10 Common Money & Success Myths That Are Holding People Back
For the longest time, people believed that the earth was flat and that if you traveled all the way to the end, you would fall off! People were trapped; they were stuck in a world that reached out only as far as they could see - a world much, much smaller than the actual size of earth. They were stuck not because that was all that they had available to them, but because that's all they "believed" they had.
They firmly held on to this belief until one day someone proved them wrong by sailing around the world. And in doing so, he opened up a whole new world of possibilities and opportunities for everyone. The rest of earth became available to them.
Beliefs are funny creatures. You see, beliefs are not necessarily based on what's true or factual in the world. The power of each belief comes only from the believer of that belief; the strength of your belief depends on how strongly you believe it to be true.
That means that you can believe whatever you want to believe. Because, as long as you believe it to be true, it will be true in your life. Consequently, you will attract events, experiences and people into your life that will match your beliefs, which will in turn strengthen those beliefs further.
The level of success of a person depends greatly on his/her beliefs. It depends greatly on how s/he views the world, through those beliefs. For this reason, it is very, very crucial to adopt only the beliefs that serve you and to let go of those beliefs that limit you.
Because, we don't always see what is "real." We perceive the world based on our beliefs. As we walk through life, we begin to realize that a lot of what we learned growing up was not very useful, or even true. We begin to realize that life is really about "choices." That we can choose to believe whatever we want. And if a certain belief is not very useful, we can change it.
You have done it before. It takes courage to be willing to look at your current beliefs and then decide whether they serve you or sabotage you, whether to keep them or get rid of them. But you have that choice. You have the power to change your beliefs, and to change what is "real" to you.
Here are a few commonly held beliefs, or "myths," that hold many of us back from achieving success...
Myth #1: I don't have what it takes to be successful and wealthy.
Fact: Successful people were not born that way. In fact, many of the most successful people today had very difficult lives. They were regular people who wished for more. And they decided to do something about it - to change their circumstances. Anyone can do the same, including you and I.
Myth 2: I don't have any experience or education in anything.
Fact: Many successful people started with no experience. Many of them also flunked high school and never had any college education.
The only way to get real education and experience in anything is by doing, by "starting." Once you start doing it, you learn very quickly.
Think of all the things that you know how to do. Driving a car, riding a bike, playing sports, reading, writing, speaking...even walking. All of these things have one thing in common: at one time in your life, you didn't know how to do any of them.
And despite how impossible it seemed at the time, you decided to do it anyway. It's the same with everything in life. You learn by doing. You get experience by doing something a few times. Get started. Do it once, twice, three times and you're already on your way to becoming an expert in no time!
Myth 3: To be successful, I have to start a business, and I'm just not cut out to be a businessperson. I don't have what it takes.
Fact: Listen...I know a few people who can barely read or write. Yet they're running their own businesses. It's scary, I know. But think about it...right now, at this moment, you're already several giant steps ahead of them.
The only difference between a person who's thinking about starting a business and another who is running a business is just that. One of them is doing what the other is only "thinking" of doing. They both had the same ideas and dreams. They both probably had the same doubts and fears as well. But one of them decided to start anyway, to take action despite the doubts and fears. One of them decided that if other people could do it, then he could as well.
Myth 4: Money isn't that important.
Fact: Tell that to the family who's starving right now, or to the family who needs money for serious medical help for a member of their family. They'll tell you how important money is.
We've been conditioned from Day 1 to believe that money is not important. We have been conditioned to believe that wanting money is wrong and unethical. And yet the entire world seems to run on money.
It is one of the biggest myths known to man. And it's one of the main reasons why the majority of the people are not wealthy.
Money is simply a way to measure the amount of value you create for others. If you have a lot of money, it means you have created a lot of value for other people. If you don't have the kind of money you'd like to have, that simply means that you just haven't yet found a way to produce the kind of value for others that you're capable of, or the value that you'd like to.
Just look around you at the countries or even cities that have lack of money. You'll find that in these same places, there are usually more crimes being committed, more people taking advantage of others, more diseases, more suffering, more deaths, and none or very little education.
Money may not be the most important thing in life, but let's face facts here... Money is pretty darned important in this day and age. It's how you support yourself! It's how you buy food, water, shelter, clothing. It's how you pay the medical bills. It's how you help and support others around you, including your loved ones. And we both know that those are very important things.
And by the way, if you feel that it's more important to contribute to others than to be rich, well guess what, when you have more money, you can contribute more! You can do much more for others and you can help a lot more people when you have more money.
Only good things can come from having more money.
Myth 5: Money must be made slowly.
Fact: Nothing could be further from the truth. The only way to make money is to make it quickly! What good is money if you can't enjoy it right now instead of 20 years from now? What good is money if you can't contribute to others now as much as you'd like to, instead of 20 years from now?
The quicker you make money, the quicker you can change your life and the lives of those around you - for the better. There are no rules stating that money should be made slowly.
The only way to make money is to make it quickly! You will also find that the more money you make, the easier it becomes to make more because you begin to shift your focus from survival to abundance and contribution, in the process. And that shift in focus simply attracts more wealth to you.
Myth 6: If you weren't born into money, you'll never be rich.
Fact: Millionaires are made every day. Many of them are self-made millionaires - people who started with nothing or close to nothing and amassed fortunes. Simply because they decided to and they didn't let anyone dissuade them from their goals.
If you believe that you have to be born into money to be rich, you're missing out on all the riches out there, waiting for you to claim.
Myth 7: If I win, someone else has to lose.
Fact: This is absolute, high-grade, premium quality nonsense. There is enough opportunity and enough money in this world to go around so that everyone can be a winner. In fact, there is more than enough to go around.
The only reason they're not winners is because they don't believe they can ethically and morally do so. (Remember "the earth is flat" story?) As soon as we get rid of that belief and take a step into the unknown, we begin to realize how much wealthier you can be. You also realize how your being a winner can only help others win as well!
You can become rich by using ethical and legal means - without having to cheat or hurt others. In fact, that's the only way I recommend that people do it.
The easiest way to become rich is to create value in other people's lives. There are no losers in that scenario.
Myth 8: Making a profit is a sin.
Fact: If you cheat or hurt others to make a profit, then yes, in that case, making a profit would be bad. But if you create value for others, then making a profit is always good. By creating more value for others, you're helping them live better lives. There is nothing sinful in helping others, doing a great job at it, and getting paid for it.
Money doesn't turn good people into bad people. Money simply magnifies the qualities that are already inherent within a person. If you're a good person, having more money will only allow you to do more good! If you're a bad person, having more money will allow you to do more bad.
And most of us really are good people. And we have a lot to offer others. And you can only do more good by having more money.
Myth 9: Having more money will mean that I'll have to work hard all day and not have time for my family, friends and leisure.
Fact: There's a huge difference between working hard and working smart. Successful people have learned to work smart! They have learned to find other successful people they can model after so they don't make the same mistakes other people did. And by doing so, you can save a lot of time, money, effort as well as some major headaches.
Getting your business started and running does require work. There's no way around that. But, you can still take time out for your loved ones and for your leisure. In fact, it's highly recommended that you do that. If you're spending all your time trying to keep your business afloat, you're either not going about things the right way or you're just in the wrong business.
Myth 10: If I have more money, people will judge me, and they will not like me very much.
Fact: People will judge you anyway. They are judging you right now! It's what they do, unfortunately. Most people don't know who you are anyway! They don't know the "real" you. They only know who they think you are, based on what little information they have about you. So, let them think or feel what they want. They don't know any better. And you really shouldn't be concerned about those people.
Remember, respect and friendship are earned. If they can't appreciate who you are, then they don't deserve your time, or your thoughts.
Many of these myths that have been floating around for hundreds of years and were typically conjured up by people who didn't know any better. Many of them got programmed into us when we were very young. But, we're adults now. We can think for ourselves. We can choose to adopt only those beliefs that benefit you and drop the ones that are no longer useful or empowering. It's all up to you.
Beliefs are very powerful indeed. They, for the most part, are what dictate the quality of your life. Change your beliefs and you change your life.
Free your mind, and success will follow!
Greg Cryns
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