UNBREAKABLE BELIEF

The harsh reality of high achievement is that it rarely follows a storybook script. There's almost always an unexpected challenge to face or adversity to overcome, and finding a way to win often requires the kind of unbreakable belief that’s strong enough to survive, even when (and maybe especially when) success seems uncertain or unlikely. Two athletes who’ve earned the right to be called champions have recently brought this important idea to life.

Carlos Alcaraz has taken the tennis world by storm. His artistic skill and athletic ability are undeniable, but at this year’s French Open, it was his unbreakable belief that was on full display. Rarely the underdog, second-ranked Alcaraz entered the tournament’s championship match facing world #1 Jannik Sinner, and found himself in a hole almost immediately. In the best of five set match, Sinner won the first two, and while Alcaraz fought back to win the third, the match appeared all but over when Sinner took a dominating 5-3, 40-love lead in the fourth. Sinner had three straight championship points - three chances in a row to put the match away. The way things had gone, the 2025 French Open was all but over.

But Carlos Alcaraz refused to accept, even in that moment, that his winning dream was dead. He fought off the first match point. Then the second, then the third. With incredible shot-making, he rallied from behind to win that fourth set, to tie the match, and to send it to a deciding fifth set. The two battled for nearly five and a half hours. Eventually, Alcaraz outlasted the world’s #1 ranked player to win what tennis experts were calling one of the great matches of all time. Standing there hoisting the trophy afterwards, it was almost easy to forget that two hours earlier, most of the tennis world had accepted that success just wasn’t in the cards for Carlos Alcaraz that day. The only person who refused to accept it might have been Alcaraz himself.

One week later, a different sport was hosting a prestigious tournament of its own. Golf’s U.S. Open brought the best players in the world to Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania for a four-day tournament considered to be the toughest test in golf. At the end of day one, it was mostly unknown American J.J. Spaun who held the lead. Grueling conditions in rounds two and three eliminated most of the field from contention, and when Sunday’s final round arrived, Spaun found himself just one shot off the lead and in position to win his first major championship. Then disaster struck. Bogeys on five of his first six final round holes dropped Spaun down the leaderboard - off of it, practically - and seemed to indicate that he just didn’t quite have what it takes.

But J.J. Spaun refused to accept, even in that moment, that his winning dream was dead. After a short rain delay, he found his game and fought back. Unexpected birdies on the 12th and 14th holes closed the gap, and as others around him melted under the major championship pressure, Spaun remained steady. Closing birdies on the final two holes made him the only golfer in the field to finish the tournament under par, and made him the 2025 U.S. Open champion. Standing there hoisting the trophy afterwards, it was almost easy to forget that two hours earlier, most of the golf world had accepted that success just wasn’t in the cards for J.J. Spaun that day. The only person who refused to accept it might have been Spaun himself.

Those are two different athletes competing in two different sports, but the story of their path to success is similar. They didn't win in the absence of challenge and adversity; they won in spite of it. And while it’s easy for us to celebrate their achievement after the fact, it’s important to recognize that their belief existed long before they found themselves with even a legitimate chance to win. That decision - to keep competing and keep believing - couldn't have been easy, and of course didn’t guarantee them anything. But that decision, looking back, is direct evidence that both Carlos Alcaraz and J.J. Spaun were worthy of the outcome they said they were after.

Too many people say they want to win, but haven’t built the kind of unbreakable belief that winning requires them to possess. So how about you? In the important areas of your life and performance, do you have what it takes to keep competing and keep believing, even when (and maybe especially when) success seems uncertain or unlikely? That decision isn't easy, and of course doesn't guarantee you anything. But that's the decision both Carlos Alcaraz and J.J. Spuan made in their moments of testing, and it's the decision winning likely requires you to make, too. It's direct evidence that you are worthy of the outcome you say you're after.