“As a man thinketh, so he is. As he continues to think, so he remains.” -James Allen
Do you believe you’ll soon become 100% financially independent?
Do you believe you’ll never get divorced?
Are you positive you’ll ever travel the world?
What you believe determines what you become. You see what you look for;you attract what you are.
Most people don’t realize their beliefs determine the rest of their life; what you believe today has real effects on tomorrow. Your income, success, health, and who you ultimately become are based entirely on what you believe will happen.
As Michael Jordan once said:
“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”
If you believe you can can, odds are you probably will.
But the opposite is also true — if you know you can’t, you’re probably right.
Bruce Lee put it this way: “One will never get any more than he thinks he canget.” What you truly, deeply believe is true about yourself and your future is most likely what will happen.
What do you believe?
The problem is, most people don’t have powerful self-belief in themselves.Most people think this is about as good as it gets. For the most part, most people believe the best they can be is merely “good.”
Why? Because it’s easier to stay in mediocrity than undertake the difficult process of upgrading your belief system. It’s easier to relax in “good” instead of busting your ass towards greatness.
If you want to have an incredible, successful life, you need to begin believing success is the only possible option.
“One of the greatest turning points in my life occurred when I stopped casually waiting for success and started to approach it as a duty, obligation, and responsibility.” -Grant Cardone
It’s Easier to Stay Mediocre Than Evolve
“It is easier to be mediocre than it is to confront reality and quit.” -Seth Godin
It’s not that most people wake up every day and declare, “Today is going to suck!”
Most people have tried to evolve in some way. The problem is, once they fail, they quickly give up and settle into their mediocrity. They tried improving, it didn’t go as planned, so they gave up.
It’s easier to stay mediocre than face the pain of attempting and failing.
Said motivational speaker Les Brown:
“Most people knock on the door of their dreams once, then run away before anyone has a chance to the open the door.But if you keep knocking, persistently and endlessly, eventually the door will open.”
It’s easier to quit. It’s what most people do.
But here’s a secret most people stewing in mediocrity don’t realize:
It’s actually harder to live in mediocrity than work towards greatness.
Waking up every day knowing today is going to be average-at-best is exhausting. It’s depressing. It sucks all your energy out before you even get out the door.
It might seem easier to simply stay where you are; it’s not great, but why rock the boat, right?
Wrong. Remaining in mediocrity is more exhausting than working towards success. It takes energy either way — why not get what you want in the process?
“If you keep on living like the way you are now, you will continue to produce the same life you already have.” -Jim Rohn
If You Want to Upgrade Your Life, Upgrade Your Mindset First
“If you want to have more success, you need to become more.” -Jim Rohn
If you want to upgrade every area of your life — your income, your health, your relationships, your potential — you must become more.
How do you become more?
By upgrading your mindset first.
Prolific author Napoleon Hill once wrote:
“Success comes to those who are success-conscious.”
If you have a mindset that is always looking for success and improvement, you’ll find it.
I blogged for 4 years, and after 4 years I had accomplished…nothing. I had no followers, no views, and no income. Frankly, I eventually began believing I couldn’t succeed. I didn’t think my writing was good enough for the big leagues…and it wasn’t.
But last year, I finally got serious. I believed I was going to be one of the best writers on the Internet. As a result, I invested heavily in myself. My confidence grew. I built momentum, reinforcing my belief. After years of failed pitches, suddenly CNBC and Business Insider came to me. I’ve gained 20,000+ new email subscribers. I just signed a book deal!
“Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become.” -Hal Elrod
Strong belief attracts success.
But no belief guarantees failure.
Richard Wiseman, a former street magician turned researcher and author, conducted a study with two groups — one group of people who thought of themselves as lucky, the other self-proclaimed they were “unlucky.”
For one study, Wiseman placed a $20 dollar bill on the street. The group that believed they were lucky spotted the bill almost every time; the “unlucky” group almost always ignored it and walked right past!
Success, in all its forms, isn’t something you seize so much as it is something that is attracted to you. The most effective, productive method of becoming a more successful person is believing you already are one.
Wrote best-selling motivational author Dr. David Schwartz:
“Belief, strong belief, triggers the mind to figure out ways and means how to.”
Most people don’t truly believe they can achieve greatness. They don’t believe they can actually live an extraordinary life.
As a result, this becomes true; they aren’t successful. They don’t attract opportunities. In fact, they actively miss them — even if it’s right at their feet!
But if you believe — truly believe — in your ability to succeed, you will. Your mind will figure out the means how.
“Whatever the conscious, reasoning mind of man believes’ the subconscious mind will accept and act upon.”
-Joseph Murphy, The Power of the Subconscious Mind
If You Always Let Others Think For You, You’ll Never Become Who You Want to Be
“Do not let others do your thinking for you.” -Joseph Murphy
The fact is, it’s easier to let others think for you.
It’s so convenient. If others are calling the shots, you bear none of the responsibility! If you try and fail, it’s not your fault — it’s theirs.
Grammy-award winning artist Kendrick Lamar once wrote, “I want the credit if I’m losing or I’m winning.” This is an uncommon mindset, one always found with highly successful people, and almost never found with unsuccessful individuals.
Most people aren’t willing to take full responsibility of their life; they might want the credit for the successes, but hate having to own up to the failures.
The result? Most people let others do their thinking for them.
This may save you from experiencing unpleasant responsibilities — admitting you haven’t made any progress after all this time while you could have, but didn’t — but you suffer far more in the long run.
When you are not your true self, that part of you begins acting out. As best-selling author David Kadavy wrote:
“When our true self doesn’t get a chance to follow its desires, it acts out in strange ways.”
The more you let others do your thinking for you, the farther you drift away from what you want.
Don’t let others do your thinking for you. It’s easier, more convenient, and hassle-free, but every day your future grows more boring and mediocre.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
-Steve Jobs
Acting “As If” Becomes Acting As Is
“What you think, feel, and do is what you see, hear, and attract.” -James Altucher
There are powerful mental, physiological, and emotional shifts that happen when you begin believing you’re the best.
“The only way you become a leading man is by treating yourself like a leading man and working your ass off,” wrote Arnold Schwarzenegger is his autobiography.
Author Darren Hardy put it this way: “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon… must inevitably come to pass!”
Tony Robbins once made the point that you get what you tolerate. If you tolerate mediocre, that’s exactly what you’ll get. If you act as if mediocrity is OK, then you’ll begin molding your beliefs to fit this reality.
But the opposite is true, too. If you act like the best, you’ll begin making choices and behaving in ways to make that a reality.
- Why do you keep tolerating mediocrity?
- Why do you keep believing you’re second-class?
- When are you going to finally get serious?
The world’s top performers don’t tolerate anything below extraordinary. They are tireless in their quest for progression, learning, focusing, and growth.They become addicted to becoming better every day.
In the words of Darren Hardy:
“The key to becoming world-class in your endeavors is to build your performance around world-class routines.”
If you begin acting like the best, that’s what you’ll become.
Every day, your conscious mind takes orders from your belief system. Every choice you make, every word you say is based on these beliefs.
In his book, The Power of the Subconscious Mind, Joseph Murphy explained,“As you sow in your subconscious mind, so shall you reap in your body and environment.” What this means is simple: what you tell yourself is what you become.
If you act “as if” you are what you want to be — a professional athlete, a CEO of a $10M startup, a loving husband and father — you’ll eventually begin acting as these individuals actually act.
But if you continue to act in the ways you always have, you’ll never have anything more than what you already have.
“If you want to get to the next level of whatever you’re doing, you must think and act in a wildly different way than you previously have been.” -Grant Cardone
In Conclusion
“You cannot see what you don’t look for, and you cannot look for what you don’t believe in.” -Darren Hardy
If you have more than 2 close friends, you’re part of the minority.
Over half of Americans are on track to retire with less than $10,000.
There are actually more Americans that are obese than simply overweight!
Why are so many people living in mediocrity? Why don’t people have the lives they want?
A fundamental reason is because they simply don’t believe their ideal life is even possible.
You cannot gain what you don’t look for. Whatever you believe about yourself becomes true. Your belief system is incredibly powerful — it determines how successful (or unsuccessful) you’ll ultimately become.
Your thoughts are the reason you are where you are right now. If you’re not where you want to be, ask yourself: how are my thoughts limiting me? What beliefs are holding me back?
If you want more, then start with upgrading your mindset. Because what you believe about yourself determines who you become.
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