Believe 2 Achieve

Believe 2 Achieve

"If you believe, then you can achieve; just look at me!" 
2Pac

The single greatest gift you can give to another person is to believe in them. Nothing can replace belief. It's the fuel to the fire that propels you to greater heights. 

Belief offers hope. You show me a person that believes in themselves, I will show you a person who has hope for their future. 

As a Leader:
Believe in your vision
Believe in who you are
Believe in your mission
Believe in all the people whom you serve

Jesus once said "it is impossible to do anything without belief." I believe that. You see, belief is the foundation for all positive and possible things in your life.

You hear all the time people say "there is no silver bullet to increasing student achievement." I am going to disagree with that statement. The one thing that you absolutely must have without a shadow of a doubt is BELIEF. Without belief, there is no hope. With no hope, there often is an absence of heart buried by mountains of doubt. The closest thing we have to a “silver bullet” for increasing student achievement is belief. Strategic plans, innovations, lesson plans, visions and missions go nowhere without belief.

You will become on the outside what you believe on the inside. As the leader, it starts with you. To quote Marky Mark and his Funky Bunch YOU GOTTA BELIEVE! As the leader, you are the tone setter. You are the who your staff, your parents, and your students look to for the example. Your actions and your words have the power to move mountains. Belief in your mission will empower you. Having confidence in what you are doing in your school gives you the power to achieve it. Belief in your mission with encourage you. Belief in your mission will enlarge you.

If you are my age, you know who Mike Tyson is. Take a look at this image from his fight with Peter McNeeley. What do you see? Do you see belief? I do. All these years later, even watching the fight on TV, I saw Mike's look that night and I knew what was going to happen. He believed, then he achieved. Do YOU have that look? Do you have that belief on the inside that shapes who you are on the outside?


Everyone has the capacity to believe in themselves. That is power that you have. Belief is also a power that you can give someone else. The first way to share that power with a staff member or a student is to ACTUALLY BELIEVE IN THEM. How often do our students hear the words I BELIEVE IN YOU? How often do our staff members hear us say I BELIEVE IN YOU? Assume the best about your students and your staff and choose to believe that about them. Communicate what you believe about them and why. Do this DAILY! As Todd Whitaker says, Raise the Praise and Minimize the Criticize. This sets people up to believe in themselves.

Invite your students and your staff to walk alongside you in the journey that is education. Enjoy their small wins and celebrate them. Help them experience successes. Creating small wins leads to a large victory at the end of the trip that is a school year. Be intentional in planning for your students and for your staff. Those small wins are like the snowball on the top of the mountain that rolls down the hill turning into an avalanche. Those small wins are the catalyst to belief. Nothing breeds belief like success.

When we know what people need, we can fill gaps quicker to develop them faster. @steelethoughts says "we are data driven because we are inspired by kids." Absolutely! It's also about equipping students or staff for that matter with the tools and skills they need to be successful. When we are invested in others and intentionally adding value to their lives, their internal belief grows.

Set people up to be successful. Believe in them and communicate that belief. Mentor and equip those you serve to provide them with the skills, tools and experience to propel them on the path to success. When those you serve own their victory such reading for the first time, solving that challenging math problem or implementing that new instructional strategy with success, they will make your belief in them their own. And the cycle repeats itself as they now turn around and spread that belief back to their students and colleagues.

We put so much stock in education in programs, buzz words (Growth Mindset), and the latest and greatest instructional strategy. None of those things matter more than people and their belief in themselves and their belief in others. The key to turning around a school is believing that you can. The key to success in any aspect of your life is BELIEF. If you want to achieve, you must believe.

Come Monday, when we return back to school.
How will YOU show others your internal BELIEF?
How will YOU share that you BELIEVE in OTHERS?
What will YOU do to be the CHIEF OF BELIEF in your school?

Inspire. Empower. Transform. 
BELIEVE!
#Believe2Achieve










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