When it comes to bringing change, you absolutely gotta believe!
I have always liked cheering for the underdog.
I don’t know why,?Friends.?It goes way back.
Maybe it all started with that feeling of absolute elation I had as a kid when I sat awestruck in front of our old console TV in the family room having watched the?US Olympic hockey team beat the Russians?in the 1980 Olympics.
It was one of those moments early in my life where I witnessed first hand that?anything?could be possible.
The feeling has stuck with me since in my personal life and professional life. Whether it was being the smallest guy on my high school football team working hard every off season and summer to win a starting spot to always seeming to gravitate toward those career opportunities that offered a key role in changing an existing industry, I have purposefully gone out of my way to find that “dragon to slay” as a former boss put it to me.
Let me tell you, sometimes the dragon slaying biz can be a bit harsh – I have scars. It’s almost never the safest move. And, trust me, it usually is not pretty (not once have I been awarded with style points). But it is just how some of us are wired.
Pretty sure some of you are wired that way too, so you know what I mean.
Others might be thinking you have been playing it safe for so long, it might be time to get into the dragon slaying business yourself. Maybe you are just thinking it is time to shake things up a little.
Whatever it is, if you are taking on a huge challenge that is going to bring a shift, innovation or change to the status quo in?any capacity, my hat is off to you. Change is hard.
Here are a few key things to consider as you set out to slay your own dragon or defeat your own tested nemesis*:
- You must believe it is possible. Every single day.?You first need to convince yourself that you have figured out a better way that no one else has and then stick by it. You must be relentless in this belief – unfettered by negative talk from friends, family, competitors, even yourself. It has to be an “all in” thing too,?Friends. It can’t be a “sometime” thing.?The minute you doubt it, the game is over.?You need to believe you can do it. No one who has ever accomplished anything big has been able to do it without belief.
- Find evidence that what you are doing is working.?This can be hard to do, but it is HUGE in keeping you motivated. Celebrate the small wins. Look for those nuggets that show progress. Grab on to anything, no matter how small it may seem in the big picture, that tells you that you are succeeding. Maybe out of 20 things you have tried, 19 didn’t work. But that?one thing did. See? You are on to something! Keep an eye out for the little things that show evidence that you are right – this will stoke the flames of belief you need to keep going. Trust me, if you keep at it and you believe, over time you will start doing more things right than wrong.
- Convince others to join your “army.”?You believe it can be done and you have evidence it can be done. Now, go relentlessly?evangelize the hell?out of it and get other people to join your fight. Sure, you might be able to slay the dragon yourself, but it is a lot easier if find other believers that all want to enlist in an “army” that is fighting your same fight. This can be potential co-workers/founders, customers, partners, mentors, coaches, advisors, or investors. The community of people you build around you is key – and they all need to see you are always 100% committed to the fight. In return, if you trust them and listen to them, they will lift you up when you are down, open doors for you when you need them to be opened and help you avoid problems along the way. Creating lasting change requires a community of believers – it cannot be just one and you will not be able to do it on your own.
- Stay focused.?You cannot allow yourself to be distracted by anyone or anything. Don’t worry if someone else is saying they are doing the same exact thing you are doing. They aren’t doing it YOUR WAY, so it is not as good. Ignore those things that might make you waver in your belief – put blinders on and stay focused on what is ahead of you. You will make mistakes. You will experience failure. You will have setbacks. Yes, learn from them, but I am telling you that?none of that sh*t matters.?By the way, this is where things can get sticky for people who are later in their careers and want to go chase dragons – they have mortgages, families, risk profiles and a lifestyle they want to maintain. These can create distractions that make it hard to keep going in the face of adversity. Keeping focus is almost as important as believing.
- Hate to say it, but you are going to need to find some luck.?Think about it – have you seen anything truly great make it without some sort of luck? You can’t map out everything or make the stars align to lead you to success. Sometimes that has to happen for you – or at least there needs to be an opportunity that gets created that leads to something good. Maybe a competitor pisses off a customer and they want to stick to them. Maybe a really big company comes into the space you are creating and spends a lot of money on marketing but cannot execute. Maybe a college roommate knows someone that knows someone at a company that might be able to help. The good news: if you believe, have proof that you are on to something, you have an army that is fighting alongside you and you can maintain focus, usually you will create your own luck.
*NOTE: it should go without saying that you first need to establish a framework or battle plan to help you execute on your vision. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or detailed – but it needs to exist, you will need to execute on it, and you will absolutely need to be ready to course correct when/if necessary. It kind of makes all of the above null and void if you don’t have it from the start.
Well,?Friends,?I hope this catches at least one of you in the right moment and gives you some valuable food for thought. And if you need some extra motivation, just rewatch the?final minute of the USA-Soviet hockey game.
Even though, like me, you may have seen it a thousand times, when Al Michaels does the count down and shouts:
and then you see the USA players celebrating, how can you NOT get goosebumps and be transported back to a simpler time when you believed anything was possible?
This was adopted from the April 16, 2022 intro to my weekly "Friends of Dave" newsletter, which is accompanied by interesting links I curate each week. If you would like to see past full issues, please click here?>>>?https://www.getrevue.co/profile/davidafrankel
