Do you seriously believe you can exceed 200% of quota?
Do you seriously believe you can be the CEO?
Do you seriously believe you can get into that account?
Do you seriously believe you can raise 100 million dollars?
Do you seriously believe you can get a job with Warren Buffet?
Do you seriously believe you can have your bosses job in a year?
Do you seriously believe your idea can change everything for your company?
Do you seriously believe you can be the top sales rep?
Do you seriously believe you can grow your company 100% year over year?
Do you seriously believe you can help Bill Gates achieve his goal to end malaria?
Do you seriously believe you can . . . ?
Good you should because it’s better than the alternative and . . .
believing that you’re not good enough.
believing your ideas aren’t good enough.
believing it’s not your place.
believing you have to wait your turn
believing others are better than you.
believing it’s too hard
believing it’s unrealistic
believing you can’t get’er done.
believing it’s not your job.
believing you’re a dork.
believing you’ll fail.
believing you’ll be judged
believing it’s not the right time
believing whatever bullshit you keep telling yourself.
We’re conditioned to know our place, to follow the rules, to set “realistic” goals, to temper our enthusiasm, to pay our dues and this conditioning stunts our vision of what could be, what we believe we can accomplish. It stunts our growth.
But . . .
It’s not good enough to just think we can. We must do. If you believe you can make 200% of quota, go fuckin’ do it. Don’t think about it. If you believe you can be the CEO, then go kick ass and become the CEO. If you think your idea can help Bill Gates end malaria, then fuck ya, go end malaria.
The key is, don’t wait for permission. Don’t just talk about it. Don’t tell everyone how great you are, just go do it. Don’t wait for others to tell you it’s OK. Listen to the voice in your head and do it. Stop thinking and go.
When we believe we can do something, no matter how bodacious, it changes our outlook and our path. I’m gonna go corny on ya, but it’s true. If we aim high and fall short, we’re still higher than if we aimed low and made it. Almost everything I’ve accomplished in life came from some crazy belief that I could do it, even if I had no business thinking that big. I just didn’t know any better.
So yes, you better believe you can do that. The world has less and less tolerance for people who aim low, have cheap dreams and don’t take action.
I’ve learned my lessons over the years and I refuse to higher anyone or invest in anyone who isn’t trying to do bodacious things.
Believe it baby, then go get’er done!!!
Your essay is on target. Organizations should seek ownership, not compliance. I’m researching “compliance culture” as an educational phenomena which in my view is a bad thing because it doesn’t require a choice driven buy-in but rather an ostensible going through the motions and talking the talk. But more than that compliance culture evolves into an elaborate game whereby members of the organization learn how to “game” the system so they appear to be doing the right thing while they cut corners, do the minimum, and watch the clock. And, worse yet, many employees find the game only a starting point for lots of other passive-aggressive behavior that is not good for the organization. I don’t know if you are familiar with a work by James Fisher (1999) Six Silent Killers. Its a great read on the sickness of compliance culture. Dan Pink’s latest, Drive (2010) also hits this topic very strongly in his discussion of the importance of choice and engaging intrinsic motivation at work. In schools, compliance culture is truly the silent killer, and the game of school is played at every level from the student to the policy maker. If you can suggest any other reading beside Jim Collins please let me know. I’m Rich at wrich1273@hotmail.com.
Great comment Rich.
I will check out the “silent killers”
Thanks