I share a poem with you by C. W. Longenecker that has been used to inspire many teams, persons, and organizations to do more than any thought possible.
The Victor
If you think you’re beaten, you are. If you think you dare not, you don’t. If you’d like to win but think you can’t, It’s almost a cinch you won’t. If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost. For out in the world we find, Success begins with a fellow’s mind. It’s all in the state of mind. If you think you’re outclassed, you are. You’ve got to think high to rise. You’ve got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize. Life’s battles do not always go To the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later, the man who wins Is the man who thinks he can .”
Now, before we assume that a Christian’s success is based solely on positive thinking and bootstrap pulling, let’s look at a few verses to see what God says. Proverbs 23:7 states, “For as one thinks in his heart, so is he.” Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In 1 Corinthians 2:16 Paul writes, “For ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” If it is all in the state of mind, let our state of mind be the mind of Christ. -- Ben