If you're reading this, you probably spend a lot of your time investing in the growth and success of others. Whether you're a leader, a parent, a teacher, or a coach, you are the one who sees the promise and potential, even when the evidence is nowhere to be found.

And let's be honest, it can be exhausting.

I work with amazing people like you - great people, who are in the perpetual pursuit of potential. I know firsthand, that it can feel like you're the only one still rowing when everyone else has put down their oars. You're constantly swimming against a current of limiting beliefs and terms such as "can't," "never," and "won't." You are the one who makes the non-negotiable promise that Better is possible.

Here is the Good News: There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You are not simply an optimist; you are an essential catalyst in the human ecosystem. You are a Potential Junkie.

The Crushing Weight of An Undeniable Truth

Some days it can be hard to get up. Some days you can feel the crushing weight of disappointment from skepticism and all those counterarguments. You know what it feels like to be bumped, bent, bruised, or burnt by one or more past belief investments that didn't pay off. This is often what pushes a Potential Junkie to become what I call a "Cautious Traveller: someone who used to believe deeply but is now on the fence, waiting for a little bit of proof, to avoid further discouragement.

But your journey, and the journey of everyone you serve, begins with a fundamental truth:

Belief = Effort = Outcome

Generally, the amount of genuine effort people put into any task, relationship, or commitment is a direct reflection of the depth of their belief in its possibility. If they believe success is improbable, their effort will be hesitant, half-hearted, and inadequate, which guarantees the poor outcome they secretly anticipated. They are at risk of creating a negative self-fulfilling prophecy.

The only way to guarantee a preferred outcome is with maximum belief and maximum effort. As a Potential Junkie, you break the negative cycle for everyone else.

It's a Heart-Set, Not a Mindset

For you, this isn't just a mental attitude; it's a deep, felt conviction: It's a heart-set. You believe so deeply in the unseen potential of others that you invest your belief and effort upfront. You behave as if the positive outcome is already guaranteed. This means you commit to nurturing, encouraging, and supporting actions before anyone else sees a shred of proof.

Why? Because in environments where hope has been stripped away, people are stuck. The system, and the vulnerable people in it, simply can't wait. The cycle of Belief = Effort = Outcome needs a catalyst.

That catalyst is you and the fuel is your courage. It is the willingness to act without proof.

The Potential Junkie's Essential Role:

• You Start the Momentum: You are the historical risk-taker. You are the first to go over the mountain when others said, "We can't." Your courage makes the initial leap.
• You Create the Evidence: Your consistent, intentional actions generate the first Evidence of Better - those real, tangible, small signs of growth and capability.
• You Bring Others Along: This initial effort is the fuel that elevates hope for everyone, including those Cautious Travellers who used to be Potential Junkies. This evidence is the counter- current that allows them to safely re-commit more effort and shift their belief - an important shift back, to a Re-Belief, that drives increased effort and better results.

You Are Not Alone.

Your constant leaps of faith, you're swimming against the current. It is hard, but your hard work is essential.

I can relate. There are days when the effort to sustain belief feels impossible, and the weight of disappointment is heavy. But that's why this message is so important for me as well as all Potential Junkies and Cautious Travellers out there.

Your consistent, visible effort becomes the undeniable evidence that someone else needs to finally trust in you, and more importantly, to trust in themselves. Their internal self-belief often originates from the outside: from the unwavering belief that you project onto them.

You need to remember that while your courage begins the cycle, the long-term work requires others to solidify and sustain the growth. Potential Junkies must stick together.

Potential Junkies Need Each Other.

When one is feeling disappointed, disillusioned, or demoralized, it is up to others to carry the load and keep pushing until the others find their spark and their strength again.

Your role demands that you surround yourself with other Difference Makers who share your heart-set and unwavering conviction. You must validate each other. Your perpetual leaps of faith deserve to be fueled and celebrated so that you don't end up bumped and burnt yourself.

Great things happen because of your courage.
The world needs you.
Thank you for being a Potential Junkie.

Stephen de Groot is President and CoFounder at Brivia. He is the author of Responsive Leadership (SAGE, 2016) and Getting to Better: A New Model for Elevating Human Potential at Work and in Life (Fall, 2025).

To learn more about Stephen, his work and the Brivia approach click HERE.