What's your track record for success? Before I was a young professional, I was just young.
Every time I wanted something in life, it took some establishment of growth in my credibility with others and myself.
At 15 my parents promised to help pay for my first car if I committed to play one sport a year, every year of high school. So I chose cross country. The easiest sport in the world that was nearly impossible to get kicked off from. Or so I thought.
My mid-semester report card shows up and coach tells me, "Don't bother coming to practice, until you fix this." I'm not passing three of six classes.
To tell you this was the only problem occurring in my life at this point would be a lie. Everything in life for me was HARD.
I can't adequately describe the emotion of dissappointment I felt in myself. I can handle all the detentions and trash pick up for being a wise ass. But once it becomes public knowledge...I break down.
Like all teenagers, I desperately want the acceptance of others.
I go to tutoring, pick up my grades, get my attitude in check, make the Varsity cross country team, and
make my parents, coach, and most importantly myself PROUD.
I learned THREE life altering lessons from these events:
1) I can do anything with the help of others. My worst class, Geometry, went from a D- to an A- with after school tutoring from Mr. Soto. The teacher who gave me enough time to figure it out.
2) Expecting the best in others allows their best to show up. If my coach had said, "You're no good for this team. You must be some type of idiot to get grades like these" I probably would quit. Rather he leaves me with a choice..."fix the grades, or leave." No judgement. Only choice.
3) Self Credibility is the key to maximum achievement. By getting results, and honoring my commitments, trust in myself grows. Trust is the catalyst to confidence. Confidence is the precursor to action when uncertainty is present. Maximum achievement requires ones ability to force growth, over come challenges, and move through uncomfortable spaces in life. Self-credebility is the starting point.
5 ways to create Self-Credibility?
1) Make commitments, and honor them...even when you have an excuse not to.
2) Complete something you start, even when something "more interesting" pops up.
3) Clean something that's dirty. The act of improvement stokes the fire of achievement.
4) Create a habit that will make you more successful...even one you've given up on in the past.
5) Do something you've been avoiding.
Matthew Kelly is one of my favorite writers who states that successful people "believe the future can be greater than the past, and THEY can do something about it."
Self-credebility and self-confidence cannot exist in the same space as self-judgement from past mistakes exist.
Although I often find myself saying "You've tried this before and it didn't work then. What's different now?"
What moves me through these places of self-defacation (you read that right), is to DRAW STRENGTH from past achievements and accomplishments when "the future became better than the past."
Self-credebility (private win) -> Public Credibility (public win) -> Street Cred (worldly influence)
Honor yourself today and take a step into that future life you want by creating credibility in yourself.
