Have you ever had something you wanted, something pretty much out of reach, and then that day comes when you believe it’s possible? Maybe it was a job you wanted that you never dared apply for. You’d read the qualifications, and it just seemed a bit unrealistic. But then that day comes when you take a leap of faith. You ace the interview and get the job. Or you get a step closer and they ask you to apply again next year.
Several times in my life, I was able to advance my career by taking that leap of faith. My mom always used to say, “If you say no to yourself, they don’t have to.” And I found that a lot of those job descriptions were a wish list – something dreamed up by a manager and polished up by a Human Resources recruiter with no real idea of what the job entails.
It’s like that with a lot of things in life. You see something you want, and you begin compiling your own list of qualifications. Halfway through, you decide there’s no way you’re even remotely qualified for this, so you give up and move on to something else. Or, worse yet, you just stay right where you are.
But if you took a little time to meet somebody who has already reached your goal and asked them a few simple questions, you may find some of those qualifications (roadblocks) you put in your way are really just speed bumps. And in some cases, they’re just lines on the road. After a while, you begin to realize maybe you can do this.
Why? Because you’ve done something remotely similar before, and that came out well. Maybe you made a few mistakes along the way, and maybe you failed completely. But you learned from that experience and know what you’d do differently this time. Success may not be guaranteed, but it’s a lot more likely than you thought.
Napoleon Hill said whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Well, the “conceive” part is easy. You see something you want or come up with a brilliant idea for something you want to accomplish. The more you think about it and begin to visualize success, it becomes a dream. Let that dream become a burning desire, and you’re on your way.
But, that’s not enough. The second part of that equation is to believe. It’s not enough to want financial success, or even to visualize yourself enjoying the rewards. You have to believe you can actually achieve that goal. You have to see yourself going through all the steps required to get there. And you have to know that, regardless of any setbacks, you will succeed.
That can be tough if you don’t have any successes to look back upon. But you do. We all do. An infant sees you holding their bottle and begins to believe they can do it. Then they see you pick up toys, and that doesn’t look so hard. One day they realize they have the ability to move a few inches across the floor, so they crawl. And, based on all those successes, they decide maybe they can walk.
It’s all part of what I call the habit of success. When you’ve learned to play Chopsticks on the piano, it’s easier to believe you can learn the next song. After a while, you’re playing with both hands, and not even looking at the keys. Then, one day, you hear somebody playing the works of Beethoven and decide that’s your next goal. Why? Because you can.
The habit of success is all about building on those seemingly small wins. After a while, taking that next step or reaching for new heights is no big deal, because if you’ve learned one thing in life, it’s that you can succeed. You’ve proven it time after time. And that, my friends, is the basis of belief. Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
Believing in yourself is as simple as reflecting on all those wins in the past, both big and small. And it means understanding that, what may have seemed like a failure at the time was simply a learning experience that’s made you that much stronger today. Focus on that, and you’ll begin to realize there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.
That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!
© 2019 Dave Glardon – All rights reserved
Dave Glardon 