Your thoughts and beliefs can drive your life and career. If this is true, and I believe that it is…then why not allow this concept to benefit every aspect of your life.

For as long as I can remember, I have held the belief that I don’t get tickets. I have been pulled over, given a ticket with WARNING written across it, and even yelled at by the police for carelessness, but I never received a ticket. I will get stopped and I will say to myself….I don’t get tickets and believe and feel so strongly in my heart that I never get a ticket that I actually don’t. A few years ago in the U.S., I was on my way to a dinner meeting. I exited off the expressway ramp and zipped through the intersection; however, the light turned red before I made it through. Within seconds I saw the bright flashing blue lights pull behind me. I pulled over and sat there waiting to explain what happened. The officer walked up and asked, “Do you know why I stopped you?” I explained that the light was yellow before I proceeded and it turned red before I made it through. He began to explain to me that my actions were dangerous because there were traffic police who were present and I could have hit them. I accepted that I could have stopped, but I refused to get a ticket so I began to give my spiel. I asked him if he ever gives anyone a break and if so could I be that person. He looked at me with a little frown and said, “Ma’am I’m just trying to do my job.” I realized that the more I talked the more he became irritated. So, I stopped talking and he took my license and walked back to his car. I sat there saying to myself that it will be alright and that I will not get a ticket. I refuse to get a ticket because I do not get tickets I repeated to myself. He walked back and gave me my license, and then handed me ‘my’ ticket. I swear…I just sat there for a second dumb founded not knowing what to do with that piece of paper. I was speechless because I knew in my heart and soul that I didn’t believe in getting a ticket. He explained my court date and said a few more things and I recall taking the ticket and asking whether I could just pay the ticket. He answered, “no”, with the same sterile response, and I said to him, “Ok…thank you. And, have a good evening sir.” I smiled, continued to respect him and drove off stunned. I arrived to the restaurant which was a mile or so away, and my dinner companion asked me about my day. I replied with actually good but the darnedest thing just happened. I got a ticket. And, I never ever get tickets. But, I won’t let this change the day that I am having. I focused on the meeting and we talked for hours. The check was paid and we were walking out to my car and I expressed to my companion that it just occurred to me that I had gotten a ticket and I felt an uneasy feeling because I never got tickets. I noticed a few police in the area dealing with pan handlers as we walked to my car. As I was exiting the restaurant’s parking lot, I looked to the right and standing there were two police one of which was the officer who gave me the ticket a couple of hours earlier! I smiled and waved, and he looked surprise and waved back. I sat at the end of the drive and thought for a second…I don’t get tickets. I put my car in reverse and stopped in front of where the officer was standing. I rolled down my window and yelled out, “Can you please give me a warning?” He couldn’t hear me so he walked over to the car and stuck his head into the window. I asked him again for a warning and shared with him that I would never willingly break the law and that the light was yellow but the intersection was long. He again explained that what I did was dangerous. We exchanged a few more words and he asked me for the ticket. I pulled it out of my purse and handed it to him. He took it and ripped it up! He then said that he was giving me a break because through it all I was polite and respectful even after getting the ticket. I thanked him and we parted ways.

My firm belief of not getting tickets held up. On the way home I was appreciative of the turn of events and more importantly not getting a ticket. But, I walked away with something greater than standing firm on my belief…it caused me to ask the question what if I believed without a doubt and as strongly about other things in my life, and more relevant things such as I experience great success, I never fail, I attract love and light, and the list can go on and on. I wonder why I don’t simply believe so strongly in other things like I believe that I don’t get a ticket. So, now I have been practicing building belief in other areas. When I’m sitting with nothing in particular in mind, I’ll say to myself whatever I want to engrain as a belief.

There is so much power in our thoughts and in expressing what we believe that we often don’t get what we want because we simply don’t believe such at our core. I’m here to say that you can easily tap into the power of belief and harness that energy. What can you start believing in about yourself, career or life that will drastically shift what happens to and for you?