The Fenn Treasure was a cache of gold and jewels that Forrest Fenn, an art dealer and author from Santa Fe, New Mexico, hid in the U.S. Rocky Mountains. After diagnosed with Cancer in 1988, he was inspired to hide a treasure chest in an outdoor location with the purpose of creating a public search for it, as he felt he did not have long to live. He wrote a book with a poem giving a clue to its location and thousands of people participated in the search for the treasure. The treasure was uncovered in 2020 and he died shortly after.

Potential is like uncovered treasure, but how often do we search in earnest to uncover our potential?  We talk about “potential” as if it were a fixed treasure buried inside us—either maxed out years ago or not currently relevant. Especially at mid-career or halftime of life. Research tells a different story: potential is not a static quantity but a capacity that grows or shrinks based on beliefs, practice, motivation, and environment. That’s good news. And it doesn’t take hiking in the Rocky Mountains or ten years of interpreting mixed clues to discover and expand on our potential.

 In this day of technological Growth of AI and other tools, it means there are tools designed to discover more of your current potential based on much of your past experience and skill set. It means you can craft and design your days, your work and your learning so that more of your latent ability expands and becomes visible. This article distills what science and seasoned practitioners have learned about turning untapped potential into meaningful performance, with pragmatic steps you can start this week.