The Power of Belief: a personal story about a time when someone believed in me.

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped. ~ Tony Robbins

Note: This an excerpt taken from my book, Defining Influence; chapter 19 "My Personal Journey from There to Here: Creating the life I want."

It was 1995, and I was 25 years old. I was in Auburn, Alabama. It was around 2am. I had on old, dirty jeans, an old t-shirt, greasy steel-toed boots, safety glasses, and an old, dirty blue jean apron hung around my neck as I tried to stay clean. As usual, I was at work in the middle of the night when most people were home sleeping soundly with their families.

I operated a large drill press and a CNC lathe machining holes in steel parts. It was a dirty, boring job, but it paid the bills. I was in the middle of what would become a three month streak of working 12 plus hours a day for seven days a week without a day off. It was nothing new. I had been doing factory work nearly seven years since I initially started working in a production machine shop in 1988. Long hours and weekend work were a normal part of my life.

On that particular night, there was a corporate industrial engineer from our headquarters observing me. He was there to do what is called a time observation study. I was surprised. He could have done what he had to do on the day shift. I wondered, “Why is he here in the middle of the night? With me?”

Shortly after arriving, he told me Don Large Sr., the Plant Manager, had asked him to work with me because I consistently recorded high production. I had always seen productivity as a form of competition. To add a component of fun to the job, I loved the challenge of finding a better or faster way to perform the tasks. Continuous improvement was a hobby while at work and broke up the monotony of the long hours.

As I worked, the engineer observed me. He used a stop watch to capture my time performing various steps of the operation. After we got to know each other, he began to tell me about a conversation he had with Don about me. He said Don believed I had the potential to become more than “just a machine operator” if I would apply myself and get additional education.

The new visitor had no idea I had barely graduated high school because I did not attempt to apply myself. I regularly made the following comments: I will never go to college. I hate school. My goal was to graduate high school. I did. I’m done with school!

The comment from Don was surprising because I wasn’t a stellar employee during my first few years working at this particular facility.

I had joined the U.S. Marine Reserves in 1987 as an infantryman. I chose the infantry although my test scores would have allowed me to do something different. I graduated from boot camp on Parris Island, South Carolina, in December 1987 and went straight to infantry school at Camp Geiger, North Carolina, graduating in February 1988.

I was reactive and short tempered before I went through Marine training. I was much worse when I returned. I would easily get angry over little things in just a few seconds. I was my biggest obstacle. Lucky for me, I met Howard Hoyle in infantry school. When we returned home from our infantry training, he was able to help me get a job in a manufacturing plant where his father was a supervisor.

I was always very productive and got along with people for the most part as long as they left me alone. I was young and ignorant. I let people of all ages push my buttons. When they did, everyone saw the worst of my short temper. It was ugly, and I’m not proud of it. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had a lot to learn and a lot to unlearn.

I assumed my consistently high productivity was the only reason they had kept me. The “potential” Don saw in me may have had something to do with it too. I could not see my own potential. Either way, if they had fired me, I would have deserved it without question. Fortunately, they never did. They gave me chance after chance along the way. For that, I am grateful.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting with Don. He is now 80, full of energy, and doing great. He shared a story about a meeting he had with me while I was still struggling with self-control. At first, I didn’t remember the meeting at all. Then, it started to come back to me as Don started sharing the details.

Don explained I had been involved in several issues as a frontline employee early in my career under his leadership. At this point, it was time for him to take action. It was time for me to shape up or ship out. He called me and my supervisor into a meeting.

Don said he intended to be, and was, very hard on me in an effort to help me grow or go. He said he was very surprised and impressed by how polite I was during the meeting considering all he had heard about me and my short temper. Finally, he gave me a choice: resign or straighten up immediately. I chose to straighten up. He said, “Well, get out there and get to work.”

I did and instantly started to be a better employee. My integrity has always mattered. When I say I will do something, I do it. Don cared for me then and cares for me now. I could feel it then, and I could still feel it during our recent meeting. He’s a great person.

One interesting thing Don mentioned to me during my recent visit was a call I made to him one year after this incident. He said no one had made a call to him during his entire career like the one I made. I called him back exactly one year later on the anniversary of the meeting to thank him for giving me one last chance and believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I had called to confirm I had made the changes he requested and intended to continue to improve. Don was impressed. He still is.

On my recent visit, he mentioned telling this story many times, as recently as a few weeks prior to my visit. He said it left an impression. He felt I grew over the years and was a great team member. Thanks for believing in me Don!

Let’s get back to the time observation study. Throughout the night, this total stranger expressed his belief in me and continued to do his best to get me to see my potential, the potential Don had expressed to him. I rejected anything he said about going to college.

I did not plan on ever going. I knew who I was and what I wanted. I didn’t need anyone else, especially a stranger from an office in another state, telling me what I needed to do to advance in the company. What did he know about me? He knew what Don knew, “I had potential.” They knew it. I didn’t.

The engineer’s last name was Patel. I had never seen him before and never saw him again. I would love to share this book with him and thank him for his inspiration.

He has no idea how his words impacted me. This is why it is important to always take the time to slow down and connect with someone when you see potential in them. They may not see it in themselves. You never know the difference you may make. Thank you Mr. Patel! You inspired me to intentionally change my life.

We shook hands when he left, and I thanked him for his words of support. I thought it was just another night in the grind of factory work. But, something had happened. I started thinking differently. Don’s belief in me had planted a seed of possibility inside of me.

I began to ask myself many questions. What if I went to college? What would change? Should I do it? Could I do it? How could I do it? When could I do it?

I took action and enrolled in Southern Union State Community College the very next semester. I had decided to officially rescript my life. I was about to make a change.

We already live with many scripts that have been handed to us, the process of writing our own script is actually more a process of ‘rescripting,’ or paradigm shifting – of changing some of the basic paradigms that we already have. As we recognize the ineffective scripts, the incorrect or incomplete paradigms within us, we can proactively begin to rescript ourselves. ~ Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Click here to watch a great TEDx talk on "Redifining the Way We Believe in People"

FREE downloads available:

Click here now for a FREE download of the entire leadership principle-packed Chapter 11, "Get Out of the Way and Lead" from the first book in my Demystifying Leadership Series: Defining Influence. In this nearly 20 page chapter, I share about:

• Managing vs Leading
• Scarcity vs Abundance
• Formal Authority vs Moral Authority
• The 5 Types of Leaders
• Compare/Contrast 17 Manager vs Leader Perspectives

Click here to access the first 5 chapters of “Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines.”

• 1: I’m one of you.
• 2: I believe in you.
• 3: You’re in the perfect place.
• 4: Common sense is never enough.
• 5: There is an “I” in Team.

Note: I encourage you to be a river, not a reservoir. Please share my blogs with others if you find value in them. I believe in abundance and write them to help others become more effective, successful, and significant.

Make an impact!

Mack Story

My passion is to help you live with abundance, achieve success, choose significance, and leave a legacy. In other words, I want to help you make a High Impact !

Popular posts by Mack:

• The #1 Reason People Don't Reach Their True Potential
• The One Reason Lean Fails or Succeeds
• When Weak Leaders Choose to Follow Strong Followers
• 5 Levels of High Impact Delegation
• 7 Signs It’s Time to Fire Your Boss
• Hate Mondays? Stop Goofing Off on Saturdays!
• 7 Ways High Impact Leaders Use Conflict

Mack’s story is an amazing journey of personal and professional growth. He began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership. He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

Mack is the author of Blue-Collar Leadership Series, Defining Influence, & 10 Values of High Impact Leaders. He's an inspiration for people everywhere as an example of achievement, growth, and personal development. His passion inspires people all over the world! Order signed copies here.

Mack’s experience as a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Speaker includes an international training event in Guatemala with John as part of the Cultural Transformation in Guatemala where more than 20,000 Guatemalan leaders were trained.

Contact Mack at 334-728-4143 or [email protected] for Keynote Speaking, Corporate Training, Professional Leadership Development, Cultural Enhancement/Transformation, and Process Improvement.