Last week I had the opportunity to take a tour of Ozark Fisheries here in Morgan County, IN.  I am on the board of the Morgan County Leadership Academy (MCLA) that takes people from our community through a 10 month leadership program.  For our history day we toured Morgan County and learned about all the historical sites in the area as well as toured some prominent businesses in our county.  One of which was the Ozark Fisheries right here in our backyard.  It was a fascinating tour to see how they breed and raise Goldfish and Koi.  Ozark Fisheries is one of the largest fisheries in the country and has an incredible operation.  While we were learning about the process of Ozark Fisheries the man running the Fishery talked about how they control the size of the fish as they grow.  He said that fish will grow in size based on the environment they are in.  There is an equation that determines the size of the fish based on the size of the pond.  While he was explaining this I was amazed at the growth lesson that applies to humans as well.

We will only grow to the potential our environment allows.  If we place ourselves in small environments of opportunity and challenge we will only grow to that level.  However, if we place ourselves in a challenging environment that will push us to get better we will grow to higher levels.  Just like the fish can be limited on their potential by their environment, so we can put a limit on our potential by our environment.  Who and what you surround yourself with is what you will become like.  If you surround yourself with average, you will only become average, but if you surround yourself with the great, you will become great.  Many people do not reach their potential because they are not in environments that are challenging them to reach their potential.  It is easy to get lazy and just want to maintain where we are at when we should be pushing ourselves to be the best.  Comfort can easily lead to complacency.  When we are more excited about our comfort than we are our potential we miss out on life.

Surround yourself with bigger and better people and opportunities in order to grow to your potential.  If you are at the head of the class, you are in the wrong class.  Do not be the big fish in a small pond, become the small fish in the big pond in order to grow.  Take on challenges and opportunities to become great.  Step out into greater things that stretch you and your abilities.  All growth takes place outside your comfort zone.  You will never reach your potential if you are not doing things that push you beyond your limits.