I am not even going to pretend to be a hockey fan. It is not a sport that interests me in the least. In fact, when I saw a tweet about the game between the U.S. and Canada, I thought, “Okay – I can take a night off from watching the Olympics.”
However, I was interested to learn that Team USA defeated the Canadians in their showdown earlier today. This is how Yahoo! reported it:
“The Americans didn’t believe in miracles. They just believed.
And they pulled off the biggest Olympic hockey upset since the Miracle on Ice, stunning Canada 5-3 on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of an already mixed-up tournament.
Brian Rafalski scored two goals, Ryan Miller held off a flurry of shots and the Americans quieted a raucous, pro-Canada crowd that came to cheer its dream team, only to see it upstaged by a bunch of unproven kids.
One day short of the 30th anniversary of the country’s greatest hockey victory—the unfathomable win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid—these underrated Americans were faster, more disciplined and more determined than Canada’s collection of all-stars.”
With a historical (30-year old!) “Dream Team” on their minds, an exceptionally young team, wearing uniforms almost identical to that storied, gold-medal winning team, beat the Canadian gold-medal favorites.
How did that happen?
“U.S. team officials ringed the team’s dressing room with motivational messages, like “Be Brilliant in the Basics” as a reminder that Olympic games are won with team play, good goaltending and attention to detail, not necessarily by the team with the biggest names. They got all the above.”
See your career message? “Be brilliant in the basics.” How great is that? You don’t need to be the one with the biggest reputation, or have the most experience to land the job. You need to pay attention to the details, to work hard, and to go for your dream in a way that only someone who tastes the victory can do.
You don’t need to be the biggest to be the best. You need to work the hardest. That means preparing – doing research, creating amazing materials (resume, letter, online profiles, etc.), interviewing with heart and passion AND being prepared to explain how and why you are the only one who can solve the organization’s problems.
If you have been looking for a job for an extended time, you may be getting discouraged. Don’t let it happen to you. You can only imagine the downward spiral a negative attitude will have on your job search. Think like a winner. BELIEVE that you CAN do it, but also know that you need to MAKE IT HAPPEN. Just as the underrated Team USA was  “faster, more disciplined and more determined” than their opponents, as a job seeker, what can you do to get the advantage you need?
“The Americans didn’t believe in miracles. They just believed.”
What do you believe?
photo by crackerbunny