Instant Momentum

How to Instantly Gain Momentum and Keep It



We often talk about momentum and belief in our self... getting on a positive roll. Because if we believe that we can do something, we often miraculously get some otherworld ability to do it... even if we've never done it before. And if we fall down in our attempt, if we believe that the slip up was nothing more than a delay instead of a denial, then we'll get back up and keep going.

Sometimes, if the flame grows bright enough, even the very casual observer can notice a change in someone that switches from lack of belief to out and out passion for success.

If we're not sports fan, read the rest of this and ignore the sports references.

We discuss here an NBA playoff game years ago between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bucks were up by 16 points! It was looking like it was going to be a blowout...
...But the 76ers never lost their belief. Their top scorer, Allen Iverson, was having possibly the worst scoring night of his life, but he was an animal on defense.
Their coach, Larry Brown, was imploring them to believe. Sure he talked X's and O's. I mean, they had to run plays. But he was jumping up and down on the court. Pleading with his team to keep up the pressure, to run down every loose ball, to make every pass as important as if it were the last one of the game.
Nothing but emotion. He knew they could do it...
...as long as they didn't lose their faith.
He knew that they were as good as Milwaukee. He didn't have to explain the basics of basketball. He knew his only job was to keep their heads in the game.
So did he get down on them when they made bad passes? Nope. He said, "C'mon. That's not like we. We can do this!"
They responded.
They started to believe. By the 4th quarter they had tied it up 63-63. The crowd was going crazy.

Momentum. It's nothing but emotion.
When things go right they tend to stay going right, don't they? But when things go wrong, the same rule applies, huh?

The interesting thing in the game was that as the emotion was exploding for the 76ers, the Bucks suddenly became doubters... missing shots, making bad passes, and worst of all, making stupid fouls out of anger. Their first half smiles turned into angry scowls. It was an incredible thing to watch. They had completely lost their belief in themselves.

It was an amazing display of momentum shift and a great example of how powerful a force it is in life.
Philadelphia responded to all those fouls the Bucks were making to hit 22 free throws in a row... and won 89-88.

A big lesson here is that we can have a lot of things going wrong and still get our outcome... if we don't give up.
Had the Bucks made just one more pass, or just one more basket, or if they had made just one less stupid foul out of frustration, they would have won.

When a salesperson is selling face to face every day, it was often at the last second, when he empties his mind and sees the fact he could think of why they should get his solution that they finally said, "Well, all right. We sure do believe that you can help us. So we'll do it."
It's at that point in salesperson’s life that he learns that I should never give up. Never, Never, Never Ever.

If we can only take today...And get our self to believe in our ability to do whatever it is we're doing a little faster, a little better, and with a little more enthusiasm, momentum will shift in our favor. Watch it work.

Soon WE'LL go from the scowl to the winning smile.
Success and happiness always starts between our own two ears. Don't wait. Begin right now and throw that smile on, and keep thinking all day, I can. I can. I can.
Every hour. "I can."
Eating lunch. "I can."
Before we pick up the phone. "I can."
...And we will.