Watch a child and you will see how simple life is. The first key is to live in the present. Small children talk in the present tense, even though they may know other tenses, because that is where they are. No tomorrow, no yesterday, no postponement, no "one day .../when I grow up/when I have qualified/when I am retired/"– just here now.

You become successful by acting it, you have to start now in the present. You will not become it in the future, but in the present.

My daughter says, "I am a ballerina", and in that moment she is. She has created the experience which she desires – she is fully into being a ballerina.

As we go through life we may want a fuller experience; maybe to dance the part of Odette in Swan Lake with a full orchestra on a big stage. We would still say, "I am a ballerina – dancing Odette", and visualizing ourself dancing on the stage.

I am .....

This process will create a belief that you are that, what you say you are in the affirmation. Once you believe it, you are ready to experience it. The magic that kids have is that they say the affirmation once and a moment later they have created it and are experiencing, "I am a cowboy", "I am a princess", "I am Superman", "I am a courageous worrior", "I am the Emperor of the World". Now we do not want too many emperors on the street at any one time, but children when they are in an identity, they are totally in it. That is until they develop the inner voice: the one which says, "Is it ok? ", "What will they think of me?" and other messages that take one out of the present. Be total in what you are, and you will be in the present.

Limits – what limits – no limits

Now we have to talk about what limits we put on ourselves, and where we draw the line – "I could become this, but that, no, that would be too much – I could not do that": anyone know that little voice? Where do you draw the line between the possible and the impossible? Try writing down the most extreme thing that is possible for you to do. Then write down something that is just over the edge, which is impossible. Then try and find a way of extending what is possible to encompass what was considered impossible.

This is how the rich and successful work. They look for ways to do what others consider impossible, and through determination and persistence they succeed. Have you created a belief that "some things are impossible for me"? Is that belief useful for you?

A final note about affirmations: they do have a side effect, a positive one. As you stop to do everything else to say your affirmations, you will be in the present. Being here and now has a certain magic about it! See what the difference is after a month of using your affirmations. Maybe you will want to stay even more in the moment - more about that another time.

I work with people in business who want to do more with less – to make a greater contribution with less effort – to be more themselves with less holding them back.

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