You have not realized your full potential.

It is because you have not fully assessed ALL of the resources that could be at your disposal. 

You may be short on cash but 'wealthy' in terms of all the business resources you have. 

Most people feel that the term ‘resources’ refers to having money, which in turn can be used to ‘solve’ problems. 

Being resourceful is much more than just cash on hand. Here are 4 other areas you must consider thoroughly, in order to realize your resourcefulness potential. 

REPUTATION. What do other people think of you? This is a critical element. If you have a reputation of being honest, reliable, and an expert in your craft, people will want to work with you, because working with you gives an overall larger chance of success. This is why good businesspeople know to protect their reputation with their lives, because that is one crucial chip they cannot simply buy back.

RELATIONSHIPS. Who is in your network? You can meet almost anyone in the world within 6 degrees of connection. That means if you focus on building and farming and nurturing your network, you are connected to everyone in the world. Ridiculous as that may seem, this is how I have come about some key connections that have propelled my career forward. 

RECIPROCITY. Who owes you a favour? One of my idols once shared one of their tactics to getting things done. If they are hoping to get help from someone who they have helped in the past, they would respond to an old email that would remind the other party that they owe them a favour. Of course within that email they would exchange friendly hellos, and follow up with an ask. While this is a more overt way of asking others to return a favour, the point is to figure out who you have helped in the past, and whether they can return a favour. 

RETURNS. Negotiating with future returns. You don’t always have to negotiate with tangible goods and products you have right now. Entrepreneurs should understand this concept, as their ‘resources’ lies in the potential future returns of their business concept. If you can position yourself to be perceived by those relevant to your situation as having future potential to benefit them, they are more likely to lend a helping hand. 

How can you play the game of life without knowing what chips you have? Money isn’t everything, and most often it only plays a supporting role in a company’s or an individual’s success. 

Start counting your chips.