Yes, you read that correctly. I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time and have come to the realization that despite what many self improvement gurus and personal development experts say, you cannot do everything you put your mind to. Though it feels good to suggest that with positive thinking, visualization, hard work, and perseverance you can accomplish anything. The ugly truth is…you can’t.

Not everyone can be a star quarterback, entrepreneur, business person, Olympic  gymnast, or movie star.  If you watch American Idol you’ll see people who just cannot be pop stars. They don’t have the gift of an amazing voice that others have. They will never be a pop star no matter how hard they try, no matter how many vocal lessons they have, or how  they visualize themselves as a successful multi-platinum pop star.

When I was a kid and through the start of high school, I could run faster than anyone I ran against. It wasn’t even close. I was faster than everyone. I had the goal of going to the Olympics. Once I got to high school I joined the track team and trained hard. I trained harder than anyone. I was faster than anyone on the team.

Then reality hit. I was fast, but I was not even close to sprinters on other teams. However, I wasn’t deterred and worked with my coach for the next three years. No matter what I did, I was not fast enough to even make the State finals. I just didn’t have the genetics. I had the drive and determinations, but not the God-given natural ability.

That’s the reality. What I do advocate is discovering your strengths and using them to become successful. You need to be realistic. If you want to be a speaker but you’re no good at it, move on to something else. Perhaps your strength is writing. If you can write well and have something interesting to write about, do whatever it takes to become an author. Barack Obama is a wonderful speaker but he has a speech writer. The speech writer might be horrific at public speaking but is amazing at crafting an inspirational speech. Know your strengths and capitalize on them.

In his book, the Rhythm of Life, Matthew Kelly says that we must become the best version of ourselves. We are NOT to become the best version of someone else, but the best version of who we are. That means knowing the strengths God gave us and discovering a purposeful use for those strengths.