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!