By Ahsan

Think back to a time in your life when you wanted to do something but felt a twinge of fear and doubt in moving forward. Perhaps you felt that the task was too hard for you, or that you did not have the skills, or that your will to win was big, but the odds were against you. Did you do it anyway? Or, did you shy away and justify your decision in one of a dozen logical ways?

What if you chose not to go ahead versus trying? What did it truly cost you?

Let’s say you dared not go for a promotion at work? Did it cost you the difference in pay, the hit to your confidence, or the example you set for your children or friends about being brave despite having some natural hesitancy?

I trust you get the point. So what about Erin and the Everest Mountain Climber?

For those of you who missed the movie, Erin Brockovich, Erin was at the time a newly minted legal secretary, who brought down a corporation that was responsible for poisoning the local water supply of a town, causing sickness and death to its residents. The compensation paid in 1996 was USD 333 million, the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in U.S. history. To know what she is up to today, visit www.brockovich.com

Who was she to think that she, a mere secretary, uneducated in the ways of corporate legal tactics, a single mother and a complete amateur, should be able to challenge and topple a Goliath?

What about the Everest Mountain Climber?

Anyone can tell you that climbing Mount Everest comes with a possible cost⎯your life! The first successful attempt was made by Sherpa Tenzing and Edmund Hillary in 1953. Since then, 300 climbers have died in their effort to climb the world’s highest mountain peak.

There are no shortages of dangers that await, including altitude sickness, winds, cold, avalanches and the climbers' mind-set.

To get a sense of the danger, look up: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everest_(2015_film)

Having listened to both individuals in a conference setting, I made my notes and here is what I found to be their common trait: an indomitable mind-set rooted in self-belief.

Erin grew up with dyslexia but had a supportive mother and father, who advocated for her in school, got her teacher to give her more oral tests and hence helped her to develop a high level of self-esteem.

The mountain climber, did everything he could to be in control of his situation, through years of training and always seeing the glass as half-full.

Erin was full of dogged-persistence, the "little engine," that said, "I know I can." According to Erin, you are not born with "sticktoitiveness” you develop it⎯you face the challenge, you don’t give up.

I love her message: Don’t let people make you feel less than! Rather than let people put you in a defined box, get rooted in what you see and feel; from there, like the story of the Wizard of Oz, find your courage, brains and heart, and use the power of the team around you, even if it is the power of one.

When I asked the mountain climber what was his crucial mind-set as he set off at 11pm for the final 9 hours of the summit attempt, he replied: "I earned the right to be on that mountain" and that he simply believed he could do it. Not bad for a 64-year-old. His name is John Oldring.

Over to you now. Anyone who is anyone that ever achieved anything believed they could.

It’s that simple, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!