I met someone recently who reminded me of the story of Kung Fu Panda. Po, a clumsy panda, is unexpectedly told he’s the Dragon Warrior. Believing he’s the chosen one, Po trains the entire movie to be worthy of the legendary Dragon Scroll, but when he opens it, it’s blank. Realizing the Dragon Scroll’s message is that belief alone can change who you are, Po regains his courage and saves the village.
The idea that belief can prompt results is a powerful one. Take starting a company: it’s often an incredibly ambitious and unrealistic prospect at the start. But if you have a billion-dollar vision and you’re able to sell people on that vision, you’ll raise your first funding round. That round won’t be enough to build your billion-dollar company, but it will get other people, and you, to believe in it more. That belief will help you raise your next funding round, and so on, until your billion-dollar vision is realized.
Belief isn’t the only component to success, though. Belief without hard work is wishful thinking, while hard work without belief is life without purpose. You need to create a vision of greatness, and then relentlessly execute on that vision.
The truth is that there is no secret ingredient to success: if anything, the secret ingredient is belief. You might think you’re not smart enough, don’t have the right background, or don’t know the right people to accomplish your goals. But in reality you just have to believe you can accomplish your goals, and you’ll become someone who can.