Papillon was condemned to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island. His meaningless existence was further frustrated by a recurring nightmare. Repeatedly, he would see himself standing before a harsh tribunal.

“You are charged,” the leader would shout, “with wasting your life. How do you plead?”

“Guilty,” was the only right answer. “I must plead guilty.”

The prisoner Papillon found out the hard way about the meaning of a wasted life. Yet, many of us create our own self-imposed prisons by failing to act on own our potential for a wide variety of reasons or excuses. What have you been missing?

Try different techniques. Avoid self-limiting attitudes. Expose yourself to new learning and mentoring situations. Get to know those around you a little bit better. Risk failure. Stimulate growth experiences and bask in the results.

Failure to capitalize on our individual gifts and abilities leaves us wasted and unfulfilled. So prisoner or free, the decision to grow or stagnate is entirely up to you.