We all have certain beliefs when it comes to success. The question is, are these beliefs helping us, or hindering us?

Early in my career, I adopted the belief that “in order to get what you want in life you have to work really hard to get it. You are going to have to put in long hours, and sometimes your personal relationships will suffer. You may have to give up hobbies and interests, and you’ll probably be working when your friends are out enjoying themselves and having fun. But in the end you’ll be successful.”

At the time, it never occurred to me that these were fictitious stories that I had been telling myself. I had certain beliefs about success, and those beliefs were based on my past experiences, as well as what people told me.

And that’s normal. You too probably have certain beliefs when it comes to your life and work that you’ve carried with you from your earlier years. But while some beliefs help you to do your best, others hold you back from moving forward in your life.

If you’re like a lot of people, you probably think that you’re going to have to suffer for success. Put in years of 80-hour weeks. Sacrifice time with your family and friends. After all, this is what the gurus tell us on television, and it’s what we read in their books. Success, many of us believe, can only be achieved if you motivate and push yourself to do things that you really don’t want to do. Is this your belief about success?

If it is, you are probably going to resist my Work Less, Make More program. When all is said and done, you’ll feel that you aren’t suffering quite enough to be successful. You’ll wonder where the pain is, and you’ll start to question whether this program really works.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that the old beliefs about success don’t work. They do. It’s just that you’ll end up paying a pretty big price for that success. You’ll have to make huge sacrifices. If the sacrifices are too great, you may start to question your own definition of success. I see that all the time. People have wildly successful businesses, but they aren’t successful in the other parts of their life that truly matter. That’s not my definition of success. Is it yours?

If you really want to learn how to work less and make more, you’re going to have to change your perceptions about success. Unless you change your beliefs about success, the type of success I’m talking about will never be within your grasp.

The good news is you can change your thinking. The choice is yours to create new beliefs, leaving old beliefs where they belong—in the past. Change your beliefs and you’ll change your life. It’s that simple.