Let’s say you have blue eyes; but everyone around you, even the people closest to you, have told you since the beginning of your life that you have brown eyes. And let’s say that you had no other way to corroborate that information. What would you be forced to believe about yourself? Because of the information you’ve been given, plus the fact that you can’t see your own eyes directly, you would be forced to believe that you have brown eyes, even though that’s completely false information about you. Have you ever been in a funhouse? What do funhouses have — funhouse mirrors, right? And what does a funhouse mirror do? It distorts you. You’re looking at it, and it’s kind of weird. It looks sort of like you, but it’s not you. It’s an inaccurate representation of you. Have you ever been in a funhouse? What do funhouses have — funhouse mirrors, right? And what does a funhouse mirror do? It distorts you. You’re looking at it, and it’s kind of weird. It looks sort of like you, but it’s not you. It’s an inaccurate representation of you. But what if a funhouse mirror was the only mirror you had ever looked in? What if that distorted reflection was the only one from which you’d received information about yourself? What then would you be forced to believe about yourself? You would be forced to believe that that distorted image was what you really looked like. You would have no choice but to believe that the inaccurate image — the only one you’ve ever seen — was who you really are. So let me ask you a question: Were you raised in a funhouse? Are you still LIVING in the funhouse? And have you ever seen yourself accurately reflected by the people around you? Sadly, most of us have never seen ourselves accurately reflected by those around us, even (especially) those closest to us. A funhouse mirror distorts your physical image. In the same way, when we receive inaccurate information about Who We Really Are, our Authentic Self is distorted. When Who We Really Are is not accurately reflected by those around us, we develop what I call a Negative Reflection. Your Negative Reflection represents the head trash that most of us are carrying around. It’s that little voice inside your head that says, “You can’t do it. Who do you think you are? You’ll never be successful!” While your Authentic Self knows that you’re good enough, your Negative Reflection tells you, you’re not good enough. We all have our own unique head trash. But amazingly, that’s NOT the real problem.

Why You Don’t Believe in Yourself (at least not yet)

Traditional success teachers told us, “Well, if you have negative thoughts, just think positive. Believe in yourself. Set your goals.” Do you think that would have worked for George Bailey in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life? Do you think advice like “set your goals” would have helped him get out of his miserable situation? Yes, I know it was just a movie. But what about YOUR life? How many times have you tried this? How many times have you tried to psych yourself up and do what they told you to do — “think positive; believe in yourself; set your goals”? How’s THAT working for ya? You can keep trying to drive that nail into the wall with the chainsaw… or you can pick up a hammer. The hammer is called the unconditional support of people who believe in you, more than you believe in yourself. This is one of the great ironies of this work — because highly successful people have been telling us for decades, “Believe in yourself.” But they don’t realize that what they’re saying is backwards. It’s not that believing in yourself is “wrong” any more than a chainsaw is “wrong.” It’s just that, when they tell you to “believe in yourself,” they have the order wrong. That’s because “believing in yourself” is the last stage, not the first stage, in the evolution of Success. Noah’s Note: The first stage to believe in yourself is someone believes in you. The second stage is you believe in someone else. The final stage is you believe in you.

Clearing the Clutter

I’ve always said that if I ever leave the personal growth industry and start another business, it would be in the self-storage business. Why? Because Americans are obsessed with buying stuff! And when there’s too much stuff in the house, they put the car outside and put the stuff in the garage. Then, when the garage is full, do they get rid of their stuff? No, they buy another storage unit! Some of you are laughing right now, and some of you are not, because it’s hitting too close to home. The point is, many of my clients have faced this problem; so if you’re facing this issue of overwhelm and clutter, you’re definitely not alone. The question is: WHY do we need to clear the clutter in the first place? Why don’t we just let everything stay the way it is? You’re probably asking that question right now. One of the main reasons it’s essential to clear the clutter from your life is that if you have physical or emotional clutter — meaning clutter in your inner or your outer environment — it’s very difficult for something BETTER to come in. For example, have you ever noticed that when you clear stuff out of your home or office space, you FEEL better? I know you’ve noticed this. After one of my coaching clients cleared the clutter from her office, she DOUBLED her business in less than 90 days! Another one of my clients had so much clutter in her office when she came to me, she couldn’t even see the carpet. Then, I helped her install this Power Habit, and she began systematically clearing the clutter from her life. She told me it took 17 garbage bags to clear all the clutter from her office. Guess what? In less than four months, she had made enough extra money in her business that she was able to replace the carpet that she couldn’t even see before. Another one of my clients cleared the clutter from her office and found $150 worth of gift cards that she had lost two years earlier! Wouldn’t it be nice to get paid to clean your office? Answer these questions to begin to install this Power Habit in your life and your business:

1. What are the biggest blocks in my Home Environment?
2. What are the biggest blocks in my Work Environment?
3. What are the biggest blocks in my Emotional Environment?
4. What are the biggest blocks in my Spiritual Environment?
5. What new ROUTINE can I install to keep clutter from building up in my Outer Environment?
6. What new ROUTINE can I install to keep clutter from blocking my Inner Environment?

Noah’s Note: When you clear the clutter, you make room for good things to come in.

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