I’ve heard several people and possibly have also said this myself “If you’re going to marry a guy, please make sure he has potential” (a very vague saying I must confess). A few years ago, I was all for this saying. Currently, my views have changed. Why? I see a lot of guys with potential to make it in life that are just plain lazy or have no motivation or drive to live out their potential. So my view now is this- a guy should have potential BUT he should also be using and actively maximizing his potential when you’re with him. Have you ever met a guy and thought “if only he applied himself a little more, he would have gone beyond his current state.” There are times you meet a guy and see the potential in him but he’s not at the point where he feels he can maximize his potential or he doesn’t even recognize the potential he carries with him. Steer clear of such guys. These types of guys are still on breast milk, not on solid food yet.

I’ll give an example of what I’m saying. Imagine you meet a guy who’s a great artist, can cook, and is a very handy fixer-upper. Now, you know this guy has potential. He can become a really good artist, a chef at a high-class restaurant or can start his own restaurant, and he can also work in the construction business. Yeah, dude packing potential alright. What if he works as an IT analyst, hates his job, is always tardy to work and is on the brink of being fired? That’s not bad, he has other skills he can fall back on so he won’t be broke or be without a job. Okay, so he does get fired from his job and remains unemployed for several years. He has the potential to earn good money by picking one or two skills and walk in his potential but he just sits back and refuses to apply for jobs or is tardy for job interviews and is never hired. Here you have a guy overflowing with potential to pick and choose from the many talents he has but his tardiness is limiting his potential. What a waste right?

I know a friend of mine whose book smart. He was given scholarships for all the schools he attended. This was back in the day when we were still struggling college students. He got a part-time job at a reputable consulting firm and within a matter of months, the company was so impressed with his work, he was offered a full-time position. Mind you, he was a full-time college day student prior to this full-time employment offer. He accepted the job offer, was making really good money by our standards as college students, so much so he reduced his classes and became a part-time evening student. Eventually, due to the stress of the job, he dropped out of college altogether and worked with this company on a full-time basis. After a few years, the company let him go. So, here he is, didn’t complete his education, felt like he was too old to go back to school and settled for a mediocre job. He never got to apply himself nor walk in his potential. He became a pessimist, always had a sarcastic answer and was a damper to be around. All that excellence in his school work halted. Scholarships dropped, opportunities missed, potentials laid aside.

My dear sisters, you meet a guy, you see he has potential. Mr. Potential should not just possess potential, he should be walking in his potential and making every effort to maximize his potential. When I say he should be maximizing his potential, I mean he should be actively improving/sharpening his potential. You can’t be maximizing your potential if you still use the same methods you used ten years ago especially in this day and age of technological advancement. You will know when a guy is maximizing his potential. He is continuously striving to improve himself and constantly pushing himself to be better.

I decided to write this article because there are so many articles, bits of advice and guides on how to be a good wife for your husband, how a woman can keep her home, how a woman can please her man, how a woman can blah blah blah to/for her man. Talk about it being a man’s world huh? This article specifically is written for women.To look before you leap into that relationship with Mr. Potential because Mr. Potential may potentially become a bone stuck in your throat that you can’t potentially spit out.