Getting to know where your limits are and where you stand can be an advantage and a disadvantage.  It all depends on how you react with that perception you have about yourself.

So many of us use what we think are our limits to hold ourselves back. To keep ourselves from achieving even more.

The most successful people I know did not quit or understand what limits they had. Especially when those limits where external ones influenced by their surroundings; limits created by others either in form of a law, cultural norm, or a family tradition.

Breaking those established rules might seem impossible.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying to go out and breaks laws. But if there are laws that you think are unfair or outdated, now is the time to seek change.

We need to look for options that bring us opportunities. Options that will help us understand exactly what it is that we need to do. Most importantly, we need to elevate ourselves and those around us even higher.

Find Alternate Ways

When we identify restrictions we should start working on also finding alternate solutions.

My most successful friends found a way to go against the current and change things. They did not understand the opponents they were facing.

What they did understand was their vision and alternate ways to reach a goal.

A good example is my friend Jeff Pulver. Years ago while I watched him get interviewed by CNN in Austin, TX. They asked him what he did for a living. Jeff responded that he was unemployable which stuck with me.

The other part that was interesting was how he made sure VOIP was open to use.  Jeff confronted the Telecommunications industry. He kept Voice over IP away from regulation by the FCC. Proving that the infrastructure needed to run VOIP did not touch a public network. Jeff stated that his vision and determination kept him blind from him seeing that his opponent was almost impossible to defeat.

Jeff  Pulver won and thanks to him and the Pulver order , we are all able to use Voice Over IP and services like Skype.

Jeff taught me many valuable lessons that day which I apply daily; he has taught me even more on how he approaches life and challenges.

We are all facing obstacles and challenges.

If like me, you expect to have things close to perfect. We need to remind ourselves that we have to make sure to continue the momentum.

Thanks to friends like Jeff, Rob Hatch, and Chris Brogan I have shifted how I deal with problems. I focus on the solutions to overcome the obstacle and put more energy there.

I try to understand the part I play in the situation. I start chipping away at the obstacle, problem, or challenge as quickly as possible.

If we know our place well and trace a path to our destinations, things will happen.

How do you face a challenge?

What would you change in your next challenge?