Chapter 7
Adding the Fuel
(Developing the Power of Belief)
Fanning an ember will only do so much for it. It will glow brighter but it will eventually require fuel to burst into flames. The fuel that you need to create those flames is “Belief”. Belief is a stumbling block for most people. And you can’t fake belief. You can’t make believe you believe. It doesn’t work. You either believe tor you don’t. I can use affirmations all day long but if I don’t believe them they are useless. I could repeat a hundred times a day, “I have a million dollars in my bank account, I have a million dollars in my bank account.” And at the end of the day my mind is going to remind me of the truth, “No you don’t.” And I will know that it is right.
What typically happens is that once we identify our passion a big goal formulates in our mind. But since our conscious mind can’t find a connection between where we are now and the accomplishment of that goal we get frustrated. All we see are the limitations. We then start trying to force a solution. We start chasing our goal. (This is being outwardly directed). We then end up going down the wrong path, get frustrated, get discouraged and eventually give up. Then all you friends and family say, “See I told you so.” You then give up on your dreams and go on living “a life of quiet desperation.” It doesn’t have to be this way.
We’ve spent our entire lives up until now judging our world by the information gathered by the conscious mind and believing in its limitations. We see people struggling, we see failed businesses, we look at our previous failed attempts or struggles and our conscious mind translates that into doubts and worries and fear. But I will bet you that all your failed attempts and all the struggles you have witnessed were because you and others were “chasing” something and not following your passion, not using your imagination and not being inwardly inspired to action. And that makes all the difference in the world. Ignore your doubts for now. Shakespeare said it best. “Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft’ might win by fearing to attempt.”
And unfortunately, our friends, our families and most of society reinforce these limitations so much that we no longer believe the truth. And the truth is that as long as you are aligned with your passion and your purpose there are absolutely NO LIMITS to your potential! NONE! That is the truth. Not what your conscious mind leads you to believe.
So if we can’t fake belief, what do we do? There are several things that you can do to increase your belief and add more fuel to your ember. First, simply doing the exercise I suggested earlier of fanning the ember by giving your thought and attention to your passion on a daily basis will help. Remember, what you’re giving your attention to expands in your consciousness. Because as you do that ideas will start to flow as well as increased excitement for what you want to do and eventually you will be able to see clearly your very next step. This alone will give you increased confidence and will increase your belief in what is possible. As you continue to take those inspired small steps your confidence and your belief will grow.
The second thing you can do to increase your belief is to affirm the truth regardless of outward appearances. Outward appearances are simply the information that is gathered by your conscious mind. Remember, this information is limited but your mind doesn’t know that it is limited so it makes a log of wrong assumptions. So if your mind see’s a lot of people unemployed your conscious mind assumes that it will be difficult for you to get the job that you want. But the truth is that there are people who are thriving despite the economic environment. You will see all the people who have started a business and failed and your mind will tell you it’s too difficult to run a successful business. But the truth is that there are people who are thriving. Those are the truths you need to focus on and I’ll bet you the people who are thriving are the ones following their passion. So what are the truths you should be affirming regardless of outward appearances? The truth is that opportunities are unlimited, ideas are unlimited, creativity is unlimited, abundance is unlimited, your potential is unlimited…as long as you are aligned with your passion. Those are the truths you should be affirming every day.
The third thing you can do to increase your belief in your unlimited potential is to read and study about truly successful people. Because in the story of their lives is the proof that people have unlimited potential. You will notice that these people all have things in common. They were following their passion and they believed in themselves. But you will also see that many of them also had doubts that they had to overcome. Other people said they couldn’t do it.
All the things that you will probably face in your quest to discover your purpose and your passion. But they persisted and also most of them said that as a result, what they accomplished was beyond their wildest dreams. Read these stories and be inspired to imagine your own dreams being fulfilled.
While we are on the topic of belief I want to caution you about sharing your dreams and goals with others. Because no matter how much your family and friends love you they probably see the world the way most people do and they will be happy to tell you all the reasons you can’t accomplish your goals. They will see nothing but the illusions of limitations. They will tell you that you do not have enough money, time, knowledge, experience, support, etc, etc, to do what you want to do. You will just get frustrated trying to tell them otherwise because they will offer up “proof.” They will give you example after example of all the people who have tried and failed and all the people who are struggling as a result of their foolish efforts and they will remind you of all the things that you tried and failed at in the past. And then they will give you my favorite illogical line of all time, “you have to be realistic!” I love that one. Who’s reality are they talking about? Their false reality that they just described? What they don’t understand is that we create our own reality and we do it with the power of our imagination. We imagine where we want to go and if it is aligned with our passions it will take us there. Regardless of outward appearances. If you have doubts about this start reading stories of successful people and you will see the truth in this. History is filled with stories of people who were told that they couldn’t achieve something but did it anyway.
Unless you can find friends who are like minded you are better off not talking to others about your plans. Let what you do and what you become speak for you. I have another sign hanging in my office that says, “When setting out on a journey; never heed advice from someone who has never left home.” Makes sense? If someone tells you that you can’t do something ask yourself, “what great things has this person accomplished?” And if the answer is “nothing.” Why should their opinion carry any weight? If you want to talk with someone about your dreams and your goals, talk to someone who has been where you want to go. They will never tell you something is impossible. They will give you encouragement and maybe even a few good ideas.
All of this takes practice and persistence. You imagine engaging in your passion, you imagine how it makes you feel, how it will change your life, how it will impact others. You image all the possibilities. As you feel your passion and energy growing your belief will grow along with it. Keep reminding yourself that your current situation is just temporary. Do not try to force too big of a leap. In fact do not try and force anything at all. Learn to listen to your intuition. Consistently fan that ember (give it your thought and attention) and eventually the next step will present itself. Let it be alright to be just a small step. Don’t try and rush it. Then keep using your imagination until the next step becomes clear. And then continue on that path. The more you do this the clearer your path will become. That fog you were surrounding yourself with will eventually begin to lift. Eventually your future will become so clear that there will be no doubt in your mind that you are headed in the right direction. You will be filled with excitement and enthusiasm and belief will no longer be an issue for you. You will then know without a doubt the truth: Your potential for following your passion is unlimited.
Dream big dreams that are aligned with your passion and your subconscious mind will eventually show you the way. An incredibly exciting journey awaits you on this path.