Have you ever wondered why some individuals are able to consistently achieve at such a high level? They are always pushing forward and hitting their goals. They seem to be doing more with less, while the rest of us spin our wheels and don’t make as much progress. The same is true with organizations. It might be comforting to believe they have some advantage over you, when the truth is that they have become an elevated version of themselves.

This is the opening paragraph of my upcoming book, Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others.

A reality that most of us don’t want to face is that we’re living below our innate potential. We know we can be better, we often just don’t know where to begin or where to focus. I say this from firsthand experience.

I spent a large part of my own life underachieving. Everyone told me I could do better, but no one showed me how or why. However, from pain comes purpose and this experience led me to seek these answers myself. Eventually, I arrived at the concept of capacity building, a framework that not only changed how I lead, but how I live my life.

In its purest definition, capacity building is the method by which individuals seek, acquire and develop the skills and abilities to consistently perform at a higher level in pursuit of their innate potential.

High achievers across all spectrums of life and business have found continuous ways to build their capacity at faster rates than their peers and use that extra capacity to stay ahead and achieve at the highest level; it’s how they elevate.

They aren’t better than you, nor do they have some innate advantage (even though that may be comforting to believe). The reality is that they have done the hard work to become an elevated version of themselves.

There are four core elements of capacity building which are interdependent and govern virtually all aspects of self-improvement:

Spiritual Capacity

Spiritual capacity is about understanding who you are, what you want most and the standards you want to live by each day.

Intellectual Capacity

Intellectual capacity is about how you improve your ability to think, learn, plan and execute with discipline.

Physical Capacity

Physical capacity is your health, well-being and physical performance.

Emotional Capacity

Emotional capacity is how you react to challenging situations, your emotional mindset and the quality of your relationships.

Capacity building is similar to developing a muscle; it doesn’t happen overnight. I may be inspired to lift a heavy weight, but only after weeks of consistent commitment, work and incremental improvement will I have built up the strength and physical capacity to do so.

The same process exists across all four elements. Inspiration is valuable, which is why it’s a focus of Friday Forward, however, it’s often not enough to affect real change. Real change requires follow-through and commitment.

Over the next few weeks, I am excited to dive more into the concepts of capacity building and share the principles around them with you. I believe they will help you build your capacity to achieve at a level you never thought possible and, in doing so, develop your ability to help others do the same.