FROM UNDERDOG TO TOP DOG!

On Wednesday, we discussed how belief and mindset can help you overcome an underdog moment. If you missed it, please check out the post.

While some circumstances are beyond your control, belief in yourself and a strong mindset are always within your grasp.

Here's the question to consider: When you have an underdog moment, or if your company feels like the underdog in your industry, how will you close the gap and overcome it?

Here's a quick example: The above image shows an offensive football formation. Focus on the positions of X, H, Y, and Z. These can sometimes be wide receiver positions. For those unfamiliar, wide receivers are the players who typically run routes and catch passes.

When a wide receiver joins a new team, they usually need to learn the offensive game plan quickly and often focus on either X or Z positions. In my third year in the NFL, when I joined the Kansas City Chiefs, I decided to learn all four wide receiver positions.

If you know football, you understand the time commitment and sacrifice required to achieve this. While my teammates slept, I put in extra study work.

This effort paid off as I got more opportunities in practice and preseason games.

When someone got hurt, I could fill in at any of the four positions, which increased my chances to prove my abilities.

As a result, the Chiefs' coaches began to see me not as a 5'10, 157-lbs liability but as an asset. I was able to close the gap, make the team, and go on to have a long NFL career.

So, I ask again: What are you willing to do to start closing the gap and eventually overcome it?

• What are you willing to sacrifice?
• What are you willing to work on?
• What are you willing to add?
• What are you not doing that you know would make a difference if you started?
• What do you see your competitors doing that you are not?
• What weaknesses do you see in your competitors that you could exploit?

Find the gap, take action, and go from underdog to Top Dog!

If you feel my keynote, "Winning As An Underdog," would be a good fit for your next corporate event, visit JJBirden.com