May

28

Your Beliefs Determine Your Level of Success

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“Success” means different things to different people, but no matter how you define success, there tend to be certain consistent principles that transcend the various definitions of success. One of those success principles is a recurring theme on this blog – the idea that success or failure is a result of the way we think, because the way we think determines the actions that we take and therefore the results we get. If you don’t like the results you are getting, then you need to change your actions and therefore your thoughts. It has been said that one definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. We are all guilty of this to a certain extent, and it does seem a little insane. Sometimes we have to take a step back and look at our actions with fresh eyes. You don’t want to be like the fly that crashes into the window over and over again in an attempt to get outside. If you change your thoughts, you will change your life. It’s as simple as that.

The Power of Beliefs

Few people recognize the true power that beliefs have over our lives. As Tony Robbins once wrote,
“Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy.” I don’t think that this is an exaggeration. Beliefs have a strong impact on the way we think. What is a belief? A belief is just a sense of certainty that something is true. The problem is that most of us don’t really challenge our beliefs once we accept them, and many of our beliefs are formed while we are still too young to think critically about them.

“Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless.”

- B.F. Skinner -

Ask yourself: What beliefs do I have that could possibly be preventing me from achieving the success that I’m capable of? For example, do you believe that wealthy people are greedy or evil? Do you believe that wealthy people take advantage of people to get money? Do you see how such negative associations could hold you back from taking the actions you need to take to become a wealthy person?

“The outer conditions of a person’s life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs.”

- James Allen -

Here are some more possible beliefs that could be holding you back. See if you have a voice in the back of your head whispering things such as:

“Becoming wealthy requires laboring for long hours at a stressful job.”

“I would need to be a cheap, miserable miser to get rich. I would rather be happy than rich.”

“Rich people are rich because they are lucky.”

“I can’t save now, but I am going to start saving for my future right after such-and-such happens.”

“I can’t get rich because I don’t know how.”

“Money doesn’t buy happiness.”

“The love of money is the root of all evil.”

“I would be rich if someone would just give me an opportunity.”

“I can’t be successful because I’m discriminated against for being a black person/woman/Martian.”

“I can’t do it because…”

“Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.”

- Mahatma Gandhi -

There are all sorts of possible negative beliefs that could be holding you back from taking the actions that you need to take to be successful. Many of them you probably aren’t even conscious of. You can change these beliefs that are holding you back by challenging them. For example, what about the idea that rich people are greedy or evil? My own personal belief is that rich people aren’t any greedier or more evil than people in the other social classes. It might seem like they are all greedy or evil because the media and our politicians incessantly tell stories of fraud, destruction of the environment, price gouging, or whatever, but these people really only make up a small fraction of the wealthy population. Your chances of being successful will improve if you change your belief from “Wealthy people are greedy or evil” to “Some wealthy people are greedy or evil, but I’m going to be one of the wealthy people that uses wealth to make the world a better place.” Change the belief that “Wealthy people get rich by taking advantage of people” to “Wealthy people get rich by giving something that people value in exchange for value in return.”

Personal Examples

So what are some of the beliefs that I’ve changed in my own life?

I used to have a belief that in order to get wealthy I was going to have to work extremely hard, gain numerous promotions, earn a high income, and after enough years passed by, then I would become wealthy. Then I changed my belief to believe that I could become wealthy even without a high income by living below my means, investing wisely, and being patient while my capital continues to grow.

I used to have a belief that whatever career I decided to choose was going to be the career that I was stuck with until I retired at 65. Then I changed my belief to believe that if I patiently and diligently save up the capital that I need to give me financial freedom, I will be able to do whatever I want. I would have the financial freedom to retire early if I wanted, or I could do whatever work that I found enjoyable without worrying about what kind of living it would provide.

Changing my beliefs changed my behavior by motivating me to save substantial portions of my income and by encouraging me to be patient.

So what beliefs are holding you back?

May

12

Learning to Live from a Dying Man

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A few months ago, I heard about a remarkable 47-year-old man named Randy Pausch, who is dying of pancreatic cancer. This is the most deadly form of cancer, with only about a 4% survival rate after 5 years. He isn’t remarkable because he has cancer, but rather because he has an amazingly positive attitude despite the knowledge that he is going to die soon. On August 15, 2007, Randy’s doctors told him that they expected him to have only 3-6 months of healthy living remaining. Palliative treatment has extended his life for a few more months. He passed the six-month mark on February 15, 2008, but the cancer is still progressing, and he has been suffering from numerous challenges to his health such as congestive heart failure and kidney failure.

After his diagnosis, he could have given up on life and felt sorry for himself, but instead he has dedicated himself to squeezing every bit of joy out of his remaining days. He is also preparing for his inevitable death by spending as much time as possible with his young children, teaching them as much as he can, and preparing lessons for them that will outlive him, so that they will be able to learn from him after he is gone and when they are old enough to really understand. In the process, he has given us lessons that we all can learn from.

“It seems only right that a place called Dead Man’s Hole should belong to a guy who nearly died – and who, by the way, has no intention of just barely living.”

- Lance Armstrong (Every Second Counts) -

The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. Randy tells us that there is an academic tradition called the “last lecture.” The question is: “Hypothetically, if you knew you were going to die, and you had one last lecture, what would you say to your students?” For Randy, the situation wasn’t hypothetical. He knew he was going to die. So Randy gave his “Last Lecture” on September 18, 2007, and the YouTube video of the lecture quickly became an Internet phenomenon. It is very inspirational and entertaining, and I highly recommend it. In his 76-minute lecture called Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, he talks about how to live your dreams, but in doing so, he also talks about how to live your life. I recommend setting aside some time to watch the whole thing, but if you want to start with something shorter, watch his 11-minute reprisal of his last lecture on Oprah. One of his recommendations that I loved was his recommendation to “Be a Tigger, not an Eeyore.”

“Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life!”

- Bertolt Brecht (The Mother) -

In April, ABC had a special about the “Last Lecture” that includes a powerful interview with Randy and his wife. The ABC special is 41 minutes long, but a lot of it consists of parts of the lecture. If you have already watched the original lecture, you will probably want to skip ahead to the interviews and video clips of him, his wife, and his children. They will really tug at your heartstrings. Randy also gave a 76-minute talk on Time Management. As he says in the video, he is “an authority to talk about what to do with limited time.” He gives some great advice, such as increasing your focus on doing the right things rather than doing things right. As a perfectionist myself, this is something that I am continually making a conscious effort to do. In any case, whether you expect to live only a few months or another 100 years, he has some great advice on time management to share.

Randy’s Book

Randy recently wrote a book called The Last Lecture. I haven’t read this book yet, but I can’t wait to buy it as soon as I have enough points on my credit card to get another Amazon gift certificate (yes, I’m an unabashed book junkie). He wrote the book for his children, but it contains advice that we all can benefit from, such as, “If I could only give three words of advice, they would be, ‘Tell the truth. If I got three more words, I’d add, ‘All the time.’”

Conclusion

You might be wondering why I am writing about life lessons on a website about wealth. The reason is because I don’t want you to wait until you are wealthy to begin really living your life. Don’t put off being happy until you are wealthy. If you think that being wealthy will suddenly make you happy, then you will probably be disappointed. This doesn’t mean that wealth isn’t a worthy pursuit, because wealth opens up possibilities that wouldn’t be available to us otherwise. Wealth can also be an amazing force for good in the world, but it isn’t necessary to being happy. We should focus on enjoying every single day.

Randy has been providing periodic updates on his condition. As of May 2, 2008, his tumors have begun to metastasize to his lungs and the lymph nodes in his chest. Reading through the updates really focuses your attention on how precious our time is. If you don’t have any health problems, it’s easy to take your time on this Earth for granted. The challenge is to stay focused on the present moment instead of always focusing on the past or the future.

“Near-death cleared the decks, and what came after was a bright, sparkling awareness: time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action, and purpose.”

- Lance Armstrong (Every Second Counts) -

As the old saying goes, live everyday as if it were your last, because one day you will be right.

Carpe diem. Seize the day.