Belief it is almost everything QBQ

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Those with many a bite mark on their tongue have truly flipped the swtich.John G. Miller

Personal AccountabilityLeadershipManagementServiceParenting

Belief: It’s (Almost) Everything!

Posted by John G. Miller on April 9, 2013

Ever had a bad day? How about a week of them? Let’s define a “bad day”:

• You’re in sales and a prospect promised they would buy, then stunned you with this painful line, “Oh, meant to call you … we’ve decided to go a different direction.” Ouch.
• You work in the home office and your project was almost completed when the boss came along and told you to start over and redo it. Bummer.
• Your performance review went fine, but you didn’t get that pay increase you were counting on. Man, that stinks.

Of course, one option is to quit. But we can’t do that every time something lousy happens, right? So what keeps us where we are, employed by our current organization even when things don’t go according to plan?
For some the response is “my mortgage and car payment.” The better answer is … BELIEF.

My dad, Jimmy Miller, was head wrestling coach at Cornell University from 1949-1975. In 1967 he was invited to lead the United States’ Pan American team. The “Pan Am” games are held one year before the Olympics and involve only North and South American countries.

Coach Jimmy Miller (top left) and the 1967 United States’ Pan American Games wrestling team.

That summer my father traveled to Winnipeg, Canada weeks before the family to hold try-outs and practices. My mom, three older siblings, and I made the 1,535 mile drive from Ithaca, NY in time for the competition. I was nine. And, I admit, I slept through the finals on a back row of wooden folding chairs in some downtown Winnipeg arena!
I wish I could have that moment back.

If I could, I’d sit in the front row, wide awake, and cheer on eight outstanding guys. And how do we define “outstanding” in this case?

The U.S. team swept the competition. Each man won a gold medal. Not one silver or bronze amongst them!
If my dad was still with us—using his natural ability to reduce the complex to easily understood terms—he’d tell us these guys were winners because he believed in them and they believed in themselves and each other.
Yes, they also needed God-given talent, skills, and conditioning—but without BELIEF none of those things matter.

Not only does BELIEF get us through a bad day, it’s the proverbial wind beneath a winner’s wings.

So, back to our current day work lives. If you have the ability to “keep on keepin’ on” in the face of disappointment and frustration on the job, then you possess intense belief in:

• Your organization, never making a disparaging remark about it to a family member or friend when asked, “How’s work going?”
• The products/services your organization provides the marketplace because you know they add value to people’s lives.
• Your colleagues, boss, and upper management.
• Yourself. Not cocky, prideful, or arrogant. Just confident. Your job and your talents are a comfortable match.

If you don’t possess belief in these four areas—you gotta problem!
So, reducing the complex to the simple, be honest:

Do you have the wind of belief beneath your wings?

Your answer makes a difference.
Personal Challenge Questions:
Of the four belief items listed above, where is my belief strong and where is it shaky? What can I do to strengthen my belief where needed?
We’d be honored to have you share below. Comment away!