InspirEmail

InspirEmail No 188 - August 16, 2010 - Believe to Achieve 
'Inspirational messages to refresh the spirit and boost the emotional bank account'

Believe to Achieve

I have a friend called Lou. He is much older than I am, and we have a lot in common. I have a very high regard for Lou, as he is full of wisdom, and always open to sharing his wisdom with others.

Recently, he had a personal challenge in his life, and was facing an uphill climb in the journey of life. We had a chat one evening, and as I left him, I gently placed my hand gently on his shoulder and said 'You are a very wise man Lou'.

His response was rather surprising to me. He replied 'I don't believe you.' This was a surprise to me because Lou is normally very empowered, and acknowledges his wisdom.

When I realised what he had just said, I turned towards him and the following words just rolled out of my tongue, 'You don't believe me, or you don't believe in yourself?'

Lou had a look of surprise on his face, and replied 'You're right' as I walked away. From that moment, I realised that I believed more in him, than he did.

Belief? It is a very interesting thing indeed. What we believe is up to us, what others believe about us is up to them. A belief is simply certainty about what we think is true!

In this case, Lou was certain that his wisdom was mediocre, while I was certain that his wisdom was supreme. Sometimes we do need people who believe in us, more than we believe in ourselves. That certainly will serve to us a great sense of purpose.

Dr Norman Vincent Peale author of 'The Power of Positive Thinking' spoke about a famous story, which goes as follows:

There was a trapeze artist, waiting to take a leap. He was standing on the edge of the platform, in wait for the trapeze bar to swing at him, so that he could grab it and jump.  The young trapeze artist froze at the sight of how high he actually was above the ground. Unable to move, he looked at the trapeze instructor and declined to jump.

The instructor made a statement that I will always remember. He looked at the young trapeze artist and said 'Son, throw your heart over the bar, and then just let your body follow.'

In other words, if we believe that we can do something; all our actions will be in sync with that belief.  That is the foundation of what the instructor told the young trapeze artist.

Following this story, Dr Norman Vincent Peale stated that three words sum up how we can be successful in any endeavour in life. Those three words were 'Believe and Succeed.' 

Now that I look back at my conversation with Lou, I realise that there are, and will be moments in our lives where our self belief may dwindle. It is during times like these when we need other people to remind us that all we need to do is just believe. 

Sometimes words of encouragement from other people are more powerful than our own words. That is why we are often more inclined to believe other people than believe ourselves.

The next time that I see my friend Lou, I would suggest a simple, yet effective affirmation to him. That affirmation is 'I believe, therefore I am.'

This reminds of the quote by Dr Norman Vincent Peale - 'Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.'

We all need to be believers if we are going to be achievers.

Inspired by Lou a person with great wisdom and written by Ron Prasad

Ron Prasad works as a Life Coach, Certified Mastermind Executive Coach and Inspirational Speaker and is based in Melbourne, Australia. For Ron's contact details and to subscribe to his newsletter Ideal Insights, please visit . . . Positive Inspirational Links >>>

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A monthly positive inspirational story and quote to refresh your spirit and boost the emotional bank account. InspirEmail was first published in November 2005 and each issue can be viewed in the Archived InspirEmail Directory located below the latest issue of InspirEmail


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