Henry Ford said:
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.”
We all have dreams. We all have goals. On this episode I want to talk about the two critical ingredients that helps us realize those dreams.
Ever since I was a kid, I had big dreams for myself. My best friends always make fun of me even till today because even back in elementary school, I would write little goals for myself in my homework pad. Little sayings like “Get over 95 on the French test.”
This begs the question. We’ve all got dreams and goals.
What is the THING that stops us from actually achieving and realizing the dreams we have for our lives?
Studies have shown that only 8% of people achieve their new year’s resolutions.
Nearly 75% of people stay committed to their goals beyond THIRTY DAYS.
So what’s the deal?
Why is it that we all want bigger things for ourselves and yet we struggle to fulfill them?
And more importantly, what is the thing that sets apart those that are successful — vs —- those keep failing to mobilize on their goals?
Some might say oh “they were born with it”
Some might say it’s luck.
Some might say it’s just hard work.
All of those things are part of the equation to achieving the success you want for yourself, but aren’t the critical thing.
In my experience, the two things that set apart those who succeed and mobilize on their goals and those who do not are BELIEF and DISCIPLINE
First, let’s talk about belief.
Ever since 1886, professional runners were trying to break a world record called the 4-minute mile.
Scientists not only said it was impossible to do, they actually warned that attempting to do so might harm the human body!
But in 1954, on a cold day in Oxford, an athlete named Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile record coming in at 3 minutes and 57.9 seconds. Just two months later, Roger Bannister broke the record AGAIN except this time with one more person: John Landy. Just a year later, three runners broke the four-minute barrier again in just a single race. After Roger Bannister, over the last half century, more than a 1,300 runners have conquered the four minutes for the mile barrier — one that had been considered hopelessly out of reach.
So from 1886 to 1954, no one could do it, and then all of a sudden as soon as Roger Bannister proved that it could be done — an onslaught of athletes started to crush the record.
What changed?
It’s not like Roger Bannister accelerated human evolution. It’s not that the rules of physics changed. What was the one thing that made it possible for all these athletes to all of a sudden start breaking the coveted 4-minute mile barrier?
Belief.
They saw that it could be done. That it was possible. Even more so, they saw that there was a model for achieving it. Today, even high school mid-distance runners are able to do the 4-minute mile. All because Roger Bannister proved that it could be done.
You see. Hard work, Luck, Discipline, Planning — all of those things are necessary to succeeding in your goals, but none of that will work if you don’t have Belief. Belief in your goals comes from deep understanding in how it can be achieved. Belief in your goals comes from visualization in your mind that want you want IS achievable. And in turn, Belief in your goals drives massive commitment and action.
When you don’t have belief, when you don’t even believe that you can turn your dreams into reality, you don’t take action, you write it down, you set a new year’s resolution, but you never take action.
Roger Bannister created belief in his mind for himself. Others that followed quickly after him benefited from his belief and said “IF HE CAN DO IT… SO CAN I” and they modelled what he did.
There are essentially TWO ways for you to instill belief in yourself for your dreams:
The easiest way for you to establish belief for your goals is to find others that have done it and figure out how to model them.
If you can’t find others, because what you’re going after is SO unprecedented, then you have to get to a depth of understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish and make it SO real in your mind — that you can start to believe it and turn it real in your life.
Once you’ve established belief, then comes discipline. This is the second thing that is critical to those who achieve.
For the FIRST TIME Roger Bannister accomplished the 4-minute mile, think of how many times he failed. In fact, before he set his sights on the 4-minute mile goal, he failed at even winning in the Olympics!
In our Unstoppable Life Planning guide (linked below), we teach you how to use tools like Unstoppable Sundays, and 45-day challenges to drive consistency and discipline in achieving your dreams and getting to a proactive life.