Those who know my dad well know that he has some colorful cliches. Some, many of which are not appropriate on such a blog. There is, however, a lot of wisdom to be gained from both those and his life experience in general. I career sales professional, he “changed lanes” after I was grown to become a drug and alcohol rehab counselor. It was a pleasure to witness him find his “flow” and speak truth based on personal recovery and hard-earned certification to his clients.

I share this because his next piece of wisdom during our conversation about a particular business was Dirty Harry’s “A man’s got to know his limitations.” This is a difficult thing for us humans, especially in a world of unending choices. We want to try it all and be it all and see it all. In reality, we (individuals and organizations alike) possess a unique grouping of strengths that is suited for something(s) better than others. As Maxwell says in Put Your Dreams to the Test, “Maximum effort + maximum strength = maximum return.”

I recently had the pleasure of coaching someone who decided to embrace some limitations and focus on strengths more. The result was like watching a 100 pound weight come off the shoulders.

What have you been “swimming upstream” to achieve? What steps can you take to know your limits and use your strengths instead?