35) Belief, Action, and Expectations

Belief, Action, and Expectations

I'm going to start off with Abraham Lincoln:

"To believe in the things you can see and touch is no belief at all, but to believe in the unseen is a triumph and a blessing."

Belief

That's where belief comes in. You have to believe that it's possible. Even though I didn't understand how it was going to happen, I had to believe that I could make my dream come true. When I was shoveling coal and stacking lumber, I had to believe that I could make my dream a reality. But I couldn’t see it.

That's why I love that quote. I couldn't see it. I couldn't touch it. No one could show it to me, but it was still there. It can be hard to articulate or understand, but that’s the level you must get to. You have to ask yourself, “Is that possible?”

Action

Then it comes down to action. Now you believe, but what action are you taking? You can’t “kind of” want it — you have to be all-in. Aggressive and consistent action based around your beliefs. Why? Because you don’t know where it’s going to go.

Take my initial belief that I could own my own gym and be a personal trainer in Columbus. Do you think I thought for one second that it could go to the level that it did? Do you think when I was sitting on the back porch at Arnold Schwarzenegger's house, smoking a cigar as his business partner, that I could have conceptualized that?

The answer is NO. That being said, I knew that I could somehow make my way into the industry. The actions around my beliefs weren’t bullshit. I was full-go aggressive. Consistent action made my reality.

Expectation

Many miss the mark with expectations. I don’t know if it’s necessarily a confidence thing or something you build over time. I expect for something to work. I always go in with an optimistic mentality. If I believe that it’s possible and I put action around it, then why would I expect it not to work? You see what I’m saying? I expect for it to work.

Together, these three variables — belief, action, and expectations — give me the best chance for success.

1 comment

James Ross Horrell 3rd Nov 13, 2025

I love these three variables Belief, action, expectation.

1. Belief- To me in life in anything the belief in anything that you put your mind to anything you can achieve your goals.
2. Action- In anything you do, you have to put the action into process. In weightlifting or in life you want to achieve your goals. You put the belief that you can achieve your goals into action.
3. Expectations- Expectations you put on yourself as well as others for goals to achieve in life. To set standards that you/others do in life to achieve your beliefs are always put into action. Once you know your expectations to achieve your beliefs, actions are put into motions to achieve greatness, in life.