How to Reach Your Fullest Potential (in Life and Business)

Ever heard of Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft?

Well, let’s just say that back in 2014, Microsoft was well, struggling hard. Their market shares were down, they had a not-so-stellar team culture, and they simply just lacked innovation overall compared to their competitors.

When Nadella took over, he knew things had to change. And, so you know what he did? He started with himself, focusing on empathy and humility.

He listened to his team and customers and made sure everyone had exactly what they needed to succeed.

Under his leadership, Microsoft completely turned things around. They introduced new features and products, like AI and OneDrive. And they made a huge acquisition: LinkedIn, for $26.2 billion. Yep.

In this episode, you’ll learn how aiming for your fullest potential serves everyone around you and how to apply my framework, the "three Ps of reaching YOUR fullest potential”, to your business.

Click play to hear all of this and…

(00:00:01) The truth about reaching your fullest potential.

(00:01:05) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and how it relates to business and personal growth.

(00:03:14) How Satya Nadella made Microsoft profitable again.

(00:04:13) Why you should intentionally seek discomfort.

(00:06:14) The value of surrounding yourself with a diverse group of people.

(00:08:15) What it means to practice intellectual humility.

(00:14:44) How your own personal growth can impact the experience and satisfaction of your clients and customers,

(00:18:07) How to sell to the highest need in the hierarchy.

(00:20:26) The three Ps of reaching your full potential.

(00:21:26) My action step for YOU.

For full show notes, visit:

jasminestar.com/podcast/episode416

Transcript

Jasmine Star (00:00:01) - It's a. Welcome back to The Jasmine Star Show, a place where we discuss business mindset and everything you want to live a life you deserve. In this episode, we are focusing all on you because to become the best leader, CEO, business owner or strategist that you could possibly be, it all starts with you 100. You are in the pursuit of reaching your fullest potential. And that's exactly what we're going to get into today. The flow of this episode is going to go a little something like this. We're going to talk about the journey to reach self-actualization, how reaching your fullest potential helps you grow your business, and how it serves your customers and clients well, and a framework that I like to call the three PS of reaching your full potential. I'm probably going to try that again, you know, all the time, all the time. We're also going to end with an action step on what I believe is the first, best step in helping you reach your fullest potential. Okay, I have a question.

Jasmine Star (00:01:05) - Do you remember maybe from college or a past job learning about Maslow's hierarchy of needs? Like maybe you didn't, but I had this intro to psychology class, and I'm going to explain it all to you right now and how it relates to your business. Picture a pyramid divided into five layers. Needs located in the lower pyramid, like the base of the pyramid, must be satisfied before needs higher up in the pyramid can be met. Now the bottom of the pyramid is psychological needs like food, water, warmth, rest. Next up in the pyramid is safety needs like security. So this can mean having a safe environment, financial security, job stability, even access to health care. Feeling safe allows you to focus your energy on personal growth rather than survival. This means that you can't truly feel safety if you don't have things like food or water. That's lower on the pyramid. Now, in the middle layer of the triangle is belongingness and love needs. This means having meaningful relationships. It can be like intimate or platonic, like it can mean making connections or being a part of the community.

Jasmine Star (00:02:10) - I want you to think of this as emotional nourishment that helps you reach the next levels. Now we'll pause here because you're like, whoa, Jasmine, this is a business podcast. Why are we talking about nourishment and needs and relationships? Oh, I'm going to explain exactly how they're interrelated with how your growth as an entrepreneur mirrors this exact pyramid. So stick with me because we're almost at the top now. The next layer is the esteem needs. This is the need of feeling prestigious or feeling accomplished. Now think about it. According to Maslow, you likely won't feel successful if you don't have real relationships in life. Just below, as you ascend up the pyramid, you can't reach the top of the pyramid unless everything else is intact. He states that you must have the bottom layers of the pyramid in order to ascend into the next level. Now, speaking of the very top of the pyramid that just like tiny little, very, very tippy top, that's called self-actualization. This is when you're actually arriving at your fullest potential, living your truest, truest, authentic life, and pursuing your passions without limitations.

Jasmine Star (00:03:14) - Well, studies show that less than 1% of people have actually achieved self-actualization, meaning that over 99% of people have not reached their fullest potential. There's a good chance you're listening right now and you have not reached your fullest potential. And this statistic? There is no mean to discourage you. In fact, I want to encourage you and show you what's possible and available for you. Brian Tracy says it best. He says the potential of the average person is like a huge ocean and sailed a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled towards some great good. End quote. So how do you start in this journey? Right? Like how do you do these things that lead to business growth? We're going to talk about it on three levels. Number one, the feeling, the needs of your own personal development and leadership. Number two, fulfilling the needs for the customers and the clients you serve. And number three, selling to the highest need that self-actualization. And y'all, that is where the gangsters dwell.

Jasmine Star (00:04:13) - Okay, starting with your own personal development in leadership, your business will only grow as much as you do. In fact, a good testament of this is Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft. When he took over Microsoft in 2014, they were facing intensely challenging times like declining market shares, lack of product innovation and has, like a side note, when you have competitors like Apple and Google, lack of innovation, that is just not an option. And they were even criticized often for their bureaucratic culture and that team that totally lacked collaboration. So when Nadella came on board, he needed to change a lot, a huge change. So guess what he did? He started with himself. He focused on developing his own skills like empathy, humility and learning. He's actually famous for saying a quote that says, quote, you renew yourself every day. Sometimes you're successful, sometimes you're not, but it's the average that counts. End quote. He became known for listening to his team and customers and creating a culture of collaboration.

Jasmine Star (00:05:11) - He spent his time helping employees learn and. Adapt to new technologies. Hello. This is a little thing we talk here on the on this podcast about the growth mindset. Under his leadership, Microsoft completely transformed like they did a complete 180. They developed AI features and OneDrive. If you're not familiar with it, a lot of corporate companies use OneDrive, and they were once again a top player in the industry. I think it's safe to say that Nadella saved Microsoft, but did he do it alone? No, of course not. But because he continuously aimed to reach his full potential, he inspired and empowers other people to do the same, which drove organizational change. So enough about him back to you. As a leader, your personal development journey directly impacts the growth and the success of your business. Here are three things you can think and do today to help you reach your fullest potential. Number one seek discomfort. Purposely seek out opportunities that push your current boundaries. Whether it's taking on a new project or having a difficult conversation.

Jasmine Star (00:06:14) - Yeah, like you're actively saying, I'm going to go out and I'm going to do things to purposely shake it up. Stepping into discomfort creates growth and confidence in resilience. And the only way you do this is through experience. So don't just wait for things to come to you. Go out and seek them. When I think about like pursuing discomfort, I applied in 2022 and into 2023. This program called Latino Business Action Network, and I knew that pursuing it, I was pursuing discomfort because the program took place at Stanford University, and I would be flying up there twice for full three days. But the program itself was over three months. And then once I had to, like, embrace the discomfort of being at Stanford University in a group of people and business minds who I had never met before. On the first day when we started the program, they told us, you're going to have to commit 10 to 12 hours a week on doing homework and watching the live trainings and watching videos and participating with other people.

Jasmine Star (00:07:19) - And I have to tell you, I thought to myself, where am I going to find 12 hours in my week? Like I already felt so spread thin, but I made the commitment to get uncomfortable. Getting uncomfortable meant for me, having a conversation with my husband and my business partner, and I said, I have committed to being to the best of my ability, a present mom. And if I do travel up north and stay there for weekends at a time, are you willing to travel with me? Our daughter was two years old at the time. In my husband said, for this time period, we're doing everything together. And he committed. And it was the active pursuit of Uncomfortability because I was uncomfortable being at Stanford, uncomfortable spending 12 hours a week, uncomfortable networking and collaborating with people, uncomfortable learning how to be a mom of a two year old and straddling the line of fully being present, and then also being able to find work. It was the pursuit of uncomfortability that showed me, hey, look at what you're capable of.

Jasmine Star (00:08:15) - It showed me how determined I can be, and as a result, I built a powerful network. I received a top class education, and I showed my daughter her future college campus. Let's go Stanford. I mean, I have to tell you, we would go up there on these weekends and we stayed at this hotel and it was like a little it was warm. It was happening during the winter. And so it wasn't warm, I should say. But this hotel had a pool, and we had stupidly promised Luna because we live in Southern California. And so we just think, oh, all of California is just this warm and toasty. And so we said, oh, there's a pool. We're gonna go to a pool. Well, we got it there. It was cold, but because we were true to our word, we said she can go into the pool. It was heated ish anyway. And so while she was there, they would come and they would pick me up after my school day.

Jasmine Star (00:09:01) - And then we would walk the Stanford track and, you know, bless our hearts. Like, if you were to see my daughter, you might think it's a little too early to tell. She was two years old. But I was like,, maybe she has two left feet. We're not quite sure yet, but we had her on that Stanford track and we're like, we're running. We got videos, we got photos. I walked her through the main campus. We took her to the Stanford bookstore, and we bought her a sweater. We bought her a t shirt in one, like, in every size. We bought her a little cat that has a scarf with Stanford on it. Like, we're basically trying to indoctrinate her because I don't want her leaving too far from school. I was like, you can go to college, you know, like an hour flight away. Anyway, that's a side note of being uncomfortable. But if I'm going to be uncomfortable, I'm going to show my daughter what it means to be uncomfortable, too.

Jasmine Star (00:09:45) - And I feel very fortunate that we pursued that. All right, let's get back to the second thing. That's point number two is to build a diverse network. I want you to surround yourself with people from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Building a diverse network exposes you to new ideas and ways of thinking, and this expands your understanding and your creativity as a leader, because it does not and should not at all look the same way as you build your business. Because every business and every business owner is really different. I have to tell you the first time that diversity was really exposed to us. I was four years old and my dad was a part of a church, and there was a group of people that wanted to travel down to Mexico. Now, if you live in Southern California to get to the Mexican American border, it's maybe two hours from LA, two to 2.5 hours from L.A. so this group, we would be going every three weeks. And my dad had told my mom, I really want to take the girls.

Jasmine Star (00:10:45) - When he refers to the girls, it's me and my twin sister, Bianca. It's like, I really want to take the girls to Mexico with me. And we were four years old. We would travel with my dad every three weeks to an orphanage called Colonia Deluxe, and it was in like the Baja border area, and this orphanage was in the hills of nothingness. So just think of like shanty towns. These are places that were built with just like tarps and blankets. And there was an orphanage there, and there was all of these kids who were in a concrete building without a roof. They just didn't have money for it. So my dad got a group of people and he would take us down. And I sometimes think, like my daughter now at the time of this recording, is four years old and I'm like, my dad took me and my sister and just would we just ran around at the orphanage with all the other kids. And that's where I learned most of my Spanish. Now, I would say that my Spanish is not very good, but it was so formative.

Jasmine Star (00:11:35) - And one of these things that I now appreciate as a business owner is that it framed my childhood perspective on what having and wanting really was, having and wanting, because I always talk about my childhood and I talk about how we very much struggled. My dad would work like four jobs. Food was always like very difficult to come by, except for the fact that food in comparison to orphans in Mexico, how hard it was come by. Everything was relative. When we said like, oh, we had to like shop at thrift stores for our clothes and for our toys. I didn't actually think it was like all that bad, because when you watched orphans not having anything, when we were watching and engaging with kids who had toys and things of that nature, when we were in Calexico with these kids, like we were playing with goats, I am not I can't even tell you that when we were going out there and my dad was building out the orphanage, it was like a cinderblock building that didn't have a roof.

Jasmine Star (00:12:37) - So we were sleeping under the stars, but with walls, if that makes sense. And because it would get so cold at night, the animals had to be brought in. So we were sleeping in a concrete building with a cow and goats. So just imagine the smell. All the kids, all the adults in one concrete building without a roof. And as a kid, I would think this is adventure and this is interesting and this is how the world exists outside of my tiny little bubble. Now, as an adult, I aim to listen to diverse podcasts, read books from diverse authors, and invite a wide variety of guests on this podcast. Because I want different backgrounds, I want different stories. I want different perspectives shared because I know how valuable it was in shaping my view of the world as a child, and so I hope that my passion for building a diverse network infuses your passion to discover your own diverse network. Okay, so just as a quick recap, number one was seeking discomfort.

Jasmine Star (00:13:42) - Number two was building a diverse network. And number three is to practice humility, specifically intellectual humility. This means recognizing and accepting that you don't have all of the answers. And there's always something more to learn. Making this shift is really going to create space for curiosity, collaboration, and collective problem solving with your team. And this is when companies truly thrive and reach their fullest potential. As cliche as it sounds, the ego stands in the way of allowing this to happen. Nadella for Microsoft he says it quote, don't be a know it all, be a learn it all. Say it louder. Just say it louder one more time. Okay, so now that we've talked about how to reach your fullest potential, that helps you as a leader, let's talk about how it serves your customers and clients. Now it's kind of like that adage in when you're flying is like, you have to put on your oxygen mask first before you can help somebody else. This is the same reason why helping yourself reach higher levels in Maslow's hierarchy.

Jasmine Star (00:14:44) - Helping yourself get to self-actualization is only when you can help somebody else do that too. So when it comes to serving your clients and customers, let's focus really well on number one. When you're humble enough to listen to your team, your clients, your customers, your community members, whoever, it will result in fresh ideas, improve products or services, and a better overall experience for your customers. Number two, you'll make decisions from a higher place. This means that you're staying ahead of industry trends, and you're identifying more innovative solutions for your customers and your clients. And then you get to solve their problem using more efficiency. Okay, all of these things are playing into serving them better. And number three, a business owner who is developing themselves is better able to understand and prioritize the needs of the customers. Now, I might be like going out on a limb here, but I'm going to say that your product or service helps your customers or your clients live happier, healthier, and more successful lives in some way, shape or form, right? So let's talk about how aiming to reach your fullest potential as a leader directly impacts the success and satisfaction of your clients and customers.

Jasmine Star (00:15:52) - Now, who comes to mind here for me is Michael Hyatt. Michael Hyatt is a former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, and he's now an incredible entrepreneur, and he's incredible author. And he struggled himself with productivity and time management. So he understood the challenges of a lot of people when they faced as they were striving for success and reaching their goals. But instead of letting his challenges deter him, he embraced these challenges as opportunities to grow and learn. Hello, do I mention here again growth mindset y'all? This is why I'm so passionate about talking about this on the podcast, because everything that I have learned, probably over the last 4 to 5 years has really focused on entrepreneurial growth mindset. So I get to share what it is that I know. Let's go back to Mike. His personal development journey is 100% reflected in his resources and his products, his books, his podcast, The Full Focus Planner, which aligns daily actions to long term goals. Like he was able to do this because he went through the hard work and faced his own challenges to reach his full potential.

Jasmine Star (00:16:52) - And finally, let's talk about selling to the highest need in the hierarchy. Let's go back. So we're talking about how people like Nadella and Hyatt, they're using growth mindset, and they're talking about figuring out themselves, and they're figuring out how to serve their customers. Now we're going to get to this third part. This selling to the highest need on the hierarchy. That pyramid, that very tippity top. Remember how we said it was self-actualization? Let's go back and focus that 99% of people haven't yet reached self-actualization. And this right here, y'all, this right here is like, listen, listen, listen, I'm tapping the mic. This is an often missed opportunity because it means that this need remains unfulfilled for most of your potential clients. Okay. I'm going to give you an example. Let's say a fitness coach typically focuses on selling their services by emphasizing how they can help their clients improve their physical appearance, gain confidence, and boost self-esteem. This approach aligns with satisfying the esteem needs of clients, according to Maslow's hierarchy, which isn't a bad thing, but many people are past this need.

Jasmine Star (00:18:07) - Unlike self-actualization, to shift the messaging towards selling self-actualization need, the Fitness Coach could reframe their messaging to focus on how their program not only helps clients lose weight and look better still catering to the esteem need, but also helps them achieve a higher level of personal fulfillment, reach optimal health, and live a life to their fullest potential. Ooh, do you see how selling to self-actualization, which 99% of people have not reached yet, is targeting a market of aspiration? You can now use the same offer, change the messaging a little bit different and sell to an entirely different customer. Yo, I feel like I need to take a deep breath because I love this trash. Okay, so here's an example. And when I say trash, we were like, that's so rude. I could say another word, but it's like I just choose trash because it just lights me up. Like, this is the stuff I live for. Okay, so here's an example of their pitch before and after the previous approach that focuses that could be.

Jasmine Star (00:19:07) - This fitness program will help you transform your body and boost your confidence. You're going to feel better about yourself and achieve the look you've always wanted. Okay, the revised approach that focuses on self-actualization could be reach your fullest potential and live your truest, best life with my fitness program. Beyond finding the best physical appearance, I'll help you discover a deeper sense of purpose, vitality, and fulfillment. This program isn't just about changing your body, it's about transforming your entire life. Oh, here the fitness coach sells to esteem and self-actualization, which is the ultimate transformation, y'all. This shift in messaging will resonate more deeply with ideal clients who are seeking not just physical transformation, but also deeper journey towards achieving their fullest potential and fulfillment by just shifting the level of need you're selling to who you can get. More people that say yes to your product or service, while at the same time getting them in the mindset of deep transformation and the mindset people have when they are using your product matters. It is the difference between them self-sabotaging the use of it or embracing it.

Jasmine Star (00:20:26) - , okay, so now we all know it wouldn't be an episode of The Jasmine Star Show without putting this into a little framework. So here we go. The three PS of reaching your full potential. And let's just make it easy, okay? I know you watch a lot of videos, a lot of social content. You see a lot of ads, maybe even watch TV. Maybe you're just scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. So this framework is actually going to get you into taking action. So the three P's to reaching your full potential all begin with the letter P. This episode is brought to you like on Sesame Street by the letter P. Push perspective and purpose. Push. This is stepping outside of your comfort zone and actively seeking growth. This could involve taking on new challenges or experiences, learning new skills or anything that seeks discomfort. Perspective. This is all about developing self-awareness and having a growth mindset. Honestly evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and embrace the idea that you can always learn and improve. And lastly, P purpose.

Jasmine Star (00:21:26) - Identify what truly inspires you and align your goals with your core values. Understanding your purpose fuels your desire and keeps you focused on achieving your full potential. Okay, so before I give you an action step, let's do a quick recap of everything we went over today to help you contextualize it. First, we went over Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and five levels, which are physiological. Actually, let's pause here. Did I say it was physiological? I hope I did, if I didn't, that's the first one. That's the base of the pyramid. Physiological. Then it was safety love or belonging esteem. And at the top was the self-actualization. We also talked about how less than 1% of people have actually reached self-actualization. We went over the three ways that you can aim to live your fullest potential and be a better business owner or a leader which are seeking discomfort, building diverse networks and practicing humility. We talked about how you, as a leader, can create better solutions when you're reaching your fullest potential. And finally, we talked about how selling to the need of self-actualization can increase your sales, create a better user experience, and create better results with your customers or clients.

Jasmine Star (00:22:38) - Okay, now it's time for your action step. Think of where you are on the hierarchy of needs, and consider one small step that you can take today to move closer to self-actualization. Whether it's learning a new skill, seeking out different perspectives, practicing humility every step, no matter how small, it really counts. Thank you for listening to The Jasmine Star Show. If this show or episode has helped you in any way, I would be so grateful and honored to share your journey with me. However you're listening. Take a picture. Share it and tag me on social media. I see and read every single tag and story and I personally respond to them. I love seeing how you consume the podcast because by you sharing, it encourages other people to join not just your journey, but mine, and then have us all realize that together as a community, we are making differences in what it is you are doing and how we are changing the world by putting out our products and services to help people live better lives.

Jasmine Star (00:23:41) - You are making a difference. Thank you for making the work. Making the work? Yes, making the work. Doing the work, creating the work. Just run with it. Thank you for being here and listening to the Jasmine Star Show. It's an honor and a privilege. I.