As we got ready to get up from the table, somebody said, “I’ve never read a book about capacity and how to reach it.” Nobody else had either.
That conversation really stimulated me. And it stayed with me for two years. After revisiting the topic of capacity in my mind repeatedly, I began asking questions, listening to others, and learning about it. Eventually that led me to create the Capacity Challenge:
The Capacity Challenge
If you grow in your awareness, develop your abilities, and make the right choices, you can reach your capacity.
In other words,
AWARENESS + ABILITY + CHOICES = CAPACITY
That is the challenge I’m presenting to you in this book. If you’re willing to accept it and follow the process I outline, your life will change!
The Capacity Challenge begins with awareness. Becoming aware was the first big step I took in blowing the cap off my capacity. And it happened early in my career. The model for pastors in those days was that of a shepherd who cared for the sheep. It was about maintaining and caring for the flock. It included doing a lot of counseling. So that was the model I thought I was supposed to follow.
But then I read a book titled America’s Fastest Growing Churches by Elmer Towns. It was about reaching more people and leading a church with excellence. I couldn’t put that book down. The stories were so inspiring.
After reading it, I wanted to visit every church in the book and meet their pastors. But how could I do this? These pastors didn’t know me. And why would they take time to meet with me?
Then I got an idea. I would contact them and offer to pay them $100 for thirty minutes of their time. That was in 1971, when I made only $4,200 in an entire year. But I was desperate to find out what made these pastors become so successful. I was overjoyed when two of the ten pastors said yes to my request.
As soon as I knew I would get to meet with these leaders, I began writing down the questions I would ask them. I came up with a lot. Five pages full! Anticipation filled me as I sat down with these leaders and asked them questions as fast as I could. Obviously I didn’t get through all the questions I had written down, but I did have a breakthrough in my personal and professional lives. My greatest discovery was that these pastors spent no time on counseling people. Instead, they spent all of their time equipping people.
At first, I didn’t get it. I had to get them to explain it to me. Counseling helps people work through their weaknesses. Equipping helps people work on their strengths. The lights were starting to turn on!
Then they explained that people will more readily reach their potential when they work on their strengths rather than working on their weaknesses. That was when it hit me. These leaders were not shepherds, content to just look after a flock. They were ranchers. They had vision. They had the spirit of the pioneers who created something on the frontier. They were building and developing people, inviting people to become part of something greater than themselves. And together they were growing their churches, reaching more people, and making a difference.
That was the first day I realized how essential awareness is to reaching capacity. The only way I could help the people I was leading to do much better in their lives was to help them focus on their strengths more than their weaknesses. And—drumroll, please—the only way I could reach my capacity as a person and a leader was to practice and develop my strengths. It changed the way I did everything, and I soon discovered that I was a much better equipper than I was a counselor.
Before my awareness discovery, I saw myself as a shepherd taking care of the needs of my people. After that, I started to see myself and my role differently. I became a rancher leading and growing the people of my congregation.
For years I shared this story at conferences. Often during a Q & A someone will ask, “What was the most important thing you received from those two leaders you interviewed?” My answer is “awareness.” I have often wondered, How long would I have counseled people instead of equipping them if I had not met those two leaders? I don’t know the answer. But I do know this: we all need the help of someone else to become aware of how to become better at reaching our capacity.
I want to be someone who helps you become more self-aware. That’s what this first section of the book is about. You’ve probably heard the saying “If I always do what I’ve always done, I’ll always get what I’ve always gotten.” I want to help you do something new—and get somewhere new. As we embark on this journey, I want to give you two thoughts:
1. Change doesn’t always have to be drastic to be effective. Counseling people and equipping people have similarities. They both require caring for another person and spending time with them giving guidance and advice. All I had to do was change my focus from their weaknesses to their strengths. As you read through this book, and especially while reading this first part on awareness, be on the lookout for where you need to change your focus to become more aware of your potential.
2. Change is necessary for you to reach your capacity. As you read through the other two parts, you will find a greater emphasis on change. In part two on ability, you will be asked to work on some things that may not be natural strengths. You will find that difficult. Growth in skill areas, if they are not natural, is often slow and small. That’s okay. Every little bit of positive change helps. It increases your capacity. However, when you get to part three, which is about choices, you will find it to be easier. In matters of choice, your changes can be achieved much more quickly. All of these changes, whether difficult or easy, are needed if you desire to increase your capacity and reach your potential.
Get ready to dive in. It’s going to be an exciting journey. Developing awareness is going to allow you to recognize the changes that will help you blow the cap off your capacity. My hope is that by the time you’re finished with the book, your capacity will be much greater than you ever imagined and you will be well on your way to living a no-limits life. Let’s take this journey together.