I’m about to save you a ton of time, money and energy – because I’m about to show you how to STOP spending your hard-earned money on “self-help” products that don’t get you the results you want.
Americans spend $11 Billion a year on “self-help” products, while companies spend over $400 BILLION on professional development programs every year.
But I call this SHELF-HELP – because that’s where most of it goes – on the SHELF along with all the other stuff you’ve bought!
Take a look at that “shelf-help” you have. If you’re like most of my clients, you’ve spent $5,000 to $50,000 in the last year on “shelf-help”… or more. (In my seminars, people come up to me in tears and say that I’ve saved them over a million dollars.)
The #1 Reason Most People Struggle in Life and Business – It’s Not What You’ve Been Told
Why, with all this time, money and energy being spent on “self-help”, are so few people actually living the life they really want?
Like most vexing problems, to answer this question, we must ask a deeper question:
What Really Causes Human Behavior?
Here’s the simplest answer to that question. It’s a simple answer, because I’ve found (and I’m sure you have, too) that simple solutions lead to the best results.
The Scales of Success
Picture a balance, like the Scales of Justice in a courtroom.
On one plate, imagine you have Your Why-To’s. These are your internal motives or Reasons Why to do something. On the other plate, Your Why-Not-To’s – your internal Reasons Why Not to do something.
For example, why are you reading this right now? The answer is: because you perceive that there are more Benefits of reading this, than Cost of doing so.
Your perceived Why-To’s or Benefits of reading this, might include:
I want to learn what the world’s most successful people do…
So I can stop sabotaging myself…
So I can make more money…
And finally get my foot off the brake
And your Why-Not-To’s or Cost might include:
I have a million other things I could be doing right now.
Who is this guy, anyway, and why should I listen to him?
What if it works for everyone else, but not for me?
Did I mention all the other things I could be doing right now?
Can you see that every decision you make is built upon your Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s?
Where you live
What you eat (and how often you eat it)
What you do for work
Who you decide to marry – or not marry!
What you had for breakfast this morning…
It’s all based on your Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s!
But What Does This Have To Do With Success?
“Okay, Noah,” you’re saying. “I see that every decision I make is based on my Why-To’s and Why-Not-To’s. Are you trying to tell me I don’t want to succeed?”
After working with thousands of people in my seminars and mentorship programs, I’ve never met one person who doesn’t WANT to succeed.
Yet we’ve already seen that millions of people are holding themselves back from the success they’re perfectly capable of… even though we’re spending billions of dollars trying to fix the problem. What’s going on here?
The Hidden Reason You’re Stuck
Picture an iceberg.
Scientists at Stanford, MIT and other institutions have determined that the human mind operates like an iceberg: the 10% that’s visible (above the surface) and the 90% that’s hidden (below the surface).
The Iceberg of Consciousness
Let’s call the visible 10% your Conscious Mind, and the hidden 90% the Subconscious Mind. Another word for Conscious is intentional, because it represents CHOICE.
Your Subconscious is a vast collection of unintentional, habitual thoughts, behaviors, and actions. Therefore, the Subconscious mind is NO CHOICE.
Your Subconscious Mind is like a completely dark room. We don’t know what’s in there, because we can’t see it – it’s hidden beneath the surface like the bottom 90% of an iceberg. And when you can’t see something, it’s awfully hard to change it.
Which brings us back to the original question:
Why Millions of People Are Still Stuck… Even AFTER Spending So Much Money on Self-Help Products
Putting together our Scales of Success and Iceberg of Consciousness, the answer becomes stunningly simple:
Your Why-To’s of Success are held in your Conscious Mind.
Why do you think we’re spending all this time and money trying to be more successful? You – and everyone else – really do WANT to succeed.
But have you ever stopped to think about the Cost of actually ALLOWING YOURSELF TO SUCCEED?
I’ve asked this question of thousands of people in my seminars, and the response I get is… dead silence. I can almost hear people’s minds whirring as they ask themselves: “Gee, I never thought of that before…What could be a COST of ALLOWING MYSELF TO SUCCEED?”
When I ask my audience members to give examples of their perceived Cost of Success, they say:
It’s going to take too much TIME.
I’m too BUSY.
I don’t want the extra RESPONSIBLITY.
What if my FAMILY doesn’t approve?
What if my SPOUSE is jealous of me?
What if my FRIENDS don’t like me any more?
What if I go for it and LOSE it all?
Did you notice something about these Why-Not-To’s? They are all held in your Subconscious mind. Meaning: no one wakes up in the morning and says, “Today looks like a great day. I think I’ll hold myself back from success today!”
Nor does anyone say, “I think I’ll buy this book (or go to this seminar, or start this coaching program) so I can SABOTAGE myself better!”
Everyone wants to succeed – on the Conscious level.
But because your Why-Not-To’s of Success are hidden in your Subconscious mind, it’s like you’re driving down the road of life…with one foot on the brake.
How to Start Getting Your Foot Off The Brake
The best way to start getting your foot off the brake is to see why it’s there in the first place. Make a list of your Why-To’s of Success and your Why-Not-To’s of Success. List the reasons you really do want to succeed, followed by what you think you’ll “lose” when you let yourself succeed.
Share your list with a friend. You’ll be amazed at the things you never expected.
Noah’s Note: Until you get your foot off the brake, stepping on the gas harder won’t get you from where you are to where you want to be.
About the Author:
Noah St. John is the #1 bestselling author of The Secret Code of Success: 7 Hidden Steps to More Wealth and Happiness (HarperCollins).
Jack Canfield says, “Noah’s work represents one of the most significant breakthroughs in the study of success in decades.”
Get a free Secret Code of Success eBook at http://SecretCodeBook.com
