Knowing where you want to go and why is known as “vision,” and knowing what’s holding you back, and why, is called “reality.” Years ago, I was interviewing a young man for a position on my leadership team within my organization. I asked him what kind of income he was looking to earn his first year or two. He said, “$100,000 my first year, and at least a 50% increase my second year.” The next question I asked was “what is the highest income that you’ve ever earned in a single year before?” His answer was “$20,000.” I then asked him if he thought he was worth $100,000 a year? He hesitantly responded, “I don’t know, I think so.” My last question, and the most important one was, “What do you plan to change about yourself to go from a $20,000 a year person, to a $100,000 a year person?” His answer was, “I don’t know.” You see, if you see yourself as a $20,000 a year person you will never become a $100,000 a year person, unless you make some sort of change. There is always something that we can all change to move to the next level.

A minor change can produce a major outcome.

Maybe it’s simply having a new opportunity available, and getting inspired by that opportunity. Maybe it’s a matter of focusing and being fully committed to something. Maybe it’s learning and applying some new concepts. Maybe it’s refining our people skills. Maybe it’s gaining greater self-confidence, or simply having the courage to take a risk. Maybe it’s changing one or more of our self-limiting beliefs. Maybe it’s simply a matter of “letting go” of some immobilizing fear.

Our income will rarely exceed our own personal vision. Our income will rarely exceed our own personal belief.

If it does, on some rare occasion, it will quickly come back to where it was in a short period of time, that is, if we don’t make a change. This is why it is critical to have a plan for our own advancement, otherwise we’ll continue to produce the same results we’ve always produced. In order to “get” something different in our lives, we must “do” something different. Wouldn’t you agree? In order to “do” something different we must “know” something different to do. And in order to “know” something different, we must at least suspect that our current methods need improving and we must be open to finding a better way. We always do the best we can with what we know. On the other hand, some of us continue with our old ways knowing that there is a better way. Why? We are comfortable with our old ways. It’s what we know. It’s our comfort zone. Changing would mean having to take a risk, to break out of our comfort zone. The risk of breaking out of our comfort zone brings up our deepest fears. “What if it doesn’t work?” “What if the opportunity I’m becoming involved in isn’t real?” “What if I can’t do it?” “What will others think of me being in this type of business?” It brings up the fear of failure. “I’ve failed before, what if I do it again?” It can even bring up the fear of success! “If I’m successful I may have to leave some of my friends behind.”

In order to become and remain a success in network marketing, or at anything else in life, there are two things that are required. First, is knowing what’s got you “turned on” and second, it is knowing what gets you “turned off.” I call it “vision” and “reality.”

Knowing where you want to go and why is known as “vision,” and knowing what’s holding you back, and why, is called “reality.” Your vision may be that you want to earn a million dollars, and the reality is that you don’t believe you can. Your vision becomes clouded by your limiting beliefs (your reality), and your clouded vision supports your limiting beliefs. This is a mutually supporting cycle of going nowhere. Having complete clarity is the place to start. What is clarity? Some of the answers I get from people are: Clarity is focus. Clarity is knowing where we are going. Clarity is being on target or on purpose. Here’s my definition of clarity.

“Clarity is the fuel that takes you where you want to go!”

The speed at which you accomplish your objective will always be based upon your degree of clarity. Clarity means “to remove all obstacles.” If you just can’t seem to get going, that means that you aren’t clear. Something is holding you back. There is some obstacle that needs removing. If you have a fear of talking to people, that means that you are not clear about the value of your opportunity for others. If you find yourself jumping from one opportunity to the next, this simply means you are not clear about why you joined in the first place. Clarity evaporates fear! Clarity connects your goal to your opportunity. Without being clear about what you want, it becomes impossible to take full advantage any opportunity. The slightest element of doubt creates uncertainty, and uncertainty always creates lack of clarity. Lack of clarity produces tension, tension produces fear, and fear immobilizes. Having clarity means that you are living at a higher level of energy, where no one, or no thing, can interfere with you. Clarity is being resourceful. Let me explain the word resourceful. Think of a time when you felt unclear, when doubt was creeping in, or a fear was holding you back. Think of a time when you felt non-productive, or stuck. That’s called being non-resourceful. Now think of a time when you really felt clear, when nothing could stop you. Everything seemed to work with ease; every answer was right there when you needed it. That’s called being resourceful.

The question should always be, “Is what I’m thinking, feeling, or the action I’m taking moving me closer to or further away from what I want in my life? Is it supportive or non-supportive? Is it resourceful or non-resourceful?

It is always one or the other. Every action you take, either moves you closer to your desired results, or takes you further away. Every thought or feeling you have and every action you take either attracts the elements you need, or pushes them away. Success is always a question of “honor.” Which do you “honor” the most, your vision of what you want to accomplish, or the “stuff” that holds you back? If you choose not to make the call because you are afraid of being rejected or afraid of what someone might think of you, it simply means you have chosen to “honor” your fear instead of your vision. How much time do you spend in a resourceful state each day, in a productive state, honoring your visions? How much of your time is spent doing business and not worrying about tomorrow, getting caught up in the past or feeling fearful about some situation? Most people think that in order to be resourceful, all they need to do is just “think positive.” Positive thinking is like walking forward with a giant rubber band tied around your waist that’s attached to the wall. You move forward a little with the thought of success, and then it pulls you right back again into your fears. Positive thinking is like taking an aspirin for a headache. It may be a temporary fix to kill the pain, but it doesn’t get to the real cause of your headache.

Taking action in the right direction, honoring your vision is the key to success in any endeavor.

Often times, however, we get caught in what I call an addictive cycle. Here’s the way it works: Every experience creates a feeling. The more we feel something we start to think in that way The more we think in a certain way we start to believe that’s who we are Our beliefs influence out results. The results we produce influence our original experiences A mutually self-supporting, “addictive” cycle is kept alive. We continually attempt to change our beliefs, with little or no success at all. Why? Look at it this way. Our beliefs are like a brick wall. Attempting to change them sometimes feels like hitting our heads against a brick wall. We continually attempt to change the belief, not knowing that the “head bashing” is the cause of our headache not the cure. After so many times of hitting our heads against the wall, to avoid the pain, we sink back into our old ways, back into our comfort zone, no longer honoring our vision.

So, how do you change a non-supportive belief and stay focused on your vision? “Letting go” is the answer, not pushing against.

Your beliefs are the bricks, and your feelings are the mortar that holds those beliefs in place. Your feelings and beliefs are what attract your circumstances. You can do all the “positive thinking” you want, but if you are believing and feeling non-resourceful, you will produce a corresponding result. All beliefs are false anyway. They are all made up. A belief is simply one person’s opinion of the truth. A belief is something that you have decided is true. It may not be at all. So, you want to change a belief? Make up something new! Think for a moment about what’s holding you back. Doubt, worry, uncertainty, lack of confidence, are all fears that hold you back. Is there anything stopping you or impairing your ability to be the best you can be? “Letting go” of a outdated belief or feeling requires three things: intention, willingness and commitment. You have to “intend” to let it go, you have to be “willing” to let it go, and you have to “commit” to let it go. On the other hand, to hang on to a outdated belief or feeling, requires three things: intention, willingness and commitment. Think again about your fears, outdated beliefs and feelings. Do you intend to hang on to them or let them go? Hanging on requires a tremendous amount of your energy, while “letting go” requires none at all. The real question is how much of your resourceful energy are you willing to spend hanging on to something that is not working? It’s always a choice to honor the old you or to honor your vision… the new you.

Self-observation is the key to staying on target with your vision and removing what’s holding you back. What do you observe? Simply this:

“Is what I’m believing or feeling right now moving me closer to my objective or further away?”

Positive thinking is not what you need, it’s self-observation, it’s waking up! With your thoughts you choose your direction in life. But without self-knowledge through self-observation there is no foundation for correct thinking. Without correct thinking, you will have doubt, which creates uncertainty. Uncertainty produces a lack of clarity, and when you lack clarity, you have a weak intention. Without strong intention you don’t know what to focus your attention on. Self-observation creates reality.