"Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Believe it's true...
Having an understanding of how successful people think is crucial to the success of your positive change. If you think about a successful person now, you probably think of someone who is untroubled by failure, no matter how many setbacks they seem to have; someone who always carries on...and succeeds...so how do they do it?
Through working with many successful people, something has become clear...whatever they do, they believe that it is possible. Now, you may say, "Well I believe that stuff is possible and I still never achieve it," and you would be right, but the type of belief that I am talking about is the belief that it is really, really possible...so possible that they would feel it on a neurological level...the sort of belief they would defend their life with.
For many years, successful people believed that the world was flat...they would be fearful of travelling too far into the open sea for they may just fall off the edge! It wasn't until they pushed the boundaries of their own fears that they discovered a whole new world...opening up a whole new world of possibilities...unrestricted by the beliefs of others. Your beliefs are how you map out your world, they control your decisions...what is possible and what is not...but also how you see opportunities and successes. When you understand your beliefs, and how they were created, you are able to represent whether they are true, change those that are no longer needed...just like the world not being flat...and build new beliefs about what you can do.
A good friend, who is a successful London entrepreneur, decided at a young age that beliefs were going to allow her to be a leader within her field. To this end, she sat down and wrote out what she wanted from life and what she had; she still keeps this with her everywhere she goes, so that should she ever forget what she wanted, she can refer to it.
This is part of what she wrote:
1.I have the drive, determination, and power to do whatever I think.
2.I have the ability to be flexible and think on my feet.
3.I have access to all the information in the library.
4.If someone else has done it, then so can I.
5.Other people have the right to their opinion, but so do I.
6.I will only believe what I can see, not what others have told me.
7.Just because they can't, doesn't mean I won't.
8.All the time I am breathing, I will go forwards not backwards, including my thoughts.
9.Waiting is for lazy people.
Now, she started with the label "nothing"; a broken home, with no money or education, brought up to believe that success was for those who went to university, those who had money, or anyone else more fortunate than them. But, rather than accepting this as the truth, she perceived life as an opportunity to live, to grasp everything that helped her, and to discard the rest. Her beliefs about her own ability to achieve a life she deserved, far outweighed the beliefs of others and what they believed was possible.
Just think for a moment about something in your own life that is heavily restricted by a belief... something that if you gave permission...would allow you so many more opportunities and successes...! Once you have it...visualise the feeling as you board it on a ship...and then push it out far out into the distance...
My friend started as she meant to go on; she wrote down what she wanted and what she believed, and she persisted.
What would you write down?
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