Don’t measure them, believe them

Who are the guys in the picture? If you know them, read their stories. If you don’t, you should know about them. Most of us have one thing in common with these guys. Want to know that? Read this. Trust me you will be inspired.

That’s not a common sight at 2 AM in the night. I was with my friend, driving back home on my bike after a midnight dinner. As we moved in close, we could see them clearly. Three cars, a Porsche, an Audi and a Mercedes. All SUV’s, parked side by side, blocking the road. I was clueless and looked at my friend.

He said, “It looks like they are racing”.

“That’s some entertainment then. Do you want see it?”, I asked.

“Why not”, he replied immediately.

We stopped and got onto the footpath. Leaning against the wall that’s adjacent to the footpath, we waited for the race to start. The cold wind bothered me a bit, but I wanted to find out which car wins.

As the boys took time to start, I and my friend stood admiring the cars.

“I love the Audi”, I said.

“Look at the Porsche dude, it makes a statement isn't it?”, he asked.

“I don’t know about making a statement, but the Audi looks awesome”, I replied without taking my eyes away from the Audi.

Suddenly, the engines were throttled. We looked at each other. There’s no one to count numbers or fire a gun for the start. Though they can’t hear us, we sat on the edge of the footpath and counted, one, two, three, go. As we did that, engines were throttled again and then they took off. As they passed each street light, cutting through the cold winter wind, the cars glittered like gold. At the start, the Porsche was quick but my eyes were locked onto the Audi, it moved like a beast. In seconds, all the three cars were out of sight but we kept looking at the end of the long road, expecting them to return. Silence prevailed. They never returned, they were gone, but the picture of three beautiful SUV’s racing remained in my mind.

“That was awesome, isn't it?”, asked my friend.

“I will buy that one, one day”, I said.

“Which one? Audi”, asked my friend.

“Yes!!”, I replied firmly.

“Dude, the low end model of it costs 30 times your annual salary”, said my friend.

“At least, the thought is free, right?”, I asked.

“Yeah, but you joined your first job few months back, how are you planning to save so much?”, inquired my friend.

“I don’t know, let’s throw a thought at life and see if it makes it a reality”, I replied.

Next day, by the time I was in office, most of my friends knew about my last night’s wish. It was a funny thought for them.

“How are you planning to buy an Audi?”, few asked me during lunch.

I had no answer so just shook my head and smiled it off. It’s been 8 years since then and I am still laughed at many times, but I never understood why it’s hard to believe in big things.

Why is it hard to believe that people who start small can achieve big things?

Shouldn't we think about buying a car that costs 20 — 30 times our annual salary?

Shouldn't we think & talk about changing this world?

Why should our thoughts be limited by our current capabilities and circumstances?

I never understood.

But, I understood one thing, everything in this world happened and will happen because of a thought, isn't it?. The greatest discoveries, adventures, revolutions, ideas and everything else that the mankind has either achieved or destroyed were conceived as simple thoughts. Right from making the wheel to trading on the wall street, everything evolved as a thought. Though the thought is so powerful and is the source for everything, it’s useless until it’s believed. Everyday, so many thoughts spring up in our mind, how many of them are actually believed?

Most of us filter our thoughts. Don`t you? Will you believe if I say that you can be one of the richest persons in the world? How easy is it for you to believe if I say that you have the potential to change this world? Will you even listen to me if I say that you can create history and will be remembered for centuries to come? Now close your eyes and run these thoughts again. Did you believe in them? If yes, you have a wonderful belief system. But, if you smiled and found it hard, then you just filtered your thoughts. Your belief system out rightly discarded them because these thoughts are beyond the limits you set.

You allow only those thoughts that you can believe and you achieve only those you believe in.

But, why do the “big thoughts” get filtered? At some point in life, most of us convince ourselves about our capabilities, skills, strengths and set our limits. Think about it. What we believed as children seems difficult to believe later on. What we believed in college becomes difficult to believe ten years out of college. We look around, try things and fail, get convinced by others and create a filter about what can be and cannot be achieved. We set our limits. We start measuring our thoughts, big, small, believable unbelievable, crazy and foolish. Any thought beyond those “limits” fails to pass our filter and is ignored. Few call it maturity but I call it mediocrity. We live and die with this filter, and before we die, we realize that a person like us believed in the same exact thought and achieved it. But, by then there’s no time to expand our belief system and give it a try. Let me tell you stories of few people who were like you and me,

The first one to attend college:

He was the first person in his family to attend college. His father worked as a truck driver. As the family was poor, he saw an escape in sports such as baseball, football, and basketball. After graduating, He started working as a salesperson for Xerox Corporation. After changing jobs and rising through the ranks, he joined Starbucks as Director of Marketing but later resigned and opened his own store ‘Il Giornale’. Two years after being an entrepreneur, he bought Starbucks, for $3.8 million. He is Howard Schultz.

The 16 year old immigrant:

He moved to US from Pakistan at the age of 16. His first job was washing dishes for $1.20 an hour. While attending college, he joined Flex-N-Gate automotive company. After graduating, the same company recruited him. After few years, with a loan of $50000 and savings of $16000 he started a truck bumper manufacturing and body repair works company. In two years, he bought Flex-N-Gate from his former employer. Today, he owns the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham Football club. He is Shahid Khan. He featured in Forbes Magazine on the cover depicting him as the face of ‘American Dream’.

There’s an endless list of such people around the world, Dhirubhai Ambani, Oprah Winfrey, Ralph Lauren, Micheal Jordan, Chris Gardner, George Soros, Bill Gates and many more. All these great people tell us about one thing, Belief. At some point in their life, they too had a thought that was beyond their belief system. But, what they did then changed their lives. Instead of discarding their “big thought”, they expanded their belief system and allowed their thoughts to sustain and become a reality. If someone can do it, you can do it. Forget logic’s that tells you about what is not possible without even trying. You don’t need a business plan first to believe something. First believe it and you will slowly figure out a plan to achieve it. That’s how it happened with all great people.

Napoleon Hill said it in one line,

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve”

Let your great thoughts live, don’t measure them, believe in them. After all, they belong to you.

Everyone in the picture were once like you and me, started small. Thought not blessed with a great start , their belief made them what they are today.

In the picture from top left : Chris Gardner , Howard Schultz, Amancio Orteza, Shahid Khan and Jan Koum

If you liked the story and want to share your perspective, feel free to comment. The author will reply.

Like the author — NowInspireMe

Follow the Author on twitter — Follow — Raju Namburi