Are You a Resourceful Person?

If you polled a group of people and asked them to identify what resource would help them to be successful, you would get a wide array of answers.

“If I had more money…”

“If I had more time in the day…”

“If I had the right equipment…”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people explain a failed business by saying, “We ran out of money,” or “We didn’t have enough staff or resources.” There may be some truth to those statements; however, I would argue that the biggest reason you didn’t reach your goal is not due to a lack of resources but a lack of resourcefulness. If we’re not careful, a lack of resources can become an excuse to make it “okay” that we are stalled or unproductive.

Tony Robbins once said, “Resourcefulness is our greatest resource.”

Let’s define resourcefulness.

What is resourcefulness? Resourcefulness is the ability to tap into the resources that are available, and it is a skill that can be learned. Resourceful people have few limitations in life. There’s not much they can’t do or accomplish. The resourceful person will do whatever it takes to acquire the necessary resources to accomplish the task, no matter what it is. It may be improving your relationship with your spouse or children, starting a business, or fixing a challenge at work–when you are resourceful, you figure out how to make “it” happen.

How can I become a resourceful person?

1. Play the mental game.

You have to believe to your core that everything is figureoutable. In her book by the same title, Everything is Figureoutable, Marie Forleo says, “Every single problem you’re facing now has already been figured out by somebody else.” We just have to find that person who figured it out (the internet is wonderful for information), and do what they did.

The problems or challenges we are facing in any circumstance of our lives are not unique to us. Someone has experienced them and made it through, so why not learn from their successes (or failures)?

2. Show tremendous initiative.

Take action. Massive action. It’s easy to think we’re taking a lot of action or working hard, but in reality, we could be giving a lot more initiative and hard work. We’re stuck, and we are in a position that will require a lot of hard work and movement.

As a pastor, I counsel a number of people who will say, “We need help. We’ve tried everything.” When I double down and ask, “Tell me what you’ve tried,” the response is often, “We went to a counselor…” That’s not “trying everything.”

Have you read every book on the topic? Have you sought advice from every person who would have knowledge on the topic? Have you watched every YouTube video on the subject? If you believe everything is “figureoutable,” then you’re going to hunt until you find that resource that will help you solve your problem.

3. Be insanely creative.

Even if you have a strong mental game and have shown tremendous initiative to find the answers, you still have one of the greatest resources between your ears–your brain. Use your brain to analyze the situation. Voltaire said, “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.” Before you give up, spend time thinking through your circumstance and see if you can figure it out.

4. Tap into other people.

Everything you need to know is inside the head of another person. There’s gold in other people, and the only reason you don’t have that gold is because you haven’t gone and gotten it. We can gain knowledge through conversations with people or by reading their books.

This isn’t about using people to get what you need out of them. Albert Einstein said, “Try not to become a person of success. Try to become a person of value.” If we make it a point to add value to people all the time, then you will become a desired person. People will want to be in your space, and, in turn, they will want to provide value to you.

What about you? Are you a resourceful person? Do you believe no matter what obstacle is in your path, everything is figureoutable?

For further discussion on this topic and others, be sure to check out the Breakthrough Podcast.