The Power of Belief

This post is inspired by "Above The Line: Lessons in leadership and life from a Championship program" (here). The author is former Ohio State University head football coach Urban Meyer. This book chronicles Ohio State's 2014 championship year when they won the very first College Football Playoff championship. But it also gives a lot of information about what goes into creating an elite program like Ohio State's.

The Power of Belief

My slogan during my campaign for Division Director was "Believe and Achieve". I truly believe that you can't achieve ANYTHING without first believing that you can achieve it.

Belief is EXTREMELY important to a leader. They have to believe in themselves. They have to convince others to believe in them. They have to convince others to buy into their vision of where the organization can go.

But it all starts with belief in yourself. When you believe in yourself, you find a strength of will within you. Strength of will isn't the commitment to start; it's the commitment to continue. It's getting back up when you've been knocked down. It's saying, "I WILL!", when the going gets tough.

The going WILL get tough when you're the leader. People will doubt you. You'll even begin to doubt yourself. But if you can continue believing in yourself, continue having the strength of will to continue, nothing can stand up to you.

Don't lament the challenges you face as a leader, welcome them. You're only as strong as the challenges you've overcome. Brick walls (challenges) are there for a reason. They're there to stop those that don't want it badly enough. DO you want it? DO you want to succeed? How badly?

Finally, belief is a force multiplier. It starts with you. Then, one of your team begins to believe. Then another team member sees that and THEY begin to believe. Before long, together, you're an unstoppable force. If you think the power of belief can't accomplish miracles, remember the 300 Spartans?

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