Use Self Belief To Shape Your Own Destiny

Use Self Belief To Shape Your Own Destiny
by: Elaine Currie

Of all the things that go towards shaping our destiny, it is our belief in our own abilities which has the greatest influence. Our level of self belief determines whether we succeed or fail to achieve our dreams and ambitions. As Henry Ford said "If you think you can, you're right. If you think you can't, you're right."

I was watching a program on the Biography Channel the other day which illustrated the truth of Henry Ford's words and highlighted the importance of self-belief. The subject of this program dropped out of the educational system without a degree, in fact, he quit school before he even reached college age and left school with woefully inadequate qualifications. The reason for this academic failure was a combination of dyslexia and general lack of interest in school work.

Sadly, the lack of academic achievement was accompanied by a complete lack of prowess on the sports field. To top it all off, as well as being a dunce and a sporting failure, the poor kid was not even good looking. He did not have rich parents to give him financial support . His parents were not business owners, so there was no chance of a career via nepotism. He had no obvious skills or talent, so a career as an artist or musician was not an option.

This sounded like the stereotypical beginning for a person who will at best survive by taking low-paid employment and, at worst, will drift into a life of crime as a way of snatching what he is incapable of earning. His school headmaster is credited with saying on his premature departure from the education system, ‘I feel sure you will either end up in prison or become a millionaire'. To entertain the idea that this person had any prospect of becoming a millionaire, you would have to know his character. We can only see the external disadvantages, the headmaster was aware of the strength of character and depth of self belief existing within this person. That self-belief more than made up for any lack of education and academic qualifications.

One thing the prospective jailbird/millionaire had was the ability to spot a niche for a new business. No, this is not a story of luck bringing an instant rags to riches transformation. Unfortunately his first two business ventures failed miserably. Did this set him on a path of serial business failures? Not at all, the failures probably taught him valuable lessons. He started the first business at the age of seven, so the chances of real success were pretty remote! The fact that he had sufficient self-belief to start his first business before he even reached his teenage years gives us a clue as to his character.

The condensed version of the rest of this biography is that the "hero" of the story built a successful business before he reached his twenties, was a millionaire by the age of 25 and was the owner of a Caribbean island before he was thirty. He did not stop working then, he went on from flamboyant success to even bigger flamboyant success, setting records and achieving the apparently impossible.

The subject of the TV program was Sir Richard Branson who is, at the time of writing, a billionaire several times over. He has attributed his success to hard work, belief in his business ventures and a willingness to take risks. These risks have included the well publicised (and life threatening) hot-air balloon journeys, starting a business on borrowed capital and taking risks in business where the potential losses were huge.

It is self-belief which made it possible to take those risks. Without belief in himself, Richard Branson would not have dared to borrow the money to start his first business as a magazine publisher after leaving school. Without self-belief the balloon challenges would not have been contemplated. Without self-belief the ambition to own an airline would have remained just a dream.

"It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself". Those words were said by Muhammad Ali but they sum up the essence of what makes any person able to reach his goals in life. We must learn to sow and cultivate self-belief if we wish to achieve the harvest of our dreams.


About The Author
For more about self motivation in business visit Elaine Currie's Work At Home Website: Hunting Venus (close new window/tab to return to this page). Find more information and articles at Elaine Currie (close new window/tab to return to this page).

Success Key - How ATTITUDE Plays a Huge Role

Success Key - How ATTITUDE Plays a Huge Role
by: Phil Barnao

The first step in the road to success lies within the importance of our attitudes. Our Attitudes and thoughts dictate our future for better or worse. The wrong attitude is probably the cause of more failure then any other principle, philosophy or strategy.

So before you think about the secrets that will lead you down the road of prosperity, happiness and wealth, let me say this… You must first cover subject of attitude or face the fact that you will never have what you truly want. On that note; we all must make a choice to either go after the lifestyle we truly desire or remain were we are.

Attitude is a choice. It’s your choice. It is not based upon feelings it’s strictly a mental thing. Attitude is a mental position toward a particular fact, state or situation. Again that means that you have control over it. Sometimes you can’t change a situation, but you have control over how you react to it. We all do and there are no excuses with this.

The fact that you are happy, joyful and excited or sad, depressed and angry is a direct result of the attitude that YOU have chosen to take at that time. It’s not like you have to be in that mood. You really have just chosen to be.

It took me a long time to figure this out for myself that this is the way it really works. But know I can honestly say that it is 100% true. Every time I am in the state of having a bad attitude it’s because I choose to dwell on something that I should not have.

Now obviously there are some things that occur in life that will cause it to be more difficult to control but the key is not to stay there too long.

Here’s why…

"As a man (or person) thinketh in his heart so is he". Basically this means that our thoughts (or attitude) are what determine our future. You have the power to create or destroy your own future based upon your thoughts.

So have a great attitude and think big...

I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty score.

For life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have surely paid.

The bottom line is whether we believe we can or believe we can't, we're right. In order to receive we must first ask and then believe that it's possible. You must believe that you can have an abundance of money, have a great marriage, be the best parent or that you can actually create any lifestyle that you desire.

The truth is..."You are in control of your future the minute you choose to be and you can create absolutely anything you truly desire to and it all starts with attitude."

Attitude

by Chuck Swindoll
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”
Do not allow what other people say or do to dictate your attitude. People will with out even realizing it try and bring you down. You have to fight against it. The statement that misery loves company is more often than not a true statement. It’s not always the person’s fault that they are disrupting you because they are not aware of it, but you need to be so that you can knowingly choose to remain in the right attitude.
A miserable person or even someone who just happens to be in a bad mood (we’re all guilty of this sometimes) will try to identify with you by bringing you into their negative mental state. They don’t purposely do it, it’s just a reflection of their inability to control their attitude at that time.

The Success Scoop is provided to You
by: Phil Barnao
…Author of the explosively powerful
free Success Scoop E-zine… Success Scoop (close new window to get back to this page).

About The Author
Phil Barnao had experienced a youth of bad programming and wrong choices that led him to a life of struggle, disappointment and utter dissatisfaction. In his early twenties by the grace of God he came to a turning point in his life and was then introduced to the industry of personal development.

Phil states that the information he learned completely changed his paradigm and the course of his life forever. “The way that it all went down during that time has left me so thankful and convinced it was a divine encounter.”

Motivated by his change, Phil is determined to empower others towards success and happiness. He holds a passion for assisting others in pursuing their dreams and ambitions. He says “by creating a balanced growth in their life, implementing success strategies and making the relationships anyone can achieve the lifestyle they desire and fulfill their divine purpose in life.”

Phil owns multiple businesses and is a true entrepreneur at heart. He is a student, author, motivator, speaker, coach and minister of personal development and freedom. His company Wealth Creations International (aka… W.C. Group) will empower you towards the character, lifestyle, relationships and finances you want.

The W.C. Group has a FREE newsletter called success scoop that is jam packed with nuggets of valuable life changing information. Phil’s philosophy is to completely over deliver in success scoop and make it the most valuable free e-zine in the industry. You deserve to have it. Go sign up for free right now! Success Scoop (close new window to get back to this page)