“The only thing standing between you and a life of freedom and greatness are the constraints placed on your mind by the influence of The System.”
You are great. You have the ability to do anything. Every desire for love, expression, experience and achievement can be realised but you must be aware of a monumental obstacle that stands in your way.
The System.
Let me explain.
Take one limitlessly talented person and have them grow up in a world where they are told so much is impossible. School them in institutions where their individuality is supressed and they’re taught to accept rather than question. Have parents raise them who put fear into their mind at every turn (the fear of being poor if they don’t study hard at school, the fear of rejection if they don’t do what’s considered acceptable and the fear of failure if they dream too big). Show them the wider world through a media that sells sensation and fear rather than revealing the truth. Then release them into a world of work where doing what’s right, and caring for other people, are sacrificed for the pursuit of profit at all costs.
In such an environment, what do you think happens to that limitless person?
Answer: They switch off!!!
They shut down to their potential for greatness and the possibility that life can be amazing. They simply don’t believe such a life exists. And if you don’t believe that something exists then you’ll never aim for it.
That’s why I’ve created the following list. What you may have thought of as ‘truths about life’ are actually deadly ‘system’ beliefs that will kill your dreams. So whether you want to build an influential blog, switch career and work in something you’re truly passionate about or launch a product that challenges the way things are done in its market, you absolutely MUST read the following. Accepting any one of these five could destroy your brilliant idea before it ever sees the light of day. Rejecting them will put you in the best mind set to utilise the fantastic abilities you already possess.
We have to start here because how you see yourself is everything. Ordinary people don’t do extraordinary things and ordinary people don’t live extraordinary lives.
The thing is, though, there are no ordinary people. There’s just 7 billion or so of us who believe that we are ordinary.
‘There’s nothing special about me’ ‘I wasn’t born with any exceptional talents’ ‘I’m just a regular person’
I hear it all the time, people denying their greatness and playing small.
The problem with this is that we conform to our idea of who we are. As a result, if you see yourself as ordinary then you’ll encounter a host of negative reactions when facing the challenges necessary to live your dreams. For example, any set-back will be viewed as evidence that you’re not talented enough to succeed. The natural difficulty of learning new skills will be interpreted as you lacking the intelligence needed for that particular role. And the pressure of performing in important situations will be seen as you not being cut out for greatness.
For these reasons, you must NOT see yourself as ordinary. Instead, realise that we are all extraordinary in our ability to adapt, learn, grow and commit to a cause.
How old is too old when it comes to living your dreams?
For a lot of people, it goes like this.
– Your 20’s are behind you.
– You have responsibilities now.
– You can’t go off on a whim pursuing some half-baked dream that’s probably going to end in disaster.
– You just have to face ‘reality’, you’re too old
I want you to know that nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the most amazing accomplishments have been achieved by people who The System would consider too old to follow their dream.
– Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa at the age of 76.
– Bryce Damon, the author of the 7million copy selling, The Power of One, only got this novel published at the age of 55 and had a regular job in advertising prior to this change in direction.
– American TV chef Julia Child didn’t start to cook until the age of 37 and only became well known in her late forties.
I have a test for determining whether a person is too old – are you still breathing?
Pass that and you’re good to go.
Age plays far too influential a role in The System’s reality. You’re either too young and inexperienced or you’re too old and past your prime.
Of the five deadly beliefs listed, this was the one that had the most detrimental impact on me. At the age of 24 I convinced myself (through the influence of The System) that I was too young to be a good hypnotherapist and too inexperienced to release a personal development book?
The outcome?
Not being able to give the best of myself to clients because of self-doubt and years wasted procrastinating on a dream I knew I had to pursue. I honestly believe I could have been where I am now, four years ago, had it not been for the deadly belief that I was too young to have a meaningful impact.
Interestingly enough, Tony Robbins was transforming people’s lives and writing best-selling books by his mid-twenties. Alexander the Great had carved out one of the greatest Empire’s known to man before his death aged 25.
There’s no such thing as too young. If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
The System wants you to believe in limits. It wants you to believe the reality it presents to you is the one true version of life and that nothing could exist outside its boundaries. Unwittingly adopting this outlook is the basis for us accepting jobs we hate, governments we don’t trust and relationships that don’t satisfy. We live in a ‘can’t do’ culture. So much is impossible, off limits and unthinkable.
History makes a mockery of this belief though. What was impossible yesterday is taken for granted today.
Space travel, air travel, even the cars we drive everyday are examples of the system’s limits being shattered. Or what about the 4 minute mile, our ever increasing life expectancies, heart transplants and world-wide communication? At one time, The System would have told us that none of these were possible.
This is why you must become a limitless thinker. You switch yourself off to life’s endless opportunities if you believe in The System’s limits.
So open your mind to everything.
– See a world where 50% of smart phone users have your App on their phone.
– Believe in a reality where your body will be healed of that so called terminal illness.
– Trust in a world where people keep every promise and never let you down.
It’s the only way to make it possible.
In life, we just have to accept that there will be ups and downs, good times and bad and joy and sadness. This is the way of the world. It’s bigger than us and will occasionally (or quite frequently) dump a load of bad luck on our plates.
You accept this way of thinking, right?
Who wouldn’t? It’s a completely rational after all.
Well, I don’t and here’s why.
Does everyone get equal measures of good and bad, happiness and sadness? Is fortune meted out by some universal measure of fairness that makes sure we all get our share of positive and negative experiences?
Of course not, yet most people live as if this is the case.
Whether it’s through the conditioning of our parents, friends, society at large or our own experiences of loss and failure, we end up believing that happiness is something beyond our control.
This is a mistake!
While I won’t suggest that you are never going to experiencing troubling circumstances, what I will say is that how you react and interpret them is totally of your choosing. If you want happiness to be your dominant state of being then it can be. It takes practise, and a lot of mental discipline, but a life of blissful enjoyment and graceful management of problems is within your grasp.
So don’t let The System convince you that you just have to accept your lot. If you’re not happy about something then change it. You have the power to do so!
This is an update to my recent Elite Daily article. To read that, click the link below
The 5 Lies the System tells and why believing them could ruin your life.
(Image taken from Simon Strandgaard photostream flickr.com)
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