Are you hearing voices?

Do you wake up in the morning and hear voices? Not the type you might be thinking I'm referring to, but voices just the same. They're the voices of people who have made an impression on us in some way, and we are still hearing, still remembering and acting on things they said.

I'm leaving in a few minutes to give a speech on these voices, and it made me think of just how prevalent they often still are in our lives, and how much they can get in the way.

For example, have you ever thought of changing your business and doing something different, or changing strategies within your business, and someone told you that your idea was a foolish one, especially with the current economy? Perhaps this persono reminded you that you aren't as well qualified, or over qualified, or too old, or too young, to pursue what you were thinking of doing.

I call these voices, from well-meaning people most of the time, the Monster Lies that we buy into that can wreak havoc on our lives. So often when we listen to these voices, in the name of reason or common sense or logic, it stops us from living our dreams and creating what we want in the world.

Let me give you a couple of examples. One voice, one Monster Lie, is Experteaser. This is the voice who says we must listen to the experts; God forbid we listen to our own wisdom and innate understanding of a situation. Instead we must ALWAYS listen to someone with more authority or rank or title or education, the experts must know more. A personal story here, my son had slight brain damage when he was a baby due to a high fever. He had many learning disabilities including dyslexia and when he was 10 years old I took him to a neurologist who ran a series of tests on my son and told me to send him to a nice vocational school, that he wasn't smart enough to make it to college.

I remember thinking this doctor had no idea what my son and I could do together to help him learn, and I decided then and there to wait as long as I could possibly wait to tell my son he wasn't smart enough for college. When did I finally tll him? After he had graduated with a 4.0 grade average, getting his master's degree in forensic science, and he had gotten a scholarship and studied in Oxford. Can you imagine what could have been different in his life if I had listened to the "expert?"

There are many monster lies, many beliefs that stop us from succeeding; I'll mention more on another day. But one other worth mentioning right now, because it's just so bad, is Sandman. This is the voice you hear that says it's not your fault, you can't do any better, just give up and go to sleep on your life and your dreams, you have permission. And so many people, unfortunately, listen to this voice. They decide they're too old or too young or in some way not qualified to really live their dreams, and they give up, put their heads in the sand. There is a saying that people die in their 20's, they just wait until their 80's to be buried!

Let's not go to sleep on our lives. Let's decide there are voices from our past that will remind us we screwed up along the way or we weren't smart enough or talented enough at one time. BUT, and what a delicious "but," the past does not equal the present or future, and the only way we will make change is to silence the voices and start listening to our own instincts, our beliefs in our own abilities.

And when you start to do something right and you hear a voice reminding you that it won't last, who do you think you are anyway, or any such nonsense, then acknowledge it's just a voice, just words, just someone's belief, but not your reality. What a relief it is to stop listening to what everyone else believes you must do or not do with your life. Enjoy the silence!