The Power of Belief

Well we do know that the placebo effect is real.Placebo - WikipediaBut in business the positive thinking thing is often a big warning sign - it's normally an indication of the delusional. We constantly hear of people who have battled against all the odds to pull off something they really believed in but those that fail are never reported; and they're the majority.People seem to think that if they believe in something it'll happen and if I hear the word 'passion' when applied to business, I run a mile. I'd much prefer to hear a business case put by a balanced realist than someone who has a bloody dream.

Perhaps the analogy of the downhill skiers is more relevant.
In that sport the race happens over several minutes but the winner often wins by hundredths of a second. In that respect the winner is simply luckier than the closest looser; he just avoided that one invisible bump that made the difference.But i can absolutely guarantee that the loser will beat me by a large margin every time - that isn't luck and no amount of trying to convince myself that i can win can change that.On the other hand, if all other things are equal, the winner is more likely to be someone who believes that he can win, rather that someone who belives that he never can.