Joey Klein Of Inner Matrix Systems Explores How Belief Ultimately Creates Reality

 This time of year has me simultaneously in high gear and reflection. I use the very tools we train here at IMS to measure, evaluate, and calibrate...and forecast into the following year. As I begin to engage this process I'm struck by how big a role Belief plays in my process. Having named and created vision in every area of life so many times, it never (ever) occurs to me to not believe my vision is possible. From that place, literally anything is possible. Believe it or not (see what I did there), Belief is not something you have or don't have...Belief is a choice. And it can be trained. 

For many people, belief is where things tend to fall apart. Which is not surprising, really. I mean, you get the rug pulled out from under you enough times, it becomes easy to not believe. We literally tell children from the time they’re born that a magical man comes down the chimney and delivers presents. We create an entire story around it that all the adults take part in. We even put out a plate of cookies and some carrots for the flying reindeer. Then around eight or nine years old, if they don’t learn it from a friend or older sibling first, the parents break the news that the whole thing was an elaborate lie that, apparently, the whole world was in on. Talk about trust issues!

Then there’s the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy and figuring out what really happened to Chubby the goldfish when you were in the third grade. And those are just the lies our parents tell us. As we get older we experience the first time a friend betrays us, the first time someone breaks our heart, the first time we realize the adults we thought knew everything and had all the answers are actually just people trying their damndest to figure it all out too. Over time, all these things can pile up and erode our ability or willingness to risk believing in other people and, more importantly, believing in ourselves. And when it's tough to believe, possibility is hampered. 

At IMS we're in the possibility business. What does that mean? It means we believe that anyone can create a life of their own design. It starts with believing that it’s possible, and we have the tools, techniques, and strategies for training that belief. When you decide to believe that something is possible, you set into motion the process of the possibility becoming reality. That’s not to say that just believing is going to get you there. But belief is the foundation, the cornerstone on which reality is created.

So what is possibility anyway? Well, in order for something to be possible, it has to have a chance of actually happening, right? Can we go back in time and fix our mistakes? No. That’s not possible. Can we predict the future with perfect precision? We can make informed guesses, but no, not possible. Can we create and live our best lives? Absolutely. That is a clear possibility. But if a possibility is something that has a chance of happening, then by nature, it also has a chance of not happening. And that, my friends, is where belief comes into the picture. The only way to turn possibility into reality is to believe that it can happen. It’s belief that fuels us to take all the actions necessary to then make it happen.

Now let’s be clear on something. When we talk about what’s possible, we need to also keep in mind what’s reasonable and realistic. I’m not suggesting that just because you believe in something it’s going to happen. If you come to me at age 40 and say, Joey, I’ve always wanted to swim in the Olympics, think I can make it to Los Angeles in 2028? Look, I don’t like to discourage people from following their dreams, but we need to recognize when we’ve crossed over from what’s possible into the realm of highly improbable, if not flat out impossible. I mean, I guess you could find some small country that doesn’t have a swim team, become a citizen, and who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself swimming in the Staples Center in four years, but that’s not really what we’re talking about here. The point is, when we talk about creating a life of your own design, let’s stipulate that we mean keeping things within the realm of…well, possibility.

So what does belief look like? Well, maybe you’ve always wanted to own a fleet of mobile dog grooming vans. You just love washing dogs and you want to lead a team of people just as excited about clipping nails and expressing anal glands as you are. But hey, starting a business is a lot of work. You’re not sure exactly where to even get started. You’ve been putting some money aside and reading books like Entrepreneurship for Dummies, but you’re also holding down the job you have and it all starts to feel like a one step forward, two steps back kind of thing.

When we try something new, or something challenging, or something we haven’t taken the time to educate ourselves about, it can be easy to fall into beliefs like “I’m not cut out for this” or “This is way more than I can take on right now”. Not believing in ourselves opens the door to all kinds of convenient excuses for not doing something. But the thing is, you don’t really not believe in yourself, you’re choosing non-belief to let yourself off the hook. And you most likely don’t even know you’re doing it. Your capacity for believing in big things has been whittled away by all those things we talked about earlier, so a big thing like starting your own business feels like an awfully tall order. Your nervous system pipes up and says, hey, something here doesn’t feel good, maybe we should just shut this down right now. The good news is, you can actually train Belief and get your nervous system off your back and on your side.

So maybe we call owning a fleet of dog grooming vans the overall Vision. Okay great, but that’s a lot to chew in one bite. Let’s instead focus on what we can do right now in service of the vision. If you don’t know much about the basics of running a business, can you take a couple classes online or at the local college? Yeah, I can do that. Can you do some research on how much it will cost to buy a van and the equipment you’ll need? Yeah, I can do that. Okay, now we’re cooking with gas. Take bite-size chunks and establish belief that you can see them through. Keep training belief in yourself and even more possibilities will begin to emerge. Each step you take toward the overall vision creates and reinforces the belief that you can get there. And before you know it, you’re going to be the best damn mobile dog groomer on the block!

One of the key places we train Belief (and therefore Possibility) is at the Power Series. Power Series Weekend Intensives are right around the corner. Do you believe you can set aside one weekend to start training Belief in yourself? Hell yeah you do! Click HERE to learn more about the Power Series and sign up today!