Everyone who has read or listened to life coaches and motivational speakers (do we still call them motivational?) have heard that you must believe in being able to achieve or get what it is you want. I recall from the very early days, over 20 years ago, when I listened to Brian Tracy for the first time and I had to repeat “I love myself, I love myself” over and over. Stand in front of the mirror he said and repeat this daily. I had no idea what I was doing back then, but I wanted to believe. I wanted to learn, I wanted so much more from my life.

How about the phrase “Act as if?” “Act as if! Act as if you’re a wealthy man, rich already, and then you’ll surely become rich. Act as if you have unmatched confidence and then people will surely have confidence in you. Act as if you have unmatched experience and then people will follow your advice. And act as if you are already a tremendous success, and as sure as I stand here today – you will become successful.” That quote was by Jordan Belfort. Countless individuals have used this phrase and before I digress onto a different topic, the point being made is that in doing these things we are working on our subconscious mind and are driving the point home; that we are capable of having and achieving anything we set our minds to. But is it enough? I touched on this in my previous blog in December.

There are hundreds if not thousands of quotes that all talk about believing. Believing in yourself, believing you can achieve anything (although that is very vague), believing that all things are possible. Quotes from David Schwartz, E.E. Cummings, Norman Vincent Peale, are some of the more notable individuals that have encouraged us to BELIEVE in ourselves and in what we are capable of.

But (yes, there is a but) there is more. Simply believing is not enough. Believing is a start. It gets you motivated and perhaps even places you on the path to achieve what you desire. Beliefs though are not absolute truths. The dictionary defines belief as “an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.” Think about that for a moment. An acceptance is not a concrete absolute, unwavering, indisputable truth.

What we need more than believing in getting or accomplishing what we want, is KNOWING. Knowing is based on our experience of something. In knowing something, we do not think or speculate about it. The dictionary definition of knowing is “to understand as fact or truth” There is no mistaking when you know something.

We perceive it so deeply within ourselves as true that we don’t have to discuss it, and no matter what anyone else says about it, it does not alter our reality. This link has a great article worth reading as it clearly defines the differences between Believing, having Faith and Knowing.

Knowing shifts the energy deep within us and sends a message to the universe that literally everything conspires to give us what we want. Knowing is unshakable. It’s the difference between saying “I believe that George Washington existed” and “I know George Washington existed.” Knowing changes the way we feel on the deepest level possible within us, at the soul level.

So when we know what it is we want, specifically, to the minutest detail of what we want, yes, you can believe that you can have everything you truly want, but more than anything, KNOW that you can have all that you truly desire. Live every day knowing that you have all you need to make it (whatever ‘it’ may be for you) happen.