The high-return activity of raising others’ aspirations

I was coached by an eight-time Olympian. A lesson he taught me will stick with me for life. In 2011, I was 3 years into my junior water polo career.

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I'd been playing for the Dolphins when the coach of a competitor club and 8-time Australian Olympian, Tom Hoad, asked me to join his team and travel to Europe that Winter. Little did I know that this was the first step in one of the most rewarding adventures of my teens—and an introduction to an idea that will stick with me for life.

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In July, we traveled to Europe and played Water Polo in Hungary, France, Serbia, and Croatia. Until then, I'd considered myself a decent water polo player, but never a 'great' one. I was fast, nimble, and had great game insight, but I was never going to be big enough (the average height of Olympian teams is often 200cm tall) to succeed.

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After the first week of training, Tom pulled me aside and said something that stuck with me to this day:

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"Brogzy, I believe you can make the Australian team this year. You've got what it takes, but you need to train hard and improve your shot."

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I was stunned. No one had told me I could make an Australian team, or that was even possible, let alone later that year. Over the next three months, I noticed a change. For the first time, I acted as if I could make the team. I trained like someone deserving of that opportunity. And I held myself to an Australian player’s standard.

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Three months later in October, we competed in the Under 16 National Championships and won gold by 10+ goals. A few weeks after the tournament, I was named in my first Australian squad as an 'under-ager.' I smiled remembering the moment I stood by the poolside with Tom injecting his belief into me and telling me to dream bigger.

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One of the duties of maturity and age is sharing wisdom and foresight. Helping someone see what they can't yet see. Or believe in what they thought was impossible.

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Tyler Cowen articulates this better than anyone:

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“At critical moments in time, you can raise the aspirations of other people significantly, especially when they are relatively young, simply by suggesting they do something better or more ambitious than what they might have in mind.It costs you relatively little to do this, but the benefit to them, and to the broader world, may be enormous.”

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As I've gotten older and met more and more impressive people, I've realised self-belief is in shortest supply. All great achievements start with belief. Belief shapes behaviour. Behaviour produces action. Action produces results. Next time you have the opportunity to tell someone you believe in them, take it.

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You never know what they'll achieve, and they'll always remember the profound moment you told them what was possible.