3 Lies That Hold You Back

There’s not much holding you back other than your own thinking.

Our culture is replete with stories of people who had every disadvantage yet succeeded wildly – and that not through luck but through focused effort.

Submitted as proof: Ray Charles, Stephen Hawking, and Helen Keller.

So what is it about our thinking that so often holds us back – especially when we have no great physical disadvantage? (Note: the aforementioned cases preclude any healthy person from excuse-making… and they also demonstrate that what I’m about to say applies even to those who are blind, deaf, or crippled.)

Here are three lies that hold you back. Escape these lies, and escape the limitations you’ve imposed on your self.

1.    The past equals the future. The perfect lie for convincing you to not even try anything, since it’s “never worked in the past”. Good thing Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, and Abraham Lincoln didn’t buy this lie.

2.    Ready, Aim, Fire. Sounds like good wisdom, until you realize most get stuck on “Aim”. So that it ends up being “Ready, Aim… Aim… Aim… Aim…”

3.    Proven methods are safest. Maybe they are, but if we relied only on “proven methods”, we’d have no space shuttle, no antibiotics, no Apple computer, and no polio vaccine.

There are of course many other lies that hold people back.

For instance, one of the lies of online marketing is that it's hard to get traffic to your site.

The truth is just the opposite.

In fact, it's pretty easy to get hundreds of other people promoting your site for you – free – when you know how (see http://MySalesArmy.com for details on how to do it).

What lies are you believing that bar you from greatness?

Believing a lie means you are, in a sense, partnering with a liar. Think about it.

And then do something about it!

Ray Edwards is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business including New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul) and Tony Robbins. Ray is a sought-after speaker and author, hosts a popular weekly podcast, and blogs at RayEdwards.com.