This post is the first in a week-long heavy-hitting series called the Remarkablogger Manifesto. The post in the series are:
- What Do You Believe In?
- What Do You Stand For?
- What is Non-Negotiable?
- Why Do You Blog?
- What Will Your Legacy Be?
The inspiration for this series comes from changes I’m making in my life that are not separable from my work. Not long ago I realized I needed to engage in more thorough advanced planning and goal-setting for Remarkablogger and Gateway Blogging.
Except nothing is ever that simple, and planning for my business became planning for my entire life and even for my family. Because if that stuff isn’t figured out, then how am I supposed to know what my business goals are meant to accomplish in the long run?
So, in order to figure this out, I put some robes on, built a sweat lodge out in the misty depths of the Vermont woods, dropped some peyote, had a vision, and acquired magical powers.
Just kidding.
Actually, I did a lot of mind-mapping and having heart-to-heart talks with my wife and discussions with some close friends. I think you’ll find it an interesting (and perhaps uncomfortable) ride. Ready for the first episode? Stay with me…
The Bizarre Nature of Belief
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about belief: why people believe what they do and how they came to have their beliefs. My conclusion is that beliefs are really… weird. Real scientific, isn’t it? 
Here’s what gets me: most people in the world believe the same things their parents believe. That tells you an awful lot about the nature of belief. Beliefs are stories, illusions, and interpretations. We use them to make sense of the world and guide our actions on an individual and societal level. They are never the truth.
What does this have to do with running a business or blog marketing? Everything! Your beliefs will drive your business decisions, including your marketing decisions. Beliefs are foundational. Other elements of your life, business, and success cannot be addressed if you don’t even know what you believe or why you believe it. Also, blogging–even when you’re blog marketing–is still a highly personal form of self-expression. This is a huge difference between how we do business now compared to the old days.
Whatever you’re blogging about, it is a product of your beliefs. I’m suggesting to you that being aware of what your beliefs are will help you fulfill your life in ways that will affect your business, your blogging, and much more.
Belief Inventory
In order to really know for yourself what you believe, you should write your beliefs down. You need to create a belief inventory. To make this work, do not censor yourself as you write. Don’t think: "Oh, that’s stupid," just spit ‘em out, so that you can see them in black and white.
After you’ve gotten them down, take a look at them. When you look at them so starkly, dragged out into the light of day, you many not see all of them as true anymore, which could create some real mental discomfort!
Beliefs Drive Action
We always act according to our beliefs–not the beliefs we proclaim to have, but the beliefs we really have. Your beliefs and actions will shape your business and work efforts, and that means they will determine how you blog and what appears on your blog. When you take a look at your list of beliefs, ask yourself:
- What actions are you taking based on these beliefs?
- What are the results of these actions?
Your answer to that last will tell you a lot. No matter how "true" a belief may seem, a result of repeated or increasing failure points to harmful beliefs.
My Beliefs
I’m not going to list all of my beliefs, because of space and relevancy, but here are some of them as relates particularly to running a business, earning a living, and marketing to the world what you do through your blog:
- I believe in the opportunities afforded by technology.
- I believe imagination, determination, understanding yourself, and constantly striving to improve yourself are the keys to success in everything.
- I believe the means justify the ends, mostly.
- I believe the life I’m living right now is the only one I’ll ever have, and that every moment is precious.
- I believe that safety and security are illusions.
- I believe that love, compassion, beauty, and artistic expression matter more than anything else.
What’s Next
Beliefs allow you to decide what you stand for (I think many people get the two confused). Tomorrow, I’ll ask the question: What Do You Stand For?
Be sure to subscribe to Remarkablogger so you don’t miss out!
Here’s to your blogging success!
Michael Martine, Remarkablogger
Blog Marketing is what I blog about, Blog Consulting is what I do–How can I help you? Click here to find out.
17 Comments
I believe in integrity, honesty, determination, hard work, fairness and sharing, an open mind and live and let live (unless it refers to that crazy lady on the street who chases people with a stick for no reason.)
I believe in love above all, life before money and quality before quantity. I believe in being happy over being rich. I believe in family and roots and history.
I believe in innovation, creative thinking and using any resource you can. I believe in transparency when possible and technology when probably.
***
I disagree with something that you wrote, Michael. Your (general you) beliefs and core values *are* your truths. They may not be pretty and they may not be desirable, but they are your foundation for how you see the world.
But. You see the world through a filter that you apply based on your core beliefs and values. Rose-colored glasses, if you will. Every person sees the world differently because of that, and every person’s view of the world is valid and real - to them. Realistic? Perhaps not. But real? Yes.
Changing your core beliefs and values is possible. Changing how you view the world is as well. You can also change your reactions to how other people navigate through the world too and have greater tolerance.
It’s pretty cool stuff, if you ask me.
@James - Thanks for sharing. Great list! I’m not sure that you are disagreeing with me so much as we’re both talking about the same thing in different ways.
Big difference between what’s true for you and what is The Truth. People get into trouble when they mistake their truth for The Truth. As long as we recognize that the way we see things isn’t the only way, we can better deal with life’s complexities on this small Earth.
That’s why I say beliefs are not true. I want to challenge the reader to consider the nature of his or her own beliefs. To see them as just ideas that could be altered.
Ahh, yes, I see what you’re saying. You’re right - same principles, different words. (Ha! Filters in action!)
Interesting post. I think you nailed the concept, which is a pretty rare thing, IMO, especially when it comes to beliefs and our self concept. To support what you are saying, I have to give a plug to a good friend of mine, PJ Eby, who has written a lot about these issues on his blog:
http://dirtsimple.org/
He’s got a ton of great material there that has completely changed my view of the world. When it comes to beliefs, motivation, procrastination, change, and self-improvement in general, I don’t think anyone has figured it out to the extent that he has. Check it out and see what you think.
I agree with all of the above especially that safety and security are illusions, the most importance aspect is confidence.
One belief that I have held even in the face of lots of criticism is I believe that people are basically good.
This, I am told, puts me at a disadvantage in business.
Consider something as basic as a guarantee, or working without a signed contract.
Does that make me an optimist?
But I also believe what goes around comes around, what we focus on we get more of, what you put out comes back, and especially with our own thought patterns, garbage in-garbage out
@James - Filters in action, indeed. There’s a saying I like that I think is an old Zulu saying: “There’s no such thing as truth–there are only stories.”
@Patrick - Thanks, I’m glad that you feel I’ve nailed it. PJ’s blog looks great–I subscribed (aside: nice example of a blogger blog, too).
@Belinda - we put a lot of energy into maintaining our illusions, don’t we?
You say the most important aspect is confidence. I think that is important, but where does confidence come from? If you feel lacking in it, how do you increase it? My thoughts on that are that increase it through accomplishment. As the old saying goes: nothing succeeds like success! The more you accomplish, the more confidence you have. This means you have to take action, not just believe something (so much for the law of attraction).
@Chris - You poor sucker! Ha ha, just kidding.
If it makes you feel any better, I too believe that people are basically good. Of course, some are basically selfish and emotionally damaged and should be avoided.
But you can’t go around expecting the worst and be mistrusting of everyone or it will eat you up inside. People who live this way are supremely unhappy, and I don’t want to be one of ‘em. I’m glad you don’t, either.
If one were to take a cynical view of the fact that most people believe what their parents believed, it could be because they’ve never made the effort to examine those inherited beliefs. I’m most drawn to people who examine and reexamine their beliefs all their lives, because such continuing examination reflects depth of thinking. Hard stuff.
I believe in helping people.
I believe that most people want to be happy and work towards it (mostly
)
I believe that few people hurt others on purpose - it’s usually miscommunication, low blood sugar, or tiredness.
I believe that hard work does produce results.
I believe in good timing: creating the right thing at the right moment.
I believe in my own skills.
I believe that I am 100% responsible for my moods, my actions, my choices and my success.
I believe that success is not wholly defined by money.
I believe that there is no get-rich-quick in business.
I believe that I will succeed in what I want to accomplish.
Ooh! What a fun exercise!
“Belief drives action.”
No doubt, this is true. But, what fascinates me even more is the corollary…disbelief drives inaction.
Simple fact, if you don’t believe in the attainability of any certain end, you’ll never take the actions needed to get you there. Even if that thing you believed was impossible to get was actually very attainable. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
The bigger question to me, when it comes to belief, is, “how do you create it, when it’s just not there?”
@Chris, I believe that people are basically good as well. But I also believe that some people are horribly, dangerously confused, which can lead to action that is hurtful and, in the extreme, evil. I also believe it is critical to set strong, unambiguous boundaries in the face of unacceptable action. Doing that in a compassionate way is very hard but worth trying. Hardly anyone is good at it, but making the effort seems to do good things for our psyches, IMO.
Mind you, I do not do a very good job of connecting with my “people are basically good” belief when I drive to work in the morning. Apparently when I am driving in commute traffic, I believe 90% of people are evil, stupid, or insane. Oops.
@Jean - Me too. I’m after truth, in whatever form it exists, and if that means I have to change my mind, my beliefs, and my life as a result, then so be it. Not everyone in the world has the luxury of being able to go against the grain without fear of imprisonment or death. It is a precious freedom.
@Alex - Thanks for sharing! That’s a great list.
@Jonathan - Whoa. Fantastic question. I believe (ha) that disbelief is just another belief in disguise. Disbelief is really a “turned around” belief. You can take a statement of disbelief and turn it around into a belief that means the same thing.
For example, if you don’t believe you’ll be successful, that’s just another way of saying you believe you are unsuccessful. This is a great way to uncover hidden beliefs we didn’t know we really held.
Here’s a thought. I think that ‘disbelief’, in probably 80%+ of times, is simply another word for fear. Instead of saying, “I am afraid of,” people say, “I don’t believe in.”
@James — I agree. “I don’t believe in” can also mean “I won’t risk learning new things or changing my mind, which is buttoned up tight.” Those who “don’t believe in” evolution, for example.
This has gotten to be a very philosophical thread!
@Sonia - I think something happens deep in the proto-human parts of our brains when we get behind the wheel. I say things, do things, and make hand gestures in traffic I would never otherwise do!
@James - I believe (ha) there’s some truth (ha) to that!
@Jean - Yes, it has gotten a bit philosophical. Dealing with fear and acting according to your beliefs and principles is important for growth and self-actualization. Business and blogging are extensions of that, don’t you think?
@Sonia - Same thing happens to my brain stem when I listen to certain of our gun-totin’ politicians.
I believe transcendent experiences transform me (everyone!) for the better, and thus should be sought out and relished.
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