Episode 050: Carly Fiorina: Unlocking Your Potential

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SUMMARY:

According to Carly Fiorina, “Human potential is the only limitless resource in the world.” In this episode, Senior Pastor of Life.Church and GLS champion, Craig Groeschel interviews Carly on her insights about every person’s potential, outlined in her new book Find Your Way. The conversation draws deeply from the story of her own incredible life, as well as lives of others she’s encountered along her path. Discover the counterintuitive ways you can find the right path for your life and unlock your deepest potential.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• We all have so much more potential than we realize.
• My mother said to me, “What you are is God’s gift to you. What you make of yourself is your gift to God.”
• If people are focused on solving a problem that matters to them, they always accomplish more than they think.
• Fear and insecurity often hold us back from finding and fulfilling our purpose in life. Courage takes practice.
• When people get fixated on a specific destination, they miss opportunities all around them.
• Managers do the best they can within existing constraints and conditions. Leaders change the order of things.
• Leaders have to focus on problem-solving. If you avoid problems, you are not a leader.
• Problems are how you unlock potential in others.
• The keys to collaboration are humility and empathy.
• It was a blessing when I was placed in situations where I wasn’t unqualified because I had to rely on my own capacity and the capacity of others.
• The decision to step out of the Presidential campaign was not difficult because I was following the path and not the plan. When you focus your energies on a path not a plan, the right choices are easier—not harder.
• To get on the right path for your life, find a problem that’s close to you, that you care about and begin to gather others who also care about that problem.
• In the end, a successful life is not defined by the destination you achieve, it’s defined by love, moments of grace and positive contribution.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Carly Fiorina says that it is more important to focus on your path over a specific plan. Reflecting on your own life, was that statement revealing to you? In what ways are you focused on a reaching a specific goal (compared to getting onto the right path)?
2. Carly suggests the way we find our path is to look for important problems to solve.
   • What problem(s) are you currently solving in your life and work?
   • What problem(s) do you see in the world that you would like to solve?
   • Are your lists in alignment?
3. What is currently holding you back from working on the problem you would like to solve? How could you remove that barrier?
4. What is one thing you could do this week to take a step toward working on the problem(s) about which you care most deeply?

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Carly Fiorina’s 2016 Presidential Campaign

Hewlett Packard

Mary Oliver

Compaq Computers

AT&T

“Bimbo” slang term

RELATED LINKS:

Carly Fiorina

Carly Fiorina on Twitter

Find Your Way: Unlock Your Power and Greatest Potential

Craig Groeschel

Life.Church

Craig Groeschel on Twitter

Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

The Global Leadership Summit