Are Limiting Beliefs Keeping You from Greatness?

I meet amazing people every day in the Marine Corps. Their work ethic is above reproach. They consistently work from 6 am to 6 pm and think nothing of it. They accomplish all of their tasks on time and with no guidance. They are what we call “fire and forget.”

I then ask them, every day, what they will do when they retire from the Marines. Most of them say they will seek a government job. I tell them that they would make great entrepreneurs because of their organizational skills, work ethic, and ability to create and complete tasks by themselves, for themselves. 

However, somewhere in their mind is a limiting belief. Something is telling them that the grass is greener on the employee side of the hill. They see these high-paying jobs of $150,000 and think that a future business could never reach these levels. I can see their businesses easily reaching $1 million a year. Limiting beliefs can prevent us from reaching our true destination in life. 

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A limiting belief is an idea, conviction, or state of mind that prevents us from performing a certain action. To me, a limiting belief isn’t necessarily a fear but a reason that you give to yourself to prevent yourself from attempting to try something. 

For example, aquaphobia is the fear of water. This fear probably starts early in one’s life. I personally wouldn’t call this a limited belief. Now, a different scenario is if you really want to try out for the swim team but you think to yourself “I am not fast enough.” Then that is a limiting belief.

Simply put, there is a part of you that wants to achieve something and the other part of you that doesn’t. In between the two parts of your brain is a limiting belief. As long as the limiting belief is winning, you will never accomplish this goal because you will never try. 

I have had tons of limiting beliefs in my life. Let’s take a look at a few of them. 

Can you overcome your limiting beliefs? Yes, I believe that you can. Again, if you have an actual fear of something, you may need professional help to find the root of this fear.

To overcome limiting beliefs, I believe that you need to have a strong enough “why.” You have to have a reason that will push you through the fear, negativity from others, and second-guessing.

Before I starting writing my blog, I was creating every excuse in the book not to do it. However, the benefits of starting a blog far outweighed the negatives. My “why” for starting a blog was my family.

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My wife and I want to travel all over the world when we retire. Her family lives in Turkey and mine on the American west coast. I knew that whatever I did for income would have to be 100% mobile. 

I tried my best to find something, anything, that wasn’t blogging. Everything I found involved losing control of time or losing control of money (i.e. getting paid $10/hr). Yet, I fought it.

Ultimately, my dream life lead me to start my blog. I can see our magnificent future like it is happening live. Dream with me.

Kris and I are laying on beach chairs, sitting atop white-sand beaches. Of course, it is a sunny day and we also have colorful drinks in hand. We are watching our kids playing with their kids (our grandkids). No one has a worry in the world. We look at each other knowing that we have made it. All those years in the workforce have paid off and our family also gets to reap the benefits along with us.

Time for me to get some work done. I pull out the smallest, lightest laptop on earth and pop it open. I have a few notifications. I have received dividends from 5 positions. One of our tenets has paid the rent. My retirement check has been deposited. And I received my royalty check from my books. Life is good but I need to go to work. I decide not to write but to do a vlog post to my Facebook group. Kris and I shoot a quick video update of our life on the beach. I upload it and bam! Work is done. 

This is still our life dream. Starting a blog was a must. There is an unlimited amount of revenue streams that can be started from a blog. I had to start it, and I had to enjoy it. Now, I cannot imagine my life without writing. It is so much a part of who I am. Maybe this ability was always in me. Maybe I forced myself to like it. Who knows. But, the bottom line is that I did it. And I still continue to grow as a writer, entrepreneur, advertiser, marketer, and video artist, every day. 

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Back to you. What are your limiting beliefs? An even better question is, “What do you really want to achieve?” What do you see others doing that you say, I wish I could be doing that?

Building your “why” may be the issue. Making money wasn’t enough for me to start a blog. The dream of making money from anywhere in the world, helping others achieve success, and seeing my grandkids grow up were the reasons that forced me to create a blog. 

I plan to write more on limiting beliefs. I do not think enough people know that they exist. They are not fears. They can be overcome by building a “why” strong enough to force ourselves to override them. 

For now, start thinking about what you want to achieve. What is your dream life? Here are some books to get you started. Be Obsessed or Be Average, The Millionaire Fastlane, and I Will Teach You to be Rich.