"If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't,
If you like to win, but you think you can't
It is almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can."


I still remember it to this day. It is a mantra that has served me well. One of my old bosses told me that I'd never make a certain goal with the territory I had, and that he was OK with that. At the end of the year, I had beaten the goal by 5 (29 instead of 24). He asked me what I did differently than everyone else that was assigned that location. I just told him to stop telling people what they can't do. He then said,"Good work, but you'll never be able to keep up that pace." The next 3 years my numbers for that goal were 31, 28, & 29.