What limitations do you feel you have?  Are they financial resources?  Education?  Connections?  Experience?  Your past?  Your family?  Perhaps something physical?

One of the goals of leadership is to have everyone on your team playing to their strengths.  The reality is that all human beings have limitations.  But what if you could  make those limitations actually work for you?

While attending art school, Phil Hansen began to have a tremor in his right hand.  This was potentially a career-ending development.  More importantly, Hansen was having his dreams stolen.  It is what he did next that is so inspiring.

The video above is a Ted Talk conducted by Hansen.  If you are feeling you cannot overcome your limitations, please watch this video.  Limitations may be the best thing that ever happened to you.

As I viewed the content, I gleaned seven practices that leaders can do to not only overcome their limitations, but actually make them work for you:

  1. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Embrace Their Limitations – Hansen embraced the shake.
  2. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Find A Different Approach – Hansen did not disregard his art.  He simply found a different way to do it.
  3. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Drive Creativity – This is because they must look for different methods to do their art.
  4. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Limit Their Choices – Rather than getting outside-the-box, highly limited but successful leaders maximize the resources they already have.  They are productive inside-the-box.
  5. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Are Limitless – Hansen said, “We must first become limited to become limitless.”
  6. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Utilize The Skills Of Those On Their Team – Our limitations force us to look to others for additional resources.
  7. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Utilize Things That Are Temporary – Some resources are only available for only a short period of time.  Highly limited leaders who are successful utilize limited resources while they are available.
  8. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Are Liberated – Because there is limited attachment, these leaders are freed up to “return to a neutral place and be refreshed to start the next project.”  Christian leaders could learn a lot from this principle.  By making our lives only about Jesus, we are liberated to stop and start new projects.
  9. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Let Go – They keep their walking costs low.
  10. Highly Limited But Successful Leaders Seize The Limitation – It is today, in the now, inside-the-box, with the limitations we have to harness the creative process that life is all about.

Seize the limitation.

pbs-summer-250-1Also, to the right is an ad for an online FREE two-hour preaching conference on June 11th featuring Andy Stanley, Charles Stanley, and Crawford Loritts.  Make sure you click here or on the image for more details.

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