If the three most important words in real estate are Location! Location! Location!, then the three most important words in achieving your desired goal are YOU! YOU!! YOU!!! You must believe in yourself.

The Law of Belief, according to Brian Tracy, states that “Whatever you believe, with emotion, becomes your reality.”

For example, if you absolutely believe that you are destined to be a great success in your field, and you talk, walk, act and behave every day exactly the way a successful person should, then eventually you will develop the mindset and habits of a high performer. As you develop this mindset, you will begin to get results. Your belief will become reality.

Belief in success is one way of attaining it. Read any self-help or empowerment book, identify the knowledge you require to accomplish your goal and you will notice a common theme – ‘believe in yourself.’

In order to achieve any goal, you need to believe in yourself and your abilities. Believing in yourself is also necessary in the face of doubt from your friends and family. It will carry you through, allowing you to continue with your venture, unfazed by any negativity you may receive from others. If you enter into any venture half-heartedly without the confidence that you can make it work, then you are doomed before you begin. You will not have the passion and determination you need to keep you going in the face of failure. You will merely give up at the first sign of failure. Trust in yourself, as this will drive you to carry out thorough research and gain the knowledge you need to start and make progress. Learn as much as you can about all aspects of your venture before rushing headlong into it.

I certainly needed to hold on to my ability when starting my monthly e-zine – Rise to the Top. I hadn't the slightest idea where to begin, but I knew I could do it. I knew I could find out enough to start something successful and I also knew that there would be some failures and downfalls along the way. I faced oppositions with my ideas at first, a lot of negativities and objections from friends and family who didn't quite understand what I was aiming at and who doubted whether making money from an e-zine was possible. Of course, this was hard to envisage. When you are so wrapped up in the excitement of a new, plausible idea that you have researched and tested, it's difficult to accept criticism and doubt from people. My advice is not to be consumed by people’s disapproval but to forgive them because they won’t really understand your passion or goal. Remember to keep the focus on your goal.

Over time, I have come to realise that doubts from outsiders faded as my confidence grew. It seemed no matter what obstacles I faced or what failures I endured, the sense of confidence and faith I had in myself urged me to strive harder until I achieved success.

We are capable of achieving anything we want but sometimes we let ourselves and others underestimate our own potential. Also, we undermine our own sense of self because of what we look like or where we come from.

Have you ever asked yourself what is it that keeps you from reaching your full potential or from doing what you are inherently capable of? For many of us, the answer is a lack of belief in ourselves or a lack of confidence in our own ability to succeed. And because we believe we will fail, we usually do. But there are people who have succeeded beyond all expectations regardless of failures, disappointments or obstacles.

Human beings, with goals, can turn nothing into something, pennies into a fortune and disasters into a huge success. The surest way to gaining success is to believe that you can succeed.” David J. Schwartz averred: “When you believe the ‘I-can-do-it’ and really believe this totally, the ‘how-to-do-it’ automatically develops. Believe, really believe you can succeed, and you will.”

During interviews, when journalists ask me who my role models are, I often reply by saying: “My role models are common people doing uncommon and extraordinary things because they often sow the seeds of revolution - and not just once or twice but time after time. They dared to be different because they took the road less travelled. They are my inspiration and I get my energy from them. They are inspirations, not only to me, but to everyone. They believe that they could do it and they do.”

If you believe you are less fortunate than others because of your lack of education, looks, background or ability, take courage from other’s achievements and go for it.

. . . Adapted from Dayo Olomu's book “4 Indispensable Strategies for Success”. Look for a copy at your favourite bookstore.

"Dayo Olomu is a UK-based motivational Speaker, Human Potential Developer, Business/Life Coach, Writer, Trainer, Infopreneur, a Competent Leader and an Advance Toastmaster. His core belief is that we are all endowed with seeds of greatness, and his mission is to inspire and empower individuals and organisations to higher levels of achievement and peak performance. He is the author of best selling “4 Indispensable Strategies for Success” and the charter President of Croydon Communicators Toastmasters. Visit his website at www.dayoolomu.com or send an e-mail to info@dayoolomu.com