Do you BELIEVE?

Thank you for your emails and DMs (for my Twitter followers). As noted in my last post I had to help a friend get over some troubling news recently. Your dose of Oakley-dokely is back again ...

The Los Angeles Lakers will play Game 1 tonight against the Denver Nuggets. This morning I heard a Charles Barkley say in an interview that the Lakers are talented players who are focusing, hence, surviving, on talent. Sir Charles said that the Lakers could play with such intensity in every game, and in every minute, and definitely show on everyone’s radar that they are the best team in the NBA. Unfortunately Sir Charles believes the Lakers aren’t playing with such intensity all the time. What struck me was that Sir Charles said that the Lakers will play like this with the series with Denver, since the Lakers have Game 7 at home. Hopefully not, as I have a feeling the Nuggets are going to bring their A game to Game 1 in order to set the tone. Do you think the Lakers believe in providing fans a victorious Game 7 sudden death moment at home, or do you think the Lakers believe in stretching the series to Game 7 to save themselves for the championship?

The focus today is on a perceived safety net versus belief.

Goals are one thing, but taking actions that produce results to reach those goals are another thing. It is important to set goals to gain focus in daily life. Do you find yourself setting foot to achieve something that was easy to accomplish to score mini-wins? I hope so, as instant gratification is something we don’t take too lightly. However, when was the last time you set a goal that you truly believed was worthwhile, and that you truly believed would be a bear to accomplish? If I caused you to draw a blank for a bit, do you owe it to yourself to look beyond the safety net ready to catch you when you slip?

If you knew that there was a reward you desired to receive, would you be all in? Picture a loved one, someone you really cared for. OK, do you have that person in your head? Come on, this will work better if you do. You can choose a spouse, child, friend, pet, etc., but choose someone you couldn’t live without. OK, good; now we're ready.

If I told you that I will give you $10,000 in fifteen days if you can sell x number of widgets, would you accept the challenge? Nine times out of ten, the average individual will accept the challenge. What have you got to lose, right? At the end of the challenge say you don’t complete the challenge successfully. What happens? You go on with life as if nothing happened. You're back to your same routine. Now let’s change the challenge a bit. I will still give you $10,000 in fifteen days if you can sell x number of widgets. Would you still accept the challenge if I told you that you will not see that loved one EVER again should you not successfully complete the challenge? Nine times out of ten, the average individual may NOT accept the challenge now. Why? Why bother taking a challenge if you do not possess the belief that you will succeed? Do like to fail just for kicks?

The person that possesses such a strong belief will not rest until the job is done. The point here is that money is not even the object anymore. The challenge could’ve been for 10,000 pats on the back. The point is having conviction in the actions you take, making your actions count for something. Look around you in daily life and observe those who believe in themselves. Do you find yourself marveling at their belief and accomplishment? Is it time you believed in YOURself? When you believe strongly in yourself, that is powerful, as that belief guides you through sustained actions, which help you reach your desired outcome. It is then and only then that others will also believe in you.

Charles Blondin of France was the greatest tightrope walker of his time. In the 1850’s he strung a tightrope from the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls to the US side, and crossed it, in front of 10,000 onlookers. He yelled, “I am Blondin! Do you believe in me?” Of course the crowd roared, “We believe! We believe!” He then asked the crowed if they believe he could cross back to the other side, this time carrying someone on his back. Again the crowd yelled, “We believe! We believe!” Then Blondin asked the crowd what that person would be that would ride on his back as he crossed the tightrope. The crowd became silent. In the end one individual did step forward to volunteer, and in a long and tense journey across the tightrope, they both successfully made it across. The entire crowd believed, but only one TRULY believed.

Do you want to go through life waiting to land in your safety net? Would you prefer to live life exercising your belief in yourself? Make your actions count and TRULY believe in yourself.

Oakley-dokely!

Actions Determine Results

Many individuals have talent they keep hidden and unused. Perhaps it is from that DNA coding that determines if you are one who wants to get things done or if you are one who doesn’t want to make mistakes.

Actions determine results. Make the mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Eventually you’ll run out of ways of doing it wrong, or better yet, people see you venturing out of your comfort zone and they themselves may have the same innovative idea and you can collaborate on reaching your shared goal. However, if neither one of you takes action on your talent (of coming up with an alternative process or coming up with an innovative design), who else will know this talent exists? Actions determine results.

A story I that comes to mind is that a popular activity for tourists in Switzerland is mountain climbing, or “high-altitude hiking” (Talent is Never Enough, by John Maxwell). A group of tourists would sign up for such a package and venture up a slope early morning with their guide. The goal was to make it to top of the mountain by mid afternoon. As they were novices to this altitude they would stop at the half-way house to catch their breath, have lunch and prepare for remaining part of the slope that is more rigorous than the preceding stage just completed. Of course at this point some will opt for the warmth and comfort of the house and remain, while the others venture out to finish the trek up the hill. The ones who stay would party and have a good time. As the light gets darker these people tend to make their way to the window to see if the ones that continued the hike are making their way back yet. Then the room gets quiet … because the ones that stayed would realize they will never be in that part of world again, and they missed an opportunity. When will they ever be back to climb that mountain again?

Do you want to stay in the warmth of your comfort zone and watch others do what you intended on doing? Believe in yourself and your potential. Act on your belief and make the most of every opportunity.

As a father of two boys I routinely find wisdom in the innocence of my sons’ actions. I saw this realization of belief at my sons’ flag football practice this past Saturday. This is Joshua’s second season, so he’s throwing passes, catching on the fly, and running plays. Justin is five years old and the smallest member of the team. Justin would bat the ball down, let his face catch the ball, etc.; yet he knew from watching Joshua last season that he, too, would enjoy playing this season. When the running patterns were practiced, each of the players took turns running to the end zone while being chased down. The seasoned players ran fast and had some moves, but eventually their flags were pulled. No one was successful reaching the end zone. Justin’s turn came up. With his short stubby legs that had football cleats mounted on the ends, and his goal to reach the end zone just like all the other players, none of the older, taller, faster, seasoned players could catch him. Justin reached the end zone on every running play he had the ball. He wasn’t the fastest or the slyest; he was the shortest and knew not to stop unless someone pulled his flags. In due time, he’ll catch on to the catching part; in the meantime, he is quite determined and successful in running into the end zone. Everyone on the team thinks he’ll do just fine.

Don’t try to become someone you’re not. Each one of us is unique. Take an inventory of your talent(s), and take action. Believe in yourself … because if you don’t, who will?

Oakley-dokely!