On the 4th December, the mighty Cherries – AFC Bournemouth, the football team I support – played at home to Liverpool FC in the Premier League.
Our club went on the pitch knowing they hadn’t ever beaten Liverpool: Our team’s value is about a third of their value and their trophy cabinet is probably bigger than one of our changing rooms.
The game started as the pundits would have predicted with Liverpool 2-0 up at half time and the majority of Cherries fans with their heads down. What would your attitude have been at two-nil down at half time? In fact, football aside, what is your personal ‘two-nil down’?
Is it that your child is not doing well at school, or that you don’t see enough of your family? Is it that you’re two stone overweight, or lacking self-confidence? Is it that you have two disengaged employees in your team, or that work is getting you down? So, you’re two-nil down…how are you going to react?
Back on the pitch, after 15 mins of play in the second half, Bournemouth coach Eddie Howe decided to act. He brought on a substitute, Ryan Fraser, a young Scottish winger, who only cost us £400k (very small potatoes in football terms) and with only two top flight games under his belt. It was like releasing a Tasmanian devil on to the pitch!
Within 2 minutes young Ryan won a penalty, which we scored – only for Liverpool to score again, making it 3-1. However, Fraser was lifting the team like you can’t believe. He was driving us forward, tackling, darting, creating a momentum which led him to score our second goal, 3-2.
As a result, the atmosphere in the ground was electric. We, the home crowd, became like a twelfth man, regardless of the fact that the game was being beamed by satellite to around 200-300 million people worldwide! Then bang! With the help of a Fraser assist, we scored the equalizer.
In 5 minutes of extra time, the belief in the ground became overwhelming. Everyone was already on their feet cheering when Steve Cook, one of our players, waved and urged us on just that little bit more. It was like a tsunami of positive belief and passion behind our team. We took a corner and scored! We won 4-3 in the 93rd minute of the game, sending everyone associated with the club delirious.
Let’s get back to the point – young Ryan had hardly played at this level before, but he backed himself, believing he had it in him to change the course of events for him, his team and everyone witnessing the game. Nothing was going to stop him.
So, when life’s not always a bowl of cherries, what have you got inside of you? What doubts do you need to let go? Ryan proved that it only takes one person to ignite a significant change, to rid doubt, to inspire belief.
This is Stalkie asking you to be that person. To be that forceful change for good in your own life, in your family’s life, in your team’s life, in your business life. And if you feel the need for some powerful tools to do the job sign up today at paulstalker.com
Signing off Paul Stalker
The Mindset Man