Have you ever been in a place where you felt unsure and filled with fear and self-doubt when you wondered where your confidence and courage went (or if you ever truly had any)?

Do you recognize that some of your friends, co-workers, clients, or family members may be living in this place right now?

I was in this place more than once, and four words changed my life. One such occasion was when I was in college after my sophomore year. I was on the women’s basketball team, and while I started all four years and believed I was a very skilled point guard, I was so hard on myself. I hated making mistakes. So much so that it would bring tears to my eyes in the middle of the game as the frustration with my mistakes welled up within me and filled me with fear (of not being good enough) and self-doubt.

Then, my basketball coach, Kim Jordan, gave me a note. I can still see it in my mind’s eye. She wrote some things about my season, what I did well, and what I could improve. I trusted her judgment because she was an incredible player in her own right, an all-time leading scorer and rebounder at a major Division I university. Yet, it wasn’t the message that changed my life. It was her valediction or the close of the note that did. She signed it, “I believe in you, Kim Jordan.”

How was that even possible? I was a big cry-baby. She was an accomplished player and coach who seemed to have it all. How could she possibly believe in me? It seemed impossible, but there it was in black and white on her letterhead in her handwriting.

I carried that note with me for decades. I wondered how she could believe in me when I didn’t even know how to believe in myself. Those four words were so influential in my life.

I have made it a point to share those words with the people I believe in throughout my life. So many have said that those words have impacted their lives in the same way that Kim’s words impacted mine.

So, today, no matter where you are on your personal, professional, or business journey,
I believe in you. 

How can you say that?

Now you may ask, how can I say that? I don’t even know you. Well, let’s look at what I do know. First, I know that you’re willing to read this message down to this point. I can, then, assume that you are a curious person and that you like to learn and you like to grow. So, if you believe that you can be better tomorrow than you are today, or at least hope that you can, then it’s pretty easy for me to believe in you.

If I can wholeheartedly believe in you with just a few data points, what happens in those moments that you don’t believe in you? I don’t know if you realize this or not, but this world needs you. This world needs the best of you. There are human souls out there that are waiting to be touched and moved by you. No one else on the planet may be able to reach them or inspire them or serve them as you can.

I’m saying this to you today to encourage you. I know things have been kind of crazy lately, and that can be hard.  I just want you to know that it’s OK and you are OK. It’s all part of the process of becoming the amazing person you are growing to become.

I believe in you!

So, let me encourage you to build on my belief in you and believe a little more in yourself today than you did yesterday.

What are those things that you’ve been telling yourself you’re going to do that you just haven’t done yet? For me, it was to write this message. I know that if you’re still reading it, then you probably needed it. So I owe you an apology because my belief in myself was getting in my way of serving you.

It’s funny, in a way, that the only thing keeping me from sharing this message with you was my thoughts that were producing emotions and feelings of self-doubt and fear.

So today, I hope you’ll hear my words and hear my heart. I genuinely do believe in you. I know that the desires of your heart have been placed there so that you can bring greater value to this world and make a difference in someone’s life. So let me encourage you once again to do that today. Whether it is you talking to yourself or you reaching out to a fellow human soul, let someone know that you believe in them today. It may just change their life and yours.