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The Path to Unlocking Hidden Potential: A Guide for Entrepreneurs
Lessons from Adam Grant’s 'Hidden Potential'
Marques Colston
26 Oct • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
Entrepreneurship is a relentless journey. Building success is about more than just launching a product or scaling a business; it's about mastering yourself. The drive to succeed can get you started, but as your business evolves, so must you.
The traits that will sustain you—discipline, grit, and a willingness to embrace discomfort—are what separate those who thrive from those who stagnate. Success is not just about reaching a peak but about unlocking new levels of your potential along the way.
This article draws insights from Adam Grant’s book Hidden Potential to explore how you, as an entrepreneur, can cultivate self-awareness, push past emotional roadblocks, and consistently evolve into a leader capable of building an organization with staying power.
It’s How Far You Travel, Not Where You Start
Most entrepreneurs begin their journey fueled by passion and motivation. While these are important in the early stages, they aren’t enough to carry you through the long haul.
As your business grows, your ability to tap into new levels of discipline and adaptability becomes crucial. That’s where true potential begins to emerge—not from where you start, but from how far you’re willing to advance from your starting point.
"Potential is not a matter of where you start, but of how far you travel. We need to focus less on starting points and more on distance traveled."
The key to success isn’t about having the perfect launch or the ideal background; it’s about how much progress you’re making. Each new obstacle or opportunity you encounter is a chance to move forward. It’s not the setbacks that define your potential, but the distance you travel despite them.
Takeaway:
Entrepreneurial success is about evolution, not perfection. Focus on how far you can go and what you can learn along the way. Each step forward, no matter how small, compounds into meaningful progress.
Embrace the Discomfort of Growth
There’s a common misconception that entrepreneurs who succeed are naturally gifted or have some innate advantage. But most successful people aren’t born with special talents; they build their strengths over time by constantly seeking discomfort.
The entrepreneurs who thrive are the ones who embrace risk, uncertainty, and failure, using these experiences as fuel for growth.
"For every Mozart who makes a big splash early, there are multiple Bachs who ascend slowly and bloom late. They’re not born with invisible superpowers; most of their gifts are homegrown or homemade."
The road to building a phenomenal business often involves enduring discomfort and navigating the unknown. Growth doesn’t come from playing it safe. You need to seek out the challenges that push you out of your comfort zone because those are the situations that cultivate grit, innovation, and resilience.
Take Action:
Actively pursue opportunities that make you uncomfortable. Whether it's pitching a new investor, entering a new market, or reworking your product, discomfort is a signal of growth. The more you engage with it, the faster you evolve as a leader.
Growth Requires Three Kinds of Courage
Building a business is as much about mental resilience as it is about strategic thinking. To keep evolving, you need three kinds of courage: the courage to abandon old methods, the courage to act before you feel ready, and the courage to make mistakes—lots of them.
"The best way to accelerate growth is to embrace, seek, and amplify discomfort. It takes courage to abandon your tried-and-true methods, to put yourself in the ring before you feel ready, and to make more mistakes than others make attempts."
Many entrepreneurs feel paralyzed by the fear of failure. But the only way to move forward is by making attempts—mistakes will happen, but they are necessary stepping stones to success. Sticking with outdated methods or waiting until you’re “ready” only stalls progress. Growth happens when you take calculated risks and learn as you go.
Takeaway:
You don’t need to be perfect or fully prepared to make an impact. The courage to try, fail, and iterate is what drives sustainable growth. Take action today, even if you don’t have all the answers.
Procrastination Isn’t Laziness, It’s Fear of Discomfort
Procrastination is often seen as a lack of motivation or time management. But in truth, it’s an emotional response to the discomfort associated with certain tasks.
Entrepreneurs procrastinate not because they are lazy, but because they’re avoiding the difficult emotions tied to a challenging task—whether that’s fear of failure, rejection, or simply uncertainty.
"Procrastination is not a time management problem—it’s an emotion management problem. When you procrastinate, you’re not avoiding effort. You’re avoiding the unpleasant feelings that the activity stirs up."
When you avoid these uncomfortable tasks, you're also delaying your own progress. Every time you put off a tough decision or difficult conversation, you're robbing yourself of the opportunity to grow and move forward. Recognizing this emotional roadblock is the first step to overcoming it.
Take Action:
Instead of avoiding discomfort, face it head-on. Tackle one difficult task each day to build resilience against procrastination. By doing this, you’ll not only make progress but also grow your emotional endurance, which is crucial for long-term success.
Focus on Unlocking New Levels of Yourself
The traits that allow you to start a business—passion, excitement, and drive—are not the same traits that will allow you to grow it.
As your business evolves, so must you. Unlocking new levels of potential means regularly challenging yourself, being open to change, and remaining committed to personal growth.
"Traveling great distances requires the courage to seek out the right kinds of discomfort, the capacity to absorb the right information, and the will to accept the right imperfections."
Every level of business success requires a different version of you. As you grow your company, you’ll need to constantly reassess your strengths and weaknesses, seek new skills, and confront your own limitations. This is the path to becoming the leader your business needs.
Takeaway:
Entrepreneurship is about self-mastery. The more you invest in your personal growth—through self-reflection, learning, and embracing change—the more you’ll unlock your full potential as both a leader and a business builder.
Success in entrepreneurship is not determined by where you begin, but by how far you’re willing to go. By embracing discomfort, facing failure, and continuously evolving, you unlock new levels of potential that drive both personal and business growth. The journey is not about reaching a single peak but about constantly striving for new heights, fueled by discipline, self-awareness, and the courage to push through discomfort.
It’s not the starting point that defines your potential; it’s the distance you travel along the way. Keep moving forward, and you’ll discover that the journey itself is the key to unlocking your best self—and building a company that lasts.
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