Last week, I wrote about the transformative moment when I decided to go to USC. As I write this, I am wearing a USC t-shirt and matching shorts. My dress is not usually this coordinated.

That one mind shift changed my life and my wardrobe forever. The fact is that a mind shift is not usually some life altering event. For me, it was just a buddy calling me and telling me about an amazing experience. It did not hurt that he described the girls on campus. Every time I feel discouraged, I think about how I thought I could never make that a reality.

It’s tough to quantify the impact of how that shift in thinking changed the trajectory of my life. The shift impacted my life in two ways. First, is the obvious. I made lifelong friends. I went to their weddings. We travel together. We watch football games together. We celebrate each other’s expanding families. One day, I called my friend to tell him that my wife was expecting. At the other end of the phone I heard a chuckle. I asked him what was so funny. He said that his wife was also pregnant. I have so many of those moments which remind me what a great decision I made.

Every year, for the last decade, I am an honored lecturer for my friend and dean of the Marshall School of Business. I can happily call USC a client.

Now, the intangibles. Before this shift, I was wondering how many of my dreams do I ignore. I was in the state taking many of my dreams off the table. Right when I decided to go to USC, everything got put back on the table.

I have too many memories to recall as a result of that one seemingly small shift. The weddings, the guys’ nights out, the conversations with my friends, the advice and mentorship of my beloved professor, Jim Ellis, and, of course, my friendship with coach Pete Carroll. It was amazing to watch a friend win the biggest event in America.

The bottom line is that you are a couple mental shifts away from your amazing life and your dreams. Mental shifts are challenging, yet, at the same time, so simple. I have made and I continue to make small, yet powerful mental shifts even to this day. I believe in constant and incremental growth. A major component of that growth is simple, yet powerful mindset shifts.