Believe in Your Potential

This blog post is the last in a six-part series by Larry Doty examining how new graduates can compete and excel in a global economy.

Similar to how you shouldn’t predict failure, you must learn how to believe that you will be successful. It may take time to reach your goals, but your confidence will pay off in the long run. Most of us are naturally inclined to play it safe, to set aside our goals or allow failures to prevent us from bouncing back. You have to be confident. The ability to trust yourself is developed over time and that trust is established through your integrity and work ethic.

Your humility will allow you to grow more efficiently. It will keep you from thinking you are above failure or starting at the bottom of the ladder. Remember that every opportunity is a step, no matter how small, toward your ultimate goals. Even failures have their purpose. As Entrepreneur Magazine notes, if you’re not willing to face setbacks in stride, then you’ll never experience the success the follows.

Humility is an important virtue, but also don’t sell yourself short. If you wait for someone to hand you an opportunity you will find yourself feeling left out. Luck or good fortune might seem coincidental, but they often come to those who are in the trenches and give everything to a cause. Hard work leads to growth, which will allow you to continue on an upward trajectory.

In an essay in The Huffington Post, speaker and educator Zach Mercurio expands on this idea. He explains that our fears cause many of us to fall into a “scarcity mindset,” in which we constantly search for professional and personal security. We see a scarcity of positives rather than an abundance. This is why the secure path often seems more practical or comfortable, even if fewer risks means fewer rewards.

Instead, Mercurio advises shifting to an “abundance mindset.” By considering all the options that are available and believing in your own potential you’re more likely to see success. Imagine the number of successes you can achieve rather than the things that can go wrong. This is a small but necessary adjustment in thinking.

To wrap up, your degree recognizes your subject knowledge, but it’s only the beginning of your journey. It’s your ticket into your selected profession, but you still must work hard to prove yourself. If you do not believe in yourself no one else will believe in you. Know that your well-being and success is no one else’s responsibility or care. You have already worked hard to earn your degree, now you must continue to work as hard, if not harder, to reach the peaks of your career and beyond.

Since 2008, Larry Doty has been appointed to various positions of leadership at Herzing University including Academic Dean, Director of Education and Financial Aid, and Senior System Undergraduate Dean. During his time at the Minneapolis campus, Doty successfully provided oversight to multiple accreditation initiatives at the programmatic and institutional level. Doty quickly developed a reputation for developing high performing teams and exceeding institutional expectations in areas such as budgeting and planning, team development, and student retention.