How do you reach your goals in such challenging times? It’s the number one question my clients ask me in my private coaching practice. We have experienced a prolonged economic downturn that many entrepreneurs have not seen since the early 80’s. I thought it might be helpful for you to understand why you’re experiencing some of the failures facing you and what you can do to change it. With less than three month before the elections in 2012, I think we’re just beginning to see the negative ads ratcheting up on both sides of the aisle. You must learn to master your beliefs or you will be manipulated into making decisions that you may regret for the rest of your life and negatively impact those people you care for. Negative political advertising works but leaves the population with a feeling of victimhood that lasts for a long time and, in some cases, is passed on from generation to generation. I want to help you understand why it might be working on you and your friends and what you can do to make the best choices for you.

I have spent the past 25 plus years working with leaders around the world that have led their organizations through every kind of recession imaginable. This one has some major differences and some major similarities. I believe the reasons my clients have done well in uncertain economic times are some that I will share with you today and next week. The blog this week will address something I spend significant time on with my clients at the beginning of our relationship. I want to share it with you because some of you, at some point in the not too distant future, will be working with me. To be honest, I’d like to give you an edge before we start working together. My other motive is that if you don’t think these things are important to you, I know that I can’t help you get to the next level in your life or your organization.

The number one factor impacting your success in the future and the past is your belief system. It’s just that simple. If I can help you become aware of your beliefs and help you understand the impact of them I can help you become more successful. It sounds easy, doesn’t it? The beliefs that got you here will not get you where you want to go next. Some of your beliefs will be strengthened and other must be discarded.

Now, what are beliefs? Beliefs are the ideas and the ways you see the world. They are your operating system, your software, if you will. They are always evolving but they define who you are and how you view and interpret the world. It’s why twins can grow up in the same environments and learn the same things and become two completely different people. There are many different kinds of beliefs and their impact can be seen in the smallest acts to largest ideas we share with others. Some people have highly flexible beliefs while others are unwilling to change their thinking or beliefs. Neither view is right or wrong, but it can create significant differences in how we see the world and the results we can create.

Over the next two weeks I will share with you the different type of beliefs that we all have and what we can do to change our beliefs. I will also share with you some of the beliefs that you have today that might be holding you back from the future you desire. I’ve coached men and women from a number of different fields and different parts of the world and have discovered that beliefs are one of the few areas I can impact quickly that makes change easier than you might have thought possible. For many people, it’s harder to get them to explore their beliefs than to do anything else you might ask as a trusted advisor. It takes time and effort to help people understand their beliefs, but it opens them up to positive change. Something we should all strive for in uncertain times.