The voices are quite familiar. “Who do you think you are? You’re not an expert!" “It’s already been written. You’re not worthy of success.” OK. You get the picture, I don’t need to go on. These voices you hear rolling over and over again in your mind are debilitating. I know, because you’ve told me so and because I grappled with those same voices for years. So, I want to share with you what works for me – and what I believe will work for you – to help quiet these frustrating voices so you can believe in yourself.

"You’re intelligent and successful… at least that’s what everyone says. So how come you don’t always feel that way? Instead of feeling satisfaction, with every achievement you’re filled with anxiety you’ll be unmasked as an incompetent fraud… But it doesn’t have to be that way."

The first step along the road to recovering your true Self is to recognize that you're not who you've thought you were. It's like you've gone through all your life thinking you were Bobbie Jones, the child of Mary and Bob Jones, then you find out on your sixteenth birthday that your real name is Dale Smith, and your parents are Cindy and Carl. But, in truth, the case of mistaken identity you've been living is even more dramatic than that.

"Self-confidence is extremely valuable. Because I believe in myself, I can show others how to have faith in what they can accomplish. I see my dreams realized because I have the self-confidence to pursue them without giving up. I avoid surrendering my dreams."

By Amy Twain.  Maybe from your past you were a victim of negative programming. Perhaps in your formative adolescent stages, wherein you were only beginning to build your defenses, your sense of self. And maybe even up until now! That somewhere somehow, somebody said it in your face: You are not worth it... But allow me to tell you as a self improvement coach, you always have the choice to let them believe they're so wrong in making you feel insignificant. [Also see video related to her ebook Fabulous Self Esteem.]

What is possible, what is impossible? How much do we let our "identity" define what we can do or not do in our life? I recently saw the movie 'The King's Speech' - the unlikely rise to the throne of England of the man who became King George VI. George (a.k.a. Bertie) suffers from a debilitating stammer, and seeks the help of an unorthodox speech therapist. He eventually finds his voice... there are many scenes when Bertie resists the speech therapist's efforts - arguing that he can't be cured of his stammer because that's what he has always known.

Everyone knows that success in life is a function of your “intention.” Right? Joe Vitale challenges this point of view. Joe’s perspective makes a lot of sense to me... He makes this point: “Today I realize that most intentions are limitations. Intentions come from your ego and can actually limit what is possible for you to receive... For me, I want inspiration. When it comes, that becomes my new intention. But the intention comes from inspiration, not from limitation. The intention comes from the Divine, not my pipsqueak ego.”

When someone declares something at a conscious level but believes the opposite at the sub conscious level, the belief will always win. For example, after attending a seminar on wealth creation you declare you’re going to become wealthy, but at the sub conscious level you are saying ‘but I could never do that, I have always been broke, I’m not smart enough….’, and as such, you’ll stay the way you are.

A few years ago my parents won the state lottery, to the tune of over $500,000. After 4 short years they were bankrupt...Seeing this whole event take place before my eyes was heartbreaking. I became interested in learning more about the mind after I found out that this phenomenon occurs to over 90% of lottery winners. ... You have a self image buried at the sub conscious level and everything that has happened to you now and has happened to you in the past is in direct relation to your self-image.

"You are a product of all of the thoughts you have thought, feelings you have felt, and actions you have taken up until now." Jack Canfield  //  Sometimes you've got to let everything go...purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything...whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.  Tina Turner