What is the difference? Are some people just brighter, more energetic, more attractive, more talented, and more athletic than others?

Even a superficial amount of research will quickly show you that none of these are important factors. Some people succeed despite a complete absence of any superior qualities while others fail despite an abundance of natural gifts and abilities.

Winning and losing are psychological drives; talents may or may not help; circumstances may or may not help; but the deciding factor is your psychology.

By psychology, I do not mean your history of experiences and how they have affected your relationship with the world.

I mean attitude or point-of-view.

All winners have two qualities in common.

They believe in something before the evidence for it has even got out of bed.

And they are totally committed.

That's it. Master these two qualities and you will start to win in anything that you do.

Let's tackle the first one: belief.

What is belief? It is thinking that something is possible when the evidence has not yet emerged to support it. It is holding a vision and sustaining it through sheer psychic force.

Some people can't get to the envisioning state. They can't form clear goals or shape ideals. Their attention is scattered and their sense of purpose is all over the place.

Others can get to the place where they can hold an ideal; but they can't sustain it. They either feel that they don't deserve it or that the means are not available.

Then there are those who can envision what they want and believe that they can have it. Even when they don't know how, they are determined to find out how. These are the people who believe. And their belief creates the thoughts and actions that will lead to the creation of what they desire.

Something else happens, too. Their strong mental image sends out a ripple into the quantum field of all possibilities and they set up an invisible magnetic relationship, a resonance with their ideal. As they move toward their ideal, their ideal also starts to move toward them. The energy of belief is what sustains this relationship.

One more thing is needed: total commitment.

Belief is not enough; for at the slightest trace of defeat, the dream can be dropped.

Yet at the start of anything new, defeat is inevitable. You have to find out what does not work before you can hone in on what does. The right variables and the right pattern do not spontaneously emerge. A process of discovery has to take place. Traditionally, it has been referred to as trial and error. And you cannot have the trial without the error.

When the belief is damaged and collapses, then two things happen. The first is your momentum is lost, your forward movement toward your ideal. The second is your magnetic resonance, your relationship with the ideal, also collapses. You stop moving towards it. And it stops moving toward you.

Total commitment is what keeps belief alive. Anybody can be a champion in believing in themselves and their ability to attain their desires, but few are totally committed to sustaining that belief regardless of how circumstances are unfolding.

What prevents total commitment are what I call gaps. These are gaps in action and gaps in a positive projective thought. Our physical energy goes up and down, our thoughts waver from clear to confused, and our moods shift from high to low. All dips in the positive flow of energy are gaps. They are inevitable. However, when they become prolonged, that is when commitment weakens. If stretched out long enough, commitment collapses.

Thus, while there are many differences between winners and losers, taking care of just these two factors: belief and total commitment is enough to change the velocity of your life. These are the legs that you must stand on if you wish to shift your reality from a dismal, challenging one to a reality that is inspiring and a joy to live.

The psychology of the right attitude and sustained attention is what makes winning possible. Small shifts in your mind can create huge effects in your life.