Conceive, Believe & Achieve
I’ve been a football fan since I was a young boy, growing up in a small farming community in Saskatchewan, Canada. It was natural to become a “Roughrider” fan because there was only one professional team in the entire province. I often say that all babies born there are injected with green blood – which is why everyone who lives in Saskatchewan “bleeds green”! None of this is relevant to what I want to share with you today, other than the fact that my thoughts on the power of believing in yourself are inspired by an individual who plays for my beloved team.
Kory Sheets is the star running back for the ‘Riders. When the team signed him in 2012, he was fourth or fifth on the depth chart when training camp began. He battled and ultimately won the job to be the feature running back. Being an American player that was unfamiliar with Canadian football, Kory immediately wanted to know who the greatest players in league history were. He openly stated that his goal was to have his names listed among the greats. He battled a few injuries in his first season but still managed to gain 1,277 yards on the ground. Fast-forward to 2013 and Kory went on record saying that he is the best running back in the league. His desire was to amass 2,000 yards in 2013. Mike Pringle of the Montreal Alouettes set the CFL single-season record of 2,065 yards rushing in 1998. That’s quite a statement for a young man entering his second year in the league; some might even say “cocky”.
Through the first 5 games of the season, Kory had rushed for a CFL record (though the 1st five games of a season) of 712 yards and was on pace to break the 15 year old single-season record. Later on, he was injured and was forced to miss 2½ games. When he returned from injury, it took a couple of games but he quickly regained his sizzling pace. By this time however, Kory had been surpassed by another player, Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders, for the league lead in rushing. Cornish’s teammates & fans spent a great deal of time disputing who the best running back was, to put it mildly. Kory continued to maintain his belief that he was the best running back in the league with his own teammates standing behind the claim. When the season ended, Cornish won the rushing yard title having accumulated 1,813 yards. Sheets finished second with 1,598.
Undeterred, Mr. Sheets & the Roughriders proceeded to go through the playoffs undefeated and become the league champions, defeating the Hamilton Tiger Cats 45-23 in front of their home crowd to win only their fourth Grey Cup title in their storied existence. Kory played an integral role in their success, having rushed for 442 yards in three playoff games. More significantly, he ran for a Grey Cup record 197 yards & two touchdowns in the final game. He was named the game’s MVP.
Why am I telling you all of this? In essence, we can conclude that Kory’s success was derived from three simple concepts; conceive, believe and achieve.
Conceive: He visualized being the best. He worked hard at it; he practiced and kept his eye on the prize. He educated himself and formulated a plan.
Believe: He was confident that he could be the best. While others were mocking him, he ignored their opinion (and that’s all it was – an opinion) and went about his business. He disregarded the naysayers, pulled up his boots and went to work. He fought through the adversity of injury and maintained his belief in himself. He was grateful for his accomplishments and gave credit to those who helped him succeed (his team).
Achieve: When the season ended, he had won a championship ring to go along with the Most Valuable Player in the Grey Cup award. Since the Roughriders won the final game, obviously he was a player on the best team in the league. The MVP award suggests that he was able to back up his claim that he was the best in the league.
The most important piece is this. When you add his regular season & playoff rushing yard totals together, it comes to 2,040 yards. You might say that it doesn’t count because it wasn’t regular season yards. When Kory spoke, he simply said that he felt he was the best in the league. He also said that the goal was 2,000 yards for the season. He did not specify “regular season” only. My point is that we can use his example as evidence of the greatness that lies within each in every one of us. We simply need to set the goal, work hard & believe in ourselves. We need focus and to surround ourselves with like-minded individuals pursuing a similar goal. Achieving success is the only possibility if we follow these three simple principles.
Mario Piché – The Career Change Conductor
