This is Mike Lipkin and I want to talk to you about the difference between people who freeze in the face of uncertainty from those who move others forward in the middle of chaos. That difference is conviction.
Conviction is the bedrock belief in your principles, your preparation, and your purpose—even when everything around you is in flux.
Look: right now, we live in what I call EVAC – extreme volatility anxiety and chaos. Technology is transforming hourly. Markets are shifting daily. Crises of all shapes and sizes erupt without warning. When the ground is shaking, people instinctively look for something steady to hold onto. And that’s where your conviction becomes your most compelling source of charisma and attractiveness.
Think about this: according to Deloitte’s 2023 Human Capital Trends report, the single most desired trait in leaders today is the ability to bring clarity and confidence to uncertainty. People don’t expect you to have all the answers—they expect you to have the courage to stand tall in the storm and keep going.
Here’s the truth: conviction gives you authority even before the results show up. Because conviction is the energy that says: I don’t know exactly how this is going to turn out, but I know why I’m here, I know what I stand for, and I know we’re going to figure it out.
Now, let’s bring it back to you. Conviction is about your daily choices. It’s how you show up in meetings no matter what your mood. It’s whether you live your values especially when it’s hard. It’s the decision to confront the brutal facts when it would be easier to cut corners or hide.
This isn’t just motivational rhetoric. There’s data. A recent Harvard Business Review study found that employees working under leaders who are clear and consistent with their principles are three times as engaged, and engagement directly correlates with higher performance, better resilience, and greater retention. Conviction pays big dividends.
But I want to be crystal: conviction doesn’t mean arrogance. It means combining expertise with humility, confidence with openness, accountability with compassion. It means having faith that even if the path isn’t clear, the future can be shaped together with the people around you. Conviction is a force multiplier – it transforms your ambition into momentum that inspires others to move.
So here are Lipkin’s 7 steps to Building Unstoppable Conviction
1. Declare Your Purpose
Start by declaring your why – out loud, with passion. When you know what makes your heart beat faster, you’ll have the fuel to inspire yourself and everyone around you. Your purpose is your power source. Own it. Broadcast it. Live it.” Mine is exciting people into successful action just like I’m doing with you now.
2. Do Your Homework – Build Deep Belief Through Preparation and Experience
Conviction isn’t just wishful thinking – it’s confidence built on a mountain of homework and hard-won experience. Learn the facts. Get your hands dirty. Study the details until you master your material like a maestro. Every day is an opportunity to upgrade your expertise. Be curious. Dive deeper than the headlines. Then believe in yourself because you’ve earned the right to get in front of others When you walk into a room with real knowledge and lived experience, your conviction is contagious.
3. Test Ideas and Seek Feedback
Share your ideas, put them into practice and invite challenge. Your conviction gets stronger in the crucible of honest feedback. Don’t shy away from critics – embrace them, learn from them, convert them. Critics can become the fiercest advocates. That’s how I got to where I am. First, they’ll resist you. Then they’ll listen to you. Then they’ll follow you.
4. Embrace Your Failures
See every setback as a stepping stone. Champions aren’t made in the comfort zone – like fine steel, they’re forged in the fire of intense competition. Let every failure teach you, toughen you, and strengthen your conviction. What tastes bitter at the time will make you better later. My failures define me. They’ve been public and humiliating. They’re also the reason why my successes are so spectacular. That’s why you’re watching me now.
5. Act Boldly
Bold actions are conviction in motion. Take the leap, even if the landing isn’t guaranteed. It’s in the doing that belief becomes reality. Stand tall, move fast, and make things. Conviction is a language all of its own. It looks and sounds like money. Ka-ching, ka-ching
6. Surround Yourself with the Best People
Fill your life with believers, mobilizers, adventurers, dreamers, doers, magicians, and mentors. Create a community where ambition is the standard. Context is decisive. We become the company we keep. Our conversations inspire our aspirations. Relationships are the backbone of our convictions. The best people make us stronger, smarter, faster.
7. Reflect, Refresh, Reset
Reflection is the heart of reinvention. Don’t look back in regret. Look back to learn. Every day is a masterclass in motivation if you derive the right lessons from it. Don’t beat yourself up. Build yourself up. Experience is the growth engine of conviction if you interpret it the right way. Savour your wins and celebrate your losses – they’re part of your wins. Never get stuck. Tell yourself new stories of discovery and breakthroughs. Then turn your narrative into reality.
Build it, live it, lead with it—and watch the world respond! In the end, volatility will pass, crises will fade, but your conviction will not only carry you forward, it will pull others along with you.
This is Mike Lipkin, and I know we now share the conviction that our best days are always ahead of us because we will make them so. It’s all up to you along with everybody else. Just pay it forward.
