We should be dreaming.
We grew up as kids having dreams,
but now we’re too sophisticated
as adults, as a nation.
We stopped dreaming.
We should always have dreams.

-Herb Brooks
Coach of 1980 US Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Team

“Do you believe in miracles? YES!” were the words play-by-play man Al Michaels yelled as the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team defeated the “unbeatable” Soviet Union hockey team. If you are old enough to remember that game, you are old enough to remember the exhilaration and pride that all Americans felt as a band of college and amateur players took on an opponent that was bigger, more talented, more skilled and a whole lot faster.

The lesson we learned was that talent alone does not create winners. This week I had the opportunity to interview Rob McClanahan, one of the key players on that team, and everything he said applied to business: These were his lessons from that victory over the Soviets on the way to the gold:

•    You have more ability than YOU even know
•    Enjoy every moment of preparation as much as you enjoy the victory
•    Understand your coach doesn’t have to be your friend to care about you (Coach Herb Brooks would often unite the team “against” him)
•    Outwork, out hustle, and practice more than your often more talented competition…and you can win!

So this week, take a few minutes to think about what your business “Miracle” would look like. Dream about winning that impossible account. Then imagine the elation you will feel when you, despite the odds, do something that even your peers never thought possible. And when somebody asks you if you believe in “Miracles,” think of that day when a coach and a group of young Americans taught us the answer to that question is a resounding, “YES!”