The road to excellence is paved with opportunity. Unfortunately, many people aren't able to see the opportunity that exists right before their eyes. Are you one of those people? Look at what you might be missing:

• That smile you gave that person who didn't reciprocate with a smile back at you... not everyone is happy all the time. What could that person's story be?
• You got angry as soon as your dog barked. Are you under a little more stress than you care to admit?
• Your 1-year-old granddaughter started putting a couple words together. When was the last time you tried something you've never done before?
• .... and on it goes

Every Day = Hundreds Of Opportunities For Insight

Let's say you captured just 3 new pieces of new knowledge/insight every day for a year. Let's say you captured them during a moment of reflection at the end of every day in a journal. That would be nearly 1,100 pieces of insight. Just imagine what the themes might reveal to you about yourself and your world. Imagine the data you would have to work with as you developed your expression of your unique design.

There is a skill that you must possess and hone if you are to get traction on your journey to becoming the fullest expression of your unique, God-given design. It doesn't come natural for most people. But it is for everyone. That skill is openness. Let's take a closer look at what openness is.

OPENNESS

Openness is your key to bending time to your favor. It's a skill that will help you reach your goals quicker and with greater meaning. It requires 3 character traits. I encourage you to rate yourself on a scale of 1-5 on each of these traits (1 = very low, 5 = very high).

• Humility. This is the skill of giving up the control of having to have the answers all the time; to put yourself under the teaching of others, young or old.
• Patience. This is the skill of putting aside your eagerness for conquest; to put yourself in a slow mode to let learning do its thing in you.
• Thought. This is the skill of mental energy; to go against the grain of our technologically fragmented news stories and social media posts and give thought for a longer period of time without giving up.

ACTION STEP

• Take the rating numbers you gave yourself and commit to improving on them.
• Commit to a week of reflecting every evening before you go to bed by journaling 3 new insights you gained in the day. When the week is over, renew that commitment.

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