“Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”

We’ve all heard the adaptation of Henry Ford’s famous quote about self-belief. It applies wonderfully to an array of topics, and as live event/marketing professionals, it is quite important to our individual (and greater) successes. Personally, I see it in action all day every day.

Every day we make decisions that affect the outcome of the day, positively or negatively. We choose to believe in ourselves and our abilities, or we don’t. Either way, you are correct. But in that, we all have the capability to change our outcomes, and change the outcomes of our events. I’ve found that the basis for our ability to influence our outcomes stems from our individual mindsets. If we are positive, believe in our own abilities, take accountability for our actions, and put out a good effort - odds are that is the reality you are going to find in the world. Similarly, if you are negative, find fault, and blame others, you’ll get caught up in a cycle that perpetuates those feelings and actions.

You may question “I am on a team of people with different personalities and agendas, how does that affect me?” It’s simple. The positivity you put out is infectious. It is a rallying point, and you attract the “vibes” you are putting off. You get what you put in, reap what you sow, get what you give … no matter how you say it, it effects everyone around you. If you have the self-confidence to believe in yourself (and your event/team/etc), those around you will feed off of it.

Recently, my company hosted our annual “kickoff” event. The keynote speaker was John Foley, of the famed “Blue Angels.” John’s entire message was simple, you are in control of your own person - to own your thoughts and actions, and be a better member of your team (business, community, etc). Part of John’s message was to promote positivity and gratitude to influence yourself and others. At the crux of his message was this moniker; “Glad to be Here.” Glad to be Here was the token phrase of the Blue Angels, they used it as an affirmation time and time again. It was to interrupt negative patterns, and reinforce good ones. At the core of Glad to be Here was gratitude led to happiness, happiness led to performance, high performance led to success, and so on. His enthusiasm and energy were infectious - not only to our team, but the many people he talked of and met before us. He was shaping our mindset for success.

Working in live events, you can see how a mindset can affect things around it. We know adversity is going to happen, often. What happens in the face of adversity will determine successes, or failures, of your events. How do we react to change? How do we influence our surroundings, rather than our surroundings controlling us? We start by ourselves, by changing our own mindset, because if we do, others follow, and so does success.

Article written by James Coughlin, National Account Manager for IMS Technology Services

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