Win! Win! Win! Who Do You Think You Are?

“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.”
The above quote is one I came across a couple of weeks ago, saved it in my phone, and in looking at it today, realized it is a key component to winning, especially for me.
Thinking about the conversations when I have been asked, ‘After all the years in business, what were your greatest wins and losses?’ And after a short pause, they added, ‘Did you ever believe it was all possible?’ When I stopped to think about those times, my realization was I didn’t have any answers, because none of that was really top of mind.
I do not spend time thinking about what the company was like 15,20 years ago, or focus on highs and lows. It’s all just momentum that builds on itself day in and day out. I have never really planned a course for where I’m going, I just know I want to keep going. The reason today’s quote jumped out to me is that I have never thought I wasn’t capable of doing something. Sure, there have been big challenges, obstacles, and moments where you don’t know how you are going to get around them, but my focus is on finding a way. If you have to worry, don’t worry about what you can’t do, focus on what you can do – it’s been the biggest driver for me.
“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not,” is attributed to Denis Waitley, a respected American motivational speaker and author on high-performance human achievement. In searching his writings, another quote jumped off the page: “Success in life isn’t only for the gifted or the privileged or those with a high IQ. Success is totally dependent on three things: persistence, determination, and a positive mental attitude.”