Power of "believe"
Before purpose, we need belief.
After years of chasing titles, money, and acceptance by my peers, it took a pandemic, the tragic suicide of my business partner’s 12 year old son, a business shake up and some new “friends” to understand that success isn’t measured by positions and salaries… it’s about finding your purpose.
I have always loved golf but lived with a fear of going into the industry due to the lineage I carry as the great grandson of one of golf’s most revered influencers of the game. It is not just the accomplishments of Bobby Jones that is honored by the sport, it is his character and impact on the game. In the past, I interpreted that my connection to Bobby Jones would likely be met with unjust comparisons or lofty expectations. After all, I do not possess any magical gene of naturally playing the game. I have to work hard just to accomplish mediocre play.
I have since concluded that there may be enough space for two Jones’s. I just needed to change the way I wanted to be seen in the golf world: a self standing personality and brand who respects and reflects my lineage to the game but who understands that my impact does not need to be on the course or designing one of the best courses in the world (Arguably the most celebrated major of the year.) There is great responsibility but endless opportunity to build on who I am. And that person just so happens to be a descendant of one of the best people golf has manufactured.
My skillsets are in story telling, connecting with people, and assuming the role of a “vision mover”, unafraid to test the boundaries between “success” and failure. Recently, I have found out what happens to those skillsets when you lose the most powerful force of finding one’s purpose… Believing.
If you have watch Ted Lasso, this is going to be a nice nugget of knowledge. If you haven’t… do yourself a favor and jump in. (But a slight spoiler alert) One of the most impactful scenes of the series provides a prominent spot on the stage for “believe.” It is posted in the locker room in a pivotal scene with Ted Lasso and publicist, Keeley Jones (I am appreciative of that last name!)
“Believing doesn’t have to be perfect. It just matters that its there.”
Early in the series, Ted Lasso makes a sign. It is a simple look and design more resembling a high school pep rally sign than anything that would hang in an English Premiere League locker room. The sign possesses one word: Believe. Ted hangs it in prominence just above his office door. And when he hangs it, it is hung crooked. Later in the episode, Keeley Jones and Ted are talking in the locker room. Everyone else has left the scene. She notices the sign is a bit crooked and as they talk, she gets a chair and reaches up to the sign to straighten. Or so we think. As the camera zooms out, it is exposed that she too, has hung it crooked. Why?
Because the show wanted it to be reinforced that believing does not need to be perfect. It just matters that it’s there. We often become our own enemy force when we either stop believing, or we get so obsessed with believing, that we can’t accept any other outcome than a “perfect” world in which to believe.
As I journey into the world of defining purpose, being FULL with your purpose, and redefining success, I know that the root structure for us all is to “believe.” Believe in what your heart is telling you. Believe in the process. Believe in your ability. Believe in your support. Believe that you could be the next one to change someone else’s life. Don’t worry about the big picture or outcomes of your efforts not coming out as you had imagined. If your belief is compromised so too will your path to “purposeFULL” success.
Believe. It is the first step of purposefull success.
Watch a composite of Ted Lasso believe motivation.
