If you watch Ted Lasso, you know about the sign above the door that reads “Believe.”
Having seen both seasons in full, I contend that this sign isn’t about blind faith that everything will work out in our favor, but about the need to believe in order to stay open to the possibilities around us.
Belief opens us up.
A lack of belief closes us off to those around us, to ourselves, and to opportunity.
I first experienced something like this very early in life, and I’ve shared this story elsewhere in my blog, so I won’t delve into it in depth here.
The short version is: I wanted a role in the school play and didn’t get it. But I believed that it was still possible for me to get a speaking role. I saw a way that might be possible, but it wasn’t something I could force to happen.
However, allowing for that possibility meant I was there and able to seize the opportunity when it happened. If I had shut down that belief, and ignored my intuition, I would have stayed home and missed out on a tiny window of opportunity that also taught me a huge life lesson in persistence.
Due to that formative event, I believe strongly in hanging in there until the last possible second, and sometimes even beyond.
Because even if that ship has sailed…you never know when a helicopter will arrive to take you instead.
You’re gonna beat that boat to its destination!
A few years ago, a friend of mine in my accountability group had set a goal to get into a show for the summer. When all the summer auditions were over, and he still hadn’t been cast, he came to the group and lamented, “Well, guess I didn’t reach that goal.”
I replied, “The summer isn’t over. You don’t know what might happen, so keep your mind open.”
A month later, a director called him to offer him a role. Someone else had dropped out, and he needed a replacement.
My friend came back and told me, smiling impishly: “You were right. The summer wasn’t over.”
The stadium is so full! Must be the first quarter…
Are you a Viking fan? Have you ever been to the Metrodome for a game?
I am not. And I have.
One single time, I got free tickets and went to a game. With twenty minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter, the friend who’d accompanied me to the game said, “Let’s go.”
He wanted to beat traffic.
It’s been my experience that Vikings’ fans pretty much always expect their team to lose, so if the chances of a win are slim, they don’t stay invested in the game.
Packer fans, on the other hand, tend to stick around.
Because we’ve seen plays in the final two minutes of a game that were SO incredible, you had to see them to believe them. And we don’t want to miss a miracle.
You might think, “Well, that’s just the fans. The players are still in the game, and they can’t leave.”
My theory is that this lack of belief by the Viking fans often infects the players which leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Those players might not be getting in their cars to leave the park, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t mentally checked out. Hard to make a hail mary pass when your wide receiver is already thinking about a hot shower, and your defensive line have all already started their post-game nap.
Now, it’s November, and we’re getting to the point in the year where holiday everything takes over our lives. Trips to visit family. Shopping. Planning. Cooking. Hunting (if you’re my extended family).
This is the time of year when everyone starts acting like the game is over…when it isn’t.
Is it really?
Even me, apparently.
Last week, I got a reminder about this.
At the beginning of the year, I set a bunch of goals. As usual.
And as usual, I’ve accomplished only a small…nay minuscule…fraction of those.
One of these goals was a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) regarding the amount of money I wanted to make this year.
Well, despite having my best voiceover income year to date, and even including other income, I’m still only about halfway there.
I mentioned this to my longtime friend and accountabilibuddy Katie Adducci the other day, and laughed it off, because at this point, I’d have to book about 100 more voiceover jobs in the next six weeks to get there.
So, I wrote it off as impossible and went on with my day.
That very evening, I got an audition from one of my agents that would pay almost the exact amount that it would take to get me to that goal.
Now, this is a national audition. I’m sure it went out to hundreds of voice talent. The chances of me booking it are slim, and I know that.
But you know what? It was like I was sent a personal message that said:
“Remember to leave room for possibility.”
In the end, my goal was arbitrary.
The goal itself and whether I reach it isn’t important. What’s important is that I believe that I can.
Whether I book that job or not, I’m grateful for the reminder that at any moment, there’s space for a life-changing event. A game-changing play.