What If The Story Isn’t True… But It Still Works?

What if something you believed about yourself wasn’t actually true? But it still shaped your life anyway?

I have always believed the mind is a powerful tool. It was instilled in me at a young age.

My mom even believed she could cure her cancer with a positive mindset.

While I wouldn’t go that far, I do agree with her belief that we can accomplish big things if we believe in ourselves.

I would add one more thing. Belief alone isn’t enough.

You can’t wish your way to your vision board or your annual objectives. You must be willing to do the work required to get there.

A powerful example of mindset came from my recent podcast guest, Tremale Delano.

Tremale was born with the odds stacked against him. His birth mother struggled with addiction, and he was passed from foster home to foster home until he found Ruthanne Holbert. That was when everything began to change.

Ruthanne believed in him. Not just a little. She expected greatness from him, just as she did from all the foster children in her care.

Tremale faced learning challenges, and at least one teacher had so little belief in him that he was given schoolbooks six grade levels below his eighth-grade classroom.

Ruthanne told a different story.

She reminded him that he came from greatness. His father, he was told, was a well-known and successful attorney in Los Angeles. Whether Tremale knew him or not, that brilliance was part of his DNA. It was his superpower.

And Tremale believed it.

He went on to graduate from high school, attend The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and build a successful career in architecture and construction.

Years later, as his own family grew, he decided to connect with the family he believed he came from.

A DNA test revealed something unexpected.

The man he believed was his father… wasn’t.

After the initial shock, Tremale came to a powerful realization. The brilliance he had attributed to his DNA was never about DNA at all.

It was about belief.

To honor that belief, and everything it helped him accomplish, he chose to carry the name forward as his middle name, Jerome. Not because of bloodline, but because of what that belief made possible in his life.

Had he learned the truth in eighth grade, his path might have looked very different.

We all have a version of “Jerome” inside us.

A belief. A story. A narrative about who we are and what we’re capable of.

The question is… is that story moving you forward or holding you back?

We must shift from a fixed mindset – one that keeps us stuck, limits our growth, and assumes “this is just the way it is” – to a growth mindset where possibility exists.

Try this.

Think about a time when you achieved something you were truly proud of. Maybe it was running your first 5K, graduating from college, or hitting an important goal.

What did you believe about yourself during that time? What actions did you take? How focused were you?

Now think about a time when you fell short.

What was different? Where did your focus go? Did doubt creep in? Did you lose momentum, patience, or clarity?

When I reflect on my own life, the pattern is clear.

When I was focused, committed, and believed I could achieve something, I did.

Every. Single. Time.

When I fell short, something shifted. My focus wavered. My priorities changed. Or I became too comfortable where I was.

Clarity and focus are not always easy. Life gets busy. Distractions show up. Competing priorities pull at our attention.

But the responsibility is still ours.

You can accomplish more than you think. With belief, effort, and focus, you can move closer to the life you envision.

The question is… what do you believe about yourself?

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My new podcast, DunnWise Perspectives: Stories of Resilience and Shifting Mindsets, is now live. I’d love for you to take a listen.

If you’re looking for clarity in your business or career, you can reach me at doris@dunnwise.com, via DM, or at dunnwise.com.