BY JEFF CORBETT

I recently watched the film “Ray,” the inspiring story of Ray Charles, and I loved it!

If you delve deeper into the making of this film, you’ll discover a powerful message that can help you in your own life. 

Actor Jamie Foxx, who was exceptional in the title role and won an Academy Award for his work, shared his memory about the first time he met the legendary musician, who had been his childhood hero.

He was sitting on a piano bench beside Charles.  As they played the blues, Charles would play a riff, and the actor would respond with one of his own. However, when Charles played something much more difficult, Foxx froze up.

After a period of silence, Charles prompted his new friend: “It’s right underneath your fingertips, baby. That’s all you have to understand — everything is right under your fingers.”

According to Foxx, that simple phrase became his new metaphor for life — that everything he needs is right underneath his fingertips, that true power always comes from within.

The Locus of Control

Back in the 1960s, psychologist Julian Rotter developed a concept he called “Locus of Control.”

Locus means “location” or “place,” and there are there are two kinds of control — internal and external.

Dr. David Gershaw of Arizona Western College contends that “Your life is profoundly influenced by whether you perceive control over your life as predominantly internal or external. Locus of control influences the way you view yourself & your opportunities.”

When someone has an internal locus of control, they believe that their success and behavior are guided by their choices, decisions, and efforts.

They believe that they personally control and have responsibility for their own destiny. Call it “self-determination.”

Someone with an external locus of control is just the opposite.

They are influenced by outside forces, including fear of missing out (FOMO), and feel that the outcomes of their actions are controlled by fate, luck, chance, or events outside of their personal control.

When they fail, they tend to blame someone or something else, instead of accepting personal responsibility.

See the difference?

Those with an internal locus of control tend to get better paying jobs and have happier lives since they are calling their own shots and charting their own path.

We Limit Ourselves

Flea trainers have discovered an unusual habit of fleas while training them.

If you’ve wondered how you train fleas, you first put them in a cardboard box, like a shoebox, with the lid on. As the fleas jump on the inside, they repeatedly hit the top of the box.

Eventually, something odd happens. They keep jumping, but no longer high enough to bang their heads.

The next step is to remove the lid. The fleas continue to jump, but never out of the box.

They have conditioned themselves to jump just so high, and no more. And once they’ve done this, that’s the highest they’ll ever go.

Do you see the analogy? You possess incredible potential to do great things, but over time you may have settled for just average performance, thinking you are doing all you can do.

Continually check to be sure you are not restricting yourself and your potential.

Stevie Wonder said it well: “We all have the ability. The difference is how we use it.”

Negative Perceptions Hold Us Back

In their book, “The Disney Way,” Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson share the power of perceptions as revealed by a study at San Jose State University.

The Physics Department at the university took pride that one of their freshman physics courses was so hard that 50 percent of students either failed or dropped the class.

One semester, a professor decided to try an experiment.

He took two identical classes, and on the first day, he told the first class that the material was so difficult that half of the students would drop out or flunk.

In the second class, he said that normally 50 percent of students failed the course, but that, in reviewing all the students’ high school grades, this particular group all had an exceptional aptitude for math and science.

True to course, in the first class, 50 percent either dropped out or flunked out. In the second group, every student passed with a grade of C or better.

Our perceptions can determine the outcome of what we do.

You Set the Standard

Star performers know their power comes from within, and when they allow their potential to fully express itself, they become leaders by example.

They walk the talk, and you automatically know who these individuals are when you meet them. They ooze confidence and ability, and they set the bar higher for us all.

You, too, can be in this elite group, which is driven not by external expectations but by their own ambition and initiative. It makes for a most fulfilling life.

Start today by demanding more of yourself. You have the power deep within to do this. Listen to it, follow it, use it.

Everything you need is right under your fingertips!

Jeff Corbett is an experienced public speaker, meeting facilitator and sales and marketing professional. He lives in Statesville. He can be reached at jeff@speak-well.com.