Does it ever seem like there’s an invisible ceiling over your head that limits your ability to earn more income? Do you ever wonder if you’ve hit a plateau in your career?
Wonder no more, my friend. If you believe you’ve reached your peak, you have, because your beliefs determine your reality.
Your limitations are all in your head. They’ve probably been there a long time. Parental messages probably had something to do with it, and a whole bunch of other things. But what’s important isn’t how you developed your current beliefs but how you can change them.
Because if you don’t change your beliefs about yourself and about what’s possible, those beliefs are going to continue to hold you back.
How do you do it? How do you change your deep-seated, long-held beliefs?
Hypnosis? Therapy? Visiting a sweat lodge? Can you read your way to a new self-image? Take courses? Hire a coach?
To some extent, all of the above have some value because doing them, even thinking about doing them, signals your self-conscious mind that you want to change.
But I have another option for you: get some new friends.
Yep, one of the best things you can do to change your life is to spend time with different people. People who have done what you want to do and people who have what you want to have.
While you’re at it, spend less time with, or completely disassociate from, people who don’t.
The so-called “law of association†says that we become like the people we associate with most. If you hang out with people of one political persuasion, for example, the odds are you are on the same side. If they work hard, you probably do, too. If they exercise and eat well, you are more likely to do the same.
If your friends and business associates read a lot, you’re more likely to do that, and more likely to read what they’re reading. If they invest their money wisely, you are more likely to think twice before buying into the latest fad.
When we associate with people, we tend to adopt their way of looking at the world. We learn their “languageâ€. We adopt their habits. We share many of the same beliefs. Those beliefs influence our attitude towards what we do and don’t do, and those activities determine our results.
And let’s not forget that the people we know can introduce us to other people like themselves, and open doors to new opportunities. If you want new opportunities, you need to know some new people.
Think about the people you spend the most time with right now. Your closest friends. Your colleagues. Your professional contacts. The odds are that your income and lifestyle are on a par with theirs. If you’re happy about that, great. If not, if you want to achieve more, you should probably find some new friends.
Here’s how to find and meet new professionals who can send you referrals
