The Intentional Growth Leader · Issue 1 · 5 June 2026
The Wall Between Where You Are and Where You Could Be
Why the wall is rarely your ability, and almost always your thinking.
A few years ago, walking through Montparnasse in Paris, I stopped when I saw this sculpture.
A man halfway through a wall.
Part of him behind.
Part of him already through.
One hand reaching toward what was next.
But somehow frozen in between.
I remember standing there thinking:
This is what growth feels like sometimes.
The space between who we are today…
…and who we have the potential to become.
Most of us experience this wall at some point in our lives.
Not a physical wall.
A quieter one.
The wall between:
Wanting change and taking action.
Knowing there is more within us, but not knowing where to begin.
Seeing possibility, but hesitating before stepping into it.
And when we find ourselves in that place, we often assume something must be wrong.
But what if we looked at it differently?
What if being stuck is not always a sign that something is broken?
What if sometimes it is simply an invitation to grow?
The wall is rarely our ability.
More often, it is our thinking.
The stories we tell ourselves.
The beliefs we have carried for years.
The doubts that quietly influence our decisions.
Sometimes the wall sounds like:
I’m not ready yet.
What if I fail?
What will people think?
Someone else could do this better.
I’ll start when the timing is right.
But the challenge is…
The perfect moment rarely arrives.
Confidence does not usually come before we move.
Confidence grows because we move.
Over the years, I have become convinced of this:
People have far more potential inside them than they realise.
Many people are not lacking talent.
They are not lacking ideas.
They are not lacking something valuable to contribute.
They simply have not discovered, developed or believed in what is already there.
Growth begins when we become intentional about moving forward.
Not dramatically.
Not perfectly.
Just intentionally.
1. Become aware of what is holding you
Every breakthrough starts with awareness.
We cannot change what we are unwilling to recognise.
Ask yourself:
What is really keeping me where I am?
Is it my circumstances?
Or is it fear?
A limiting belief?
An old pattern?
A story I have accepted about myself?
Awareness creates clarity.
Clarity creates choices.
And new choices create new possibilities.
2. Take one intentional step forward
Sometimes we wait for the big breakthrough.
The perfect plan.
The complete transformation.
But growth rarely starts that way.
It usually begins with one small step.
One conversation.
One decision.
One new habit.
One moment of courage.
The step that feels small today might be the step that changes your direction tomorrow.
3. Surround yourself with people who see your potential
Nobody grows alone.
We all need people who see something in us before we fully see it ourselves.
People who encourage us.
Challenge us.
Remind us what is possible.
I call these people CEOs.
Chief Encouragement Officers. 😀
The people who help us move forward when we feel stuck.
Find those people.
Spend time with those people.
And most importantly…
Become that person for someone else.
Because leadership is not just about how far we go.
It is about how many people we help move forward along the way.
When I look back at that sculpture, the thing that stands out most is this:
The man was not trapped.
He was moving.
He was reaching.
He was becoming.
And maybe that is the reminder we all need.
You do not need to break through every wall today.
You do not need to have everything figured out.
You do not need to reinvent yourself overnight.
You just need to take the next intentional step.
Because sometimes the smallest shift…
creates the opening you needed all along.
Reflection
What wall are you standing in front of right now?
And what is one small step you could take through it?
Intentional Action
This week, identify one area where you have been waiting.
Waiting for certainty.
Waiting for confidence.
Waiting for the perfect moment.
Then take one small step forward.
Because your potential is not discovered by standing still.
It is discovered through intentional growth.
Final thought:
The wall between where you are and where you could be may not be there to stop you.
It may be there to show you that you are ready to grow.
Are you growing on purpose, or by accident?
Twelve questions, about four minutes. An honest read on where you’ve quietly plateaued, and the one area setting the ceiling on the rest.
Take the Leadership Growth Check