In our Prosper United Methodist Church service on Sunday, Associate Pastor Melissa Hatch preached about The God of the Possible and believing something really difficult is possible.

Melissa used the story of the Soul Surfer, Bethany Hamilton and the movie about her as an example. I was inspired by Melissa’s description of several scenes from the movie.

Sitting in church listening made me think of the posts I have written that included Tug McGraw’s quote that became the rallying cry of the 1973 New York Mets: “Ya Gotta Believe” and shared with you the importance of having self-confidence.

 

In this post I want to focus more on how your beliefs either limit your success or empower you to the take off for your success.

I am reading: Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams. Mike Dooley writes about limiting beliefs and empowering beliefs.

• Limiting beliefs can hold you back.
• Empowering beliefs can send you through the stratosphere. Why?

Mahatma Gandhi answered the question:

Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.

I have known many lawyers with limiting beliefs. If you have any of these limiting beliefs, your thoughts and actions will prove you are correct. Here are examples:

1. I am too young and inexperienced to develop business.
2. The people I know are not in a position to send our firm business.
3. There is no way I can break into the “good old boys club.”
4. I can’t get out from under the giant shadow cast by the senior lawyer for whom I work.
5. I do not have time to do all my billable work, spend time with my family and successfully work on client development.
6. I am not good at public speaking.
7. I am afraid that if I give a presentation, I will be asked a question I cannot answer.
8. I’m not very good at making “small talk” at networking events.

There are many other examples of empowering beliefs leading to success. Do you have one you could share with us?

I will share one more that I hope will inspire you. I invite you to read: Overcoming “Impossible” Odds, an article about Liz Murray, who went from Homeless to Harvard.

She also wrote a memoir about her experience.

Believing alone will not by itself make you successful, but if you believe you can’t achieve something, your thoughts and actions will prove you are right.

You get to choose whether your beliefs will limit your success or empower you with the platform to become the lawyer you want to be.

What are your beliefs? Are they limiting you, or empowering you?