Believe, Then Put In The Work

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Believe, Then Put In The Work

Be it, until you become it

Story by Jay JohnsonSuccess Coach and owner of J2 Servant Leadership, LLC

The night I graduated high school is crystallized in my mind. As I strolled out of the school, heading to the parking lot, a friend walking alongside me asked: “What now?” I looked at him and replied, “I honestly don’t know, but I can tell you two things I’ll never do in life. I’ll never join the military, and I’ll never step back in another classroom.”

It wasn’t that I had anything against military service; I was just undisciplined and couldn’t imagine subjecting myself to a barrage of it. Regarding school, I simply didn’t enjoy sitting in a classroom or how lessons were structured and taught. In truth, I didn’t think of myself as a very good student, and I did just enough to get by. I was 17 years old when I graduated high school and at the time, I was making better than average money as a department manager in a grocery chain.

Fast forward a year, and I found myself living in a two-bedroom apartment with a few friends when I began to do a little soul-searching. I questioned whether there was more to life than what I had experienced in the town I was growing up in.

I don’t know exactly why, but from my inner reflection, I decided to go down to the local military recruiting offices for some information. Although I told myself it didn’t matter which branch of service, the first door I came to was the United States Air Force recruiter.

Fast forward another year, and I found myself a United States Air Force member stationed in San Antonio. Not only was I working with some amazing men and women, but I had even discovered the discipline and structure I had dreaded was what I needed most.

One person I worked with early on in San Antonio, a guy about six years older than me, profoundly and positively changed my life forever. He did so with one simple question. He asked if I had ever taken any college courses. I replied, “Nope, and I’m not really interested in doing so.”

What I appreciated most about my colleague and friend was that he didn’t take my ‘no’ as the end of the conversation. He continued to discuss it with me and encouraged me to simply enroll in one course that remotely interested me.

After a few months of persistence, I finally decided to give it a go and I enrolled in a psychology class. For the first time in my life, I applied myself and at the end of the semester, I earned the grade of “A.” What I really earned was something far more than a passing grade. What I really earned was a new belief system. I discovered I wasn’t a bad student; I just hadn’t ever (fully) applied myself. In fact, I discovered I actually liked learning.

Our beliefs (belief systems) drive our behavior, and our behaviors form habits. Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying, “fake it until you make it?” I have a question for you. Do you like things that are fake? I don’t. I came up with my own saying, “Be it, until you become it.” Many years later, as I was retiring from the military, I finally realized the importance of beliefs. Thanks to a willingness to push through fears and borrow from the belief(s) of someone else in my life, I found I was capable of more than I had ever dreamed. Because I was willing to put in the work and embrace the discomfort that often comes from growth, I had transformed my life. Today, I possess an associate’s, a bachelor’s, and a master’s degree. I have traveled the world and seen things with my own eyes that most people will only read about in books. I’ve developed a deep appreciation for other cultures and a deeper appreciation for my own country.

What do I hope you, the reader, will take from this? First, I hope you will stay open-minded and be willing to consider new opportunities. I hope you will challenge limiting beliefs and not accept something as true without soul-searching and testing. Finally, I hope you reconnect with your dream(s), set goals and then pursue life with a vigor that will leave others inspired to do the same. It is one thing to have a dream and it is another thing to put in the work to bring it to reality.