When Capacity and Opportunity Collide…

…all kinds of things happen. But usually those things lead to one of two outcomes – Success or Utter Failure.

I once heard a pastor named Eddie Windsor teach a lesson on something called capacity.  By definition, CAPACITY is the ability to receive or contain (Dictionary.com Unabridged based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009). In his book titled Increasing Your Personal Capacity, Windsor crafted a formula that is this simple:

MY ABILITY + MY RESOURCE + MY STEWARDSHIP = MY PERSONAL CAPACITY

Simply put, you’re a container. All of the opportunities you encounter in life end up in your container. If capacity doesn’t match opportunity, it’s like pouring a 2-liter bottle of soda into a shot-glass. A lot gets wasted.

Here’s something that never goes out of style – trying to become a professional _________. Fill in the blank with athlete, artist, actor, etc. The field is irrelevant. What matters is whether or not you actually attempt to increase your capacity. What steps did Blake Griffin (2009 LA Clippers #1 Draft Pick), Candace Parker (LA Sparks) or Derek Rose (2008 Chicago Bulls #1 Draft Pick) take between ages 10 and 19 to increase the size of their “container (capacity)”? Nobody is ready for professional athletics in the fifth grade but there’s no reason for a 19-year old to have the capacity of a 10-year old. There’s much talk in this world about winning championships, playing ball for big chips and being an ESPN Sportscenter TPN (Top Play Nominee) when the highlights roll. Truth is, all of the things I just mentioned are residual – a natural result, at best, of getting your capacity to the size it needs to be so that opportunity doesn’t spill all over the floor in front of you. If you’re waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime, spend your lifetime investing in the skills you need once the life of the opportunity begins.

Work Cited:

Windsor, Eddie. Increasing Your Personal Capacity. Tulsa: Insight Publishing Group, 2003.