I'm not at the top of my game, but I'm headed in the right direction. I hope to continue that progress until I reach what I call my personal potential goal.

John Wooden, famous UCLA basketball coach and author, had a theory about potential and performance. He felt that very few individuals (or organizations) ever reach their full potential. His advice was to judge performance as a percentage of potential. On that scale, I'd say I am probably at about 60% of my potential. At the end of two years I hope to reach 80 to 85%.

I'll be nearly 53 years old when I reach my goal, and I don't aspire to any higher goals at that point. My goal will become to sustain my performance as long as possible.

My plan of progress includes the following three factors:

1. A big factor in the climb to my personal potential goal is my health. I plan to lose 50-60 pounds, exercise regularly, maintain a healthy diet, and get adequate rest.

2. A second factor is acquiring skills and knowledge. I am starting on what I hope will be my third (and final?) career, and there is a lot I need to learn.

3. The final factor is productivity. I need to begin producing tangible results and then continuously add to or build on those results. There must be an urgency to my progress. I need to use tools such as goals, objectives, and deadlines.

Once I reach my personal potential goal (top of my game), I plan to stay there by sustaining my efforts in the same three areas: health, skills and knowledge, and productivity.

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