There has been a lot of talk regarding untapped resources of energy trapped beneath the surface of the earth. I’d argue that the greatest untapped resource on the planet is not below the ground, but it is walking around every day. This amazing untapped resource may even be staring back at you in the mirror in the morning.

Think about the untapped resource of a child. I don’t know about you, but when my son was born, he didn’t come with an instruction manual or a crystal ball of what potential he had inside. What would you do if someone told your child that they wouldn’t amount to much in life, were incapable of pursuing their dreams, and were destined to a life of simply getting by based upon the dole which someone decided they were worthy of? I don’t know about you, but I would immediately remove my child from such an environment before that toxic belief became anchored in my child’s psyche!

The other day I was having a conversation with a gentleman who is 68 years old. He mentioned that he really loves to work in the industry which he is very experienced in, but he can’t earn too much income, otherwise the government will take away his Social Security allowance. It dawned on me that despite the massive bureaucratic expense and inefficiency associated with anything run by a bureaucracy, the most expensive price of admission was the soul of the people whom the very program was designed to assist.

When I look at what God says about the potential of a child (regardless of if the child is 2 months old or 80 years old), He says that amazing blessings are waiting for you. He warns against lying, cheating, and the power of the words you choose to live with. His promise for me and my life is very different than what any government entitlement program promotes. 4 soul-sucking Government Entitlement beliefs include:

1. You are not competent to live your own life. Some bureaucrat will assign you some sort of benefit, under the guise of protecting you from the risk of failure.

2. You could improve your situation in life, but that may be unfair and we will penalize you. Since a bureaucrat cannot mandate hard work and success, they focus on penalizing those who bust their asses, take risks, and improve their lives. After taking risks and sacrificing time and resources, they are called “lucky”. Whether this is regarding financial, physical, or relationships; everyone desires more. Desiring a better job, bigger bank account, better relationship is healthy, it helps us grow. Beware that you don’t view this as an opportunity to become jealous or you will lose your focus. I write about the power of words in a previous post, Kick Out Your Negative Words.

3. Self determination. I realize some people feel the need to badmouth the United States of America and how “Unfair” we are, yet I don’t see many people running to the prosperous borders of Cuba, Liberia, or Nicaragua. Any country has it’s flaws, but there is no more fertile ground in the world to plant the seeds of opportunity than right here. Check out  Bob Burg’s post, Liberty and Societal Prosperity on Randy Gage’s page.

4. A desire for the truth. Everyone from God on down despises lying. (The exception would include most elected officials). One of the greatest authors alive today, Andy Andrews, wrote an amazing book titled How to Kill Eleven Million People. It doesn’t mention any political title or affiliation, but it reminds us of the importance of telling the truth.

It is impossible to improve your lot in life by villainizing those who have something which you covet. Our abilities are merely a seed within us that have the potential to produce great results. Regardless of someone’s religious beliefs, faith can be defined as a belief in something that you can’t see, hear, or feel…yet.

When you think of someone who you may want to model your life after, perhaps someone who opened your eyes to what you could truly accomplish; chances are they were encouraging you to release something from your past to achieve your goals. Dig deep and unleash your untapped greatness!

What are some examples of overcoming obstacles that you have witnessed? Please comment and share!