Believe In Yourself And Become a Winner: Lessons from Hollywood

Copyright 2004 Priya Shah

A while ago I made it a point to watch the movie "Legally Blonde."

Not just for the bright, chirpy and eminently watchable Reese Witherspoon, but also because I loved the message it sent out.

If you didn't see the movie, all you need to know is that it's about a smart, fashion-conscious blonde who's told time and again, by her family and friends, that it'simpossible for someone like her to go to Harvard law school.

That she's just not smart enough and doesn't have what it takes.

In the movie, the character played by Witherspoon not only goes to Harvard law, but also through sheer determination and intuition, graduates at the top of her class.

Its just the sort of movie people love. Because it makes us believe that we too are capable of achieving anything we want to.

It reminds us how we often let ourselves, and others, underestimate our own potential.

And how we undermine our own sense of self, because of what we look like or where we came from.

But why just let it remain a movie, when it can be the story of your life...

Have you ever asked yourself what it is that keeps you from reaching your full potential?

From doing what you are inherently capable of?

For many of us, it's a lack of belief in ourselves. A lack of confidence in our own ability to succeed.

And because we believe we will fail, we usually do.

But there are people who have succeeded beyond all expectation - no matter what they look like, or where they come from.

One of my favourite role models who comes to mind is another Hollywood celebrity, Barbra Streisand.

Indeed, one of my favourite films of all time is her movie, "Yentl," about a courageous, intelligent woman trying to fulfill her capabilities, in the face of overwhelming odds.

"Yentl" was also the movie in which Streisand became the first woman ever to produce, direct, write and star in a major motion picture.

Streisand carved her own path, and broke the mould.

She showed how a woman with unconventional looks can make it in a field where beauty is more important than brains.

So, if you believe that you are less than someone, because of your lack of education, looks, talent, background or ability, take courage from her achievements.

They are an inspiration not only for women, but for everyone.

Because all it take is a belief. The belief that you can do what it takes.

Don't wait for someone else to give you an opportunity to prove yourself. Stop depending on others for handouts.

Don't wait for the right opportunity to fall in your lap. Because it never will.

All you need to carve your own path, is the confidence and the belief that you can succeed at anything you set out to do, no matter what the odds.

So start today. Choose a mentor.

Learn from the masters. Re-invent yourself.

Create your own opportunities and forge your own future.

Your belief in yourself, coupled with the courage to see it through, is what will carry you from a life of mediocrity and under-achievement, into a world where you can be the winner you aspire to be.

Priya Shah is the editor of the newsletters Be a Whiz at eBiz! and The Glutathione Report She shows you how to truly build multiple sources of income online with the Brilliant Team Home Business Opportunity

---

Afraid of The Light?

Plato once said, "It is easy to forgive a small child afraid of the dark, but not a full-grown man afraid of the light." Since long before Plato light has symbolized truth--facing the... Read More

Confidence Building Steps That Work Like Crazy!

Self-confidence is your assessment of your own self-worth. It plays a large part in determining your happiness through life. So how do you create confidence? Well here's a surprise - you take action!... Read More

The Pursuit of Greatness

On June 3rd, 1948, a blast rocked the Black Hills of South Dakota. Ten tons of stone were dislodged from the mountainside and tumbled to the earth below. Earlier that day, a man... Read More

Things Happen Without Reason

Sometimes things happen in life for apparently no reason at all. You think that there isn't any reason for something to happen until after the fact when that something has changed your life... Read More

Recipe for Success

"Desire is a tremendous force, and must be directed in the right channels (to work). - Florence Scovel ShinnTake one cup of Desire,Mix well with a heart full of Passion,Shake in a tumbler... Read More

Everyone Has Been Hurt... Part 4

Continued...After that I stayed with him still and when he would hit me I became numb. And I would also fight back even harder. I wouldn't give in till he hurt me bad... Read More

The Shattered Identity

I. ExpositionIn the movie "Shattered" (1991), Dan Merrick survives an accident and develops total amnesia regarding his past. His battered face is reconstructed by plastic surgeons and, with the help of his loving... Read More

Discover The Magic Of Doing What You Love

Do what you love to do and give it your very best. Whether it's business or baseball, or the theater, or any field. If you don't love what you're doing and you can't... Read More

The Red Ribbon

Everyone wants a blue ribbon. Blue. First place. The best. Even kindergarteners want that blue ribbon. In sports, I was never a blue-ribbon person. In a race I was always last. In baseball... Read More

Adversity to Victory

The following is a true story about a young friend who lives in St. Louis.Andy was born with a developmental disorder. The two sides of his brain were not joined normally with each... Read More

Life Is Worthwhile If You

(Excerpted from the Jim Rohn Two Day Weekend event - June 22 and 23, 2001)1) First, life is worthwhile if you LEARN.What you don't know WILL hurt you. You have to have learning... Read More

Anam Chara - Living A Life Of Value

Much of our lives we spend comparing what "me" has with what "you" has. Usually this is to the detriment of "me." We take our values from the world of the visible and... Read More

Inspiring Values of Unforgettable Teachers

All of us recall special teachers - people who not only taught us but inspired us in ways that changed our lives. William Arthur Ward once said, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good... Read More

The Great Challenge of Life

Here's the great challenge of life - You can have more than you've got because you can become more than you are.I have found that income seldom will exceed your own personal development.... Read More

Imaginings

Most people like movies. Some, like me, are enthralled by them. I am sure that making a movie is a lot of work; but to me, it seems like it must be the... Read More

Letting Go and Letting Be

In Corrogue it is frosty.The earth is hard and unyielding. This reminds me of how our hearts often become. They become cold and we ourselves become frosty. The flow of our energy is... Read More

Life

Life is what happens to you, while you are making other plans. ( John Lennon )Truly, I think life has no surety. Whenever, we want to do something there is a new happening... Read More

A Prison Planet

I decreed my 'twin' into my life in early 1990. It is a story I tell in other books but I think even Edward House would have a hard time topping my gifts.... Read More

Forgiveness

"If unresolved anger is a toxin to the spirit, forgiveness is the antidote." - Brian L. SeawardRecently I caught a portion of a television show about individuals working to make changes in their... Read More

Turning 40

Most of us, at one point or another, take a moment to evaluate our lives and the paths that we have chosen to take. We each do it at different times and with... Read More

Moment of Grace

The bedrock of the Christian faith is the good news about God's love. Christian teachings about who we are and about our relationship with our Lord and each other is rooted in the... Read More

How to Overcome Loneliness

Nowadays the majority of people live in very large cities. It is hard to imagine that in cities of millions of people that anyone could feel lonely. However, it is because of the... Read More

Anam Chara - Wishing Versus Wanting

There is an old saying, which warns, "be careful for what you wish because you may get what you want."How many of us actually heed this age-old advice. Do you know what it... Read More

Divination

A LOST WORLD OF SOULWhen you hear the word 'divination', chances are that certain images-- will spring to mind: dark gypsy fortune-tellers, tea-leaves, and crystal balls; a scene in a movie when the... Read More

The Research Sector

Kevin had worked as a barber at The Clipper Joint for the past five years. He has dreams of opening his own barbershop one day. He is beginning to feel that it isn't... Read More

Cool Children

It's funny how an acquaintance from the past just pops into your head sometimes. Usually the flashback is brought on by a phrase someone says, or a thought you have. Today my particular... Read More

Living on Purpose: One Rock at a Time

I just got back from Colorado where I spent a week relaxing, re-energizing and revisiting the key values in my life. The lodge where I stayed is called Peaceful Valley, and it has... Read More

No Problem!

Thanks to Walt Disney's "The Lion King", children the world over know the Swahili expression "Hakuna Matata". It means "No Problem" and we grown-ups should use it more often.I used to come home... Read More

A Prison Cell?

Do you have a goal? A focus in life? Have you invested a great deal of time, effort, money to achieve and yet feel you haven't made it yet? For all your effort... Read More