Cracking the Code: Believe and win
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Four games into our high school soccer season, no wins. We struggled to score like last year. The difference: Last year we had a strong defense. This year we allowed four goals per game. Game 4 was our worst loss in memory. Game 5 was an away game with our archrival. The coaches saw bright spots in the devastating game 4 loss. Fixable mistakes led to most of our opponent's goals. There were other bright spots. Before our boys could win on the field they had to win in their heads. They had to believe in themselves and their teammates. Our next game was 4 days away. Anything we did as coaches would be meaningless if we could not first change their thinking from negative to positive.
In sports, sales, business, relationships, and other areas of life our success or failure starts with our thinking. After years of research, the late radio personality, author, and Hall of Fame speaker, Earl Nightingale said, "The secret is, we become what we think about." Henry Ford said, "If you think you can or think you can't, you are right." Walt Disney said, "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt suffered plenty of setbacks but never gave up on his dreams. Dolly Parton grew up in a log cabin with no running water. Despite her extreme poverty, she dreamed high and had the courage to pursue her dreams. She focused on making people happy and worked hard to develop her God-given talents. These people chose to believe in their success. Positive belief does not guarantee success, it makes it possible. Negative belief practically guarantees failure. How many times have you heard someone say, "I knew I would fail."
We can change negative thinking to positive. Some ways are: Surround yourself with positive people. We become like those we spend time with. Read positive books. Listen to or watch messages from positive, successful people. Avoid negative people and media, especially the internet. Have a mentor, coach, accountability partner, or friend who can encourage you in challenging times.
Fortunately, we have players on the team who endured adversity and won a state championship in 2024. Our boys needed to know others have been in their position, and overcame similar challenges. Most important, the boys needed to know we coaches believed in them. The game with our archrival was a war. Our substitutes stood the entire second half cheering their teammates on. We scored the first goal of the game with just nine seconds left in the first half. The boys worked hard with no let up. We scored again in the final minute to seal the win. The win built more belief and was followed by another victory. A lot of season is ahead. The boys know what is possible.
What does this mean for people in our region? Manufacturing is returning. The growth is creating high-wage jobs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. It is easy to see in Columbus, Southwest Pennsylvania, Mason County, W.Va. with Nucor steel and other projects. Growth is quietly happening in other parts of the Shale Crescent USA. People sometimes wonder if the job creation is real. To believe in a positive future, it is helpful to know more about what is happening and why.
In my former corporate life, if we were going to add a crew or introduce new products, we didn't even tell our best customers until we were ready to start operations. No company announces an expansion giving their competition time to counter it. A new company expanding to the region will be announced publicly to create awareness for marketing purposes. Chemical Week magazine announced two more factories in Germany being shutdown. This week at a West Virginia Manufacturers event, I learned through random conversations, two manufacturers in various parts of West Virginia are in the expansion process hiring tech people and engineers. A third is planning an expansion and hiring. I did not get to have in-depth conversations with many other companies. If only three in-depth conversations yielded that result, odds are other companies attending the event are in similar situations. It is encouraging all three companies are thrilled with their local employees.
The building trades are busy. A significant portion of their work is local companies expanding. Members are sleeping in their own beds. The trades are looking for apprentices who can earn while they learn. In Charleston, there are signs outside the union hall advertising for carpenter apprentices.
Why is this happening and why will it continue? Shale Crescent USA is in the middle of the largest consumer market in the world. Natural gas is the fuel of manufacturing. It is a source of energy and molecules. Shale Crescent USA has natural gas in abundance.
This week Visual Capitalists released an article comparing U.S. natural gas fields to other counties. Some key takeaways from the article are;
• Shale Crescent USA ranks #1 among U.S. producing regions and #2 when compared to other nations.
• Shale Crescent USA produces more natural gas than major countries including Iran (pre-war), China, Canada, and Qatar.
• Abundant natural gas provides manufacturers with long-term energy and operational advantages.
• The entire country of Russia produces 59 BCFD in natural gas but its production facilities are under attack from Ukraine restricting production.
• SCUSA produces 36.7 BCFD. The Permian produces 27.6 BCFD followed by Iran and China at 25.6 BCFD.
Because of natural gas, the Shale Crescent USA organization is working with companies who want to expand to the SCUSA to manufacture critical products the USA is importing from places like China. This creates high-wage jobs, tax revenues, improves national security and lowers global emissions.
Optimism and belief in a bright future for our children and grandchildren, like my players know, requires work. More trained technicians and engineers are needed. To prepare for the future, the first challenge is training our minds to tune out negative and believe a bright future is possible. From Ted Lasso Apple TV, "Believe and Win!"
Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a masters in environmental engineering and over 40 years of experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker, author of four books and many published articles.