When someone says, "I can't do that"; and there is no physical reason why not, then is it actually true that they can't? Could it be that fear convinces us that we can't do certain things even though in reality we could? With that in mind do you think that the statement "I can't" should actually be "I choose not to because fear tells me I can't"? Absolutely! So, what is fear? Is it something outside us that attacks us? NO! Fear is simply our minds way of trying to protect us from what it thinks may harm us. For some of us our minds think that everything will hurt us so it causes us to live in constant fear. Does that mean that you create your own fears? Yes! Fear will stop you from succeeding about 50% of the time, the reason why most people don't ever become a successful model is because of fear. We allow our minds to tell us what we can and cannot do before we even try most things. Some common thoughts among beginner models are:

1." I can't be a model"
2. "I don't look like a bikini model"
3. "How could I ever make it as a sexy model"

If your thoughts sound like #1 then answer the following questions:

• How do you know you can't be a model?
   
• Have you tried before and if so how many times?
   
• Did you ever think that it was a result of something inside you instead of your appearance?

If you are more a #2, then answer these:

• What does a model look like, some beautiful girl or a ruggedly looking woman?
   
• If that is what you think a model has to look like then go look at ten magazines and look at every ad in each one and count how many of them are “beautiful” or “sexy”.

Now #3 is simple. How do you think anyone becomes a model? Did you think that people are just born models? Everyone has to start at ground zero! Whether they had to model small time for years until they are discovered or if they hit it big right away, they still started in the same place as everybody else. Once you realize that your fears are not from someone or something, but from your own thoughts about what might happen, it becomes much easier to ignore them. Fear isn't even part of reality. It is always "what if" which is in the future not the present. Learn to accept fear as a natural reaction that you choose to listen to or ignore.

You can never get rid of fear so it is useless to even try. All we can do is learn to accept that its there and choose to ignore it. Whenever fearful thoughts come up in your mind you simply see them for what they are, your mind acting as an over protective mother, and you say "thank you for your opinion" and continue doing what ever it is that you were doing. After awhile, ignoring fear will be so natural that it will be as if it isn't even there. Rule your fear, instead of it ruling you For most of us, our fears rule us, instead of us ruling our fears. From now on, when any fear comes up, instead of listening to it and letting it rule you, knock the fear down and walk right over it. Remember, fear is created by you and you are its master, not the other way around. What you create you can destroy. Negative beliefs will also stop you from succeeding.

Now for the other 50% of the time, the reason that people do not become successful in modeling, or any other part of their lives, is because of their belief system. Your belief system is usually what your fears are rooted in. What is a belief? A belief is simply a strong opinion that you have developed about something. We tend to think that our beliefs are made as a result of certain experiences that happen to us during our lives. For example if someone is attacked by a dog, when they where very young, they may form the belief that all dogs want to attack them. Now, every time they hear a story of someone else being attacked by a dog it strengthens their belief. If that person never had that experience as a child they would never have formed that belief. You see, most of the time our beliefs are actually useless and don't do anything more than hinder our growth. They aren’t created by experiences in your life but by your perception of the experiences. If the child attacked by the dog just forgot about the whole thing and thought, " well I'm glad that I'm OK" and never even thought about the dog again; their perception would have prevented that belief from ever even becoming real.

Beliefs determine your life path! Simply put, your beliefs determine how successful you will be at anything. Whether it is in relationships, money or even becoming a model. If your beliefs tell you: you won't ever become a sexy model, then you won't ever become one. This is why changing your beliefs is so important. Understand where your beliefs came from and know that you can change them at any time you want because they are your beliefs. This will enable you to change them. The following exercise with show you how expose your beliefs and how to reprogram them.

IDENTIFY AND RELEASE

STEP 1: Pick your non-supportive belief and write it down For example: I am not attractive enough to be a model

STEP 2: Write down in detail the first experience that you can think of that may have helped formed that belief. For example: Someone told you that you were ugly or you were always laughed at whenever you said that you wanted to be a model. Once it is written down then imagine it in detail.

STEP 3: Now imagine that experience again but this time with a positive and understanding perspective. For example: That time that you were called ugly when you were young traumatized you. So now look at that from the perspective that maybe that person was actually very insecure and they tried to put others down to make them feel better about who they are. Now imagine that person in front of you asking for forgiveness. Forgive them. If the event was something that happened to you while you were alone then imagine it again. Instead of reacting the way you did imagine reacting positively so that you can see it from all angles.

Now you should be able to see how your belief was formed and that it was simply your perception that created it. Believe it or not but that's all you need to know to stop fear and beliefs from ruling you! Enjoy your newfound freedom!

Points to remember:

“Fear isn’t even part of reality” This is such an important concept to grasp. Once you understand this you will be free of fear. You need to realize that fear is you and you are fear! Does this make sense? Think back to the last time you were in a situation where you were afraid. Do you remember what your thoughts were? If you don’t remember let's refresh your memory. Your thoughts were of what might happen, what could go wrong or were reminding you of past circumstances that have occurred. So think about that. What was making you afraid? It was your very own and very creative imagination! Any fear you have comes from your imagination and starts with one thought. From then on, it just keeps building and building unless… You simply cut it off. If not, it will keep playing all these movies in your head of what could happen, will happen or what has happened in the past.

In these situations you have two options.

Option one: is that we get so caught up in and convinced of, all these movies, that we give up with out even trying. Sounds crazy, but we do it! With option two: we decide to realize that fear is nothing more than our own thoughts and we simply cut it off and go past it. In case you haven’t figured it out, option two is what you want to go for! “A belief is simply a strong opinion that you have developed about something” Now your beliefs can also be terrible things. They are the thoughts that cause a lot of your fears and doubts. If a belief causes fear it is not helpful to you. You have to notice it and reprogram it. The first step is to understand that your beliefs are simply strong opinions that you have developed on something. Sorry to say, but you may be wrong in some of your beliefs. A good example is covered a little in the first chapter. In which; I was talking about how many people have this, false belief, that if you aren’t a certain height, you cannot be a sexy model. And because of that one belief so many people that could be cashing in and traveling the world as a model, aren’t. Their dreams will never become reality because of one stupid belief. So what is the next step? It is to listen to your beliefs. Every time you want to do something and then a belief comes into your mind of why you can’t, you must challenge it. Some of these beliefs will be so strongly rooted that you will have a hard time even questioning them. You have had them for so long that you “know” they are true. Challenge them and see what happens.