Wolf&Grayson EditorialGetting people to believe in the impossible takes more than just a positive attitude. After years of working with leaders at companies like IBM and Verizon, Adriana Delor knows what moves people to action. While most experts focus on frameworks and formulas, she takes a different approach. Her work digs into the human side of achievement, exploring how conviction and courage shape what’s possible.
Conviction as a Form of Influence
History shows us what conviction can do. “Think about the Wright Brothers,” Adriana points out. “Two brothers who are credited with flying the first heavier than air human flight. They were ridiculed for believing that humans can fly, but their unwavering conviction fuelled their pursuit and ultimately led to one of the greatest inventions of all time.” This kind of belief does more than just keep you going – it pulls others along with you. Adriana explains this through a simple scenario: “Imagine you’re walking down the forest with a group of people and you’re lost. All of a sudden one of you starts charging forward in some direction, convinced that this is the right way. You feel an urge to follow them, right?”
The same principle works in business and life. Strong conviction attracts supporters, investors, employees, and customers. On a personal level, it builds courage, boundaries, and self-esteem. “In your personal life, this conviction gets you a great career and loving relationships,” Adriana notes. “If you believe something, people will follow you, and so many psychological experiments prove this.”
Breaking Free from Structure
Most people think success comes from following a formula. But Adriana sees it differently. Looking back at the Wright Brothers, she notes, “They didn’t have a manual, they didn’t have a formula, they had kind of an unstructured approach.” This might sound counterintuitive in today’s efficiency-obsessed world. “As a business, budgets are tight and the biggest priority is always the profitability of the current business,” she acknowledges. The same goes for personal goals: “Whether it’s career relationships, each one of us is fighting against time, so structure seems key.” But there’s a catch to all this structure.
Adriana warns that sticking to old patterns limits what’s possible. “If we use the same structure, the same molds that we’ve always used, we will only end up where everybody else has already been.” Real breakthroughs need space to breathe. She points to bestselling author Eckhart Tolle’s work on reality: achievement often requires doing less, not more. It needs “unoccupied space and time for the subconscious, for the circumstances, for the patterns of the world to emerge in front of us.”
Courage as a Psychological Phenomenon
Most people think courage means not being afraid. But Adriana sees it differently: “This word courage seems kind of fluffy, like okay have courage, right? But really the word courage is actually about the psychology of people.” She breaks down what this really means in practice.
“Courage from a psychological perspective is not simply the absence of fear,” she explains. “It’s a complex interplay of cognitive emotional and behavioral processes that allow individuals to act.” This understanding changes how we approach challenges, whether we’re facing them alone or leading others. The key lies in understanding how courage works on a psychological level. Whether you’re building your own courage or inspiring it in others, the principles stay the same. It’s about understanding what moves people to action, not just telling them to be brave.
These three forces – conviction, freedom from structure, and the psychology of courage – work together to make the impossible possible. Looking at history’s greatest achievements proves this point. “Think about some of the greatest achievements in history,” Adriana reminds us. “Landing on the moon, breaking the sound barrier, creating the internet – at one point these were all considered improbable, even impossible.” The formula for achieving the unlikely isn’t really a formula at all. It’s about understanding how these forces work together. When strong belief meets the freedom to explore new paths, backed by real courage, that’s when breakthroughs happen. These forces remind us that most limitations exist only in our minds.
To learn more about Adriana Delor and her approach, check out her website and LinkedIn profile.
