I'm really good at spotting fixer-uppers. Whether it's houses or people or projects. I can "see" the potential that person, place, or thing has for greatness in spite of the overgrown weeds and broken windows and rusty old gates that obscure its true form.

I hope you're looking at some kind of potential, somewhere in your life. The ability to see potential is the ability to hope and dream, and without that, human life is pretty empty and sad. 

If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of potential - for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints; possibility never. ~Soren Kierkegaard

Unfortunately, there's a vast expanse between what you see now  and that beautiful place called Potential View. At the edge of the void dangles a tattered sign that reads "Problem Valley." Ever been there?

Have you set out with zeal and hope, headed for Potential View, only to find yourself discouraged, disappointed, and distressed in Problem Valley?

Writing a novel, going on a diet, getting in shape, starting a business, getting a degree, raising kids, being married, training a dog, finishing school, buying a house, are all things that come with lovely visions of potential. The happy home, the 2.5 kids, the dog, and the white picket fence... Or whatever your dream entails.



Did they get tired on their way to California, or the Willamette Valley, or wherever they were going? Because surely this place where they stopped was not their promised land! Did they give up? Did they lose sight of "Pikes Peak or Bust" somewhere out on the eastern plains of Colorado because the going got too tough?

Are you tempted to quit? Tempted to settle for less than your vision? Tempted to throw in the towel (or the manuscript, or the marriage license, or the treadmill, or the nutrition bars) and just give up? Don't do it! You'll find yourself singing "I can't get no satisfaction" for the rest of your life!

It is very dangerous to go into eternity with possibilities which one has oneself prevented from becoming realities. A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it. ~Soren Kierkegaard

Set your face, grit your teeth, plant your "but" on that seat, and keep moving toward your desired destination. That vision of Potential View didn't come from you, it came from the One who created you, and He's right there with you, encouraging, prompting, and cheering you on toward the goal.