“Your belief determines your action and your action determines your results, but first you have to believe.” -Mark Victor Hansen
In my early 20s, I got involved with a pyramid scheme that I mistook for an ethical company.
I didn’t realize it at first, but most people were only pretending to make money because they believed they eventually would.
Since the revenue came mostly from attracting new recruits, the head of my young team had rented out an office suite, largely to establish a sense of credibility. This made it look less like a risky network marketing business, and more like a lucrative career path. Of course, I didn’t realize this at the time. I wanted to believe, so I did.
On one of my first days after joining, right before a scheduled presentation with 30 potential recruits, we got kicked out of our office because of a dispute with the rent.
In that moment, I had this vision of our entire 40+ person team setting up shop in the tiny Starbucks downstairs. I grabbed all the marketing materials and overflowed with earnest enthusiasm as I told everyone, “We don’t need an office. We just need to bring our heads and our hearts!”
In the movies, this kind of thing always seems to work. Things fall apart, and yet they somehow come together simply because people care, they’re determined, and they find a way.
I learned from this scenario that we need to be discerning about what we choose to believe, and clear about why we care. But I also realized that it isn’t naive to believe we can create miracles when we recognize our passion is our greatest asset.
In most situations, it’s not smoke and mirrors that create the magic—it truly is the people who believe in it and as a result never consider giving up on it. People run the companies. People create the brands. People change the world.
People just like you and me. It’s not a fancy office that does it. It’s not a massive paycheck. It’s not even the best laid business plans.
When it comes to building anything worthwhile, it starts with a willingness to believe in ourselves, each other, and what we can create when we have good intentions and keep going.
Photo by Scottfeldstein
About Lori Deschene
Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha. She started the site after struggling with depression, bulimia, c-PTSD, and toxic shame so she could recycle her former pain into something useful and inspire others to do the same. You can find her books, including Tiny Buddha’s Gratitude Journal and Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal, here and learn more about her eCourse, Recreate Your Life Story, if you’re ready to transform your life and become the person you want to be.
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Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 
“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.” ~ William James
Today I stumbled upon this quote about ‘belief’, liked it very much, and then hit my
feed reader to find this very nice post about belief in tinybuddha!
I hate to have to take the realistic approach over the optimistic one, but your actions are not always what determine your results. Sometimes things happen to you that are outside of your control. People that lost homes during Hurricane Katrina did not suffer those consequences because of their actions.
The simple and unavoidable fact is that you are not the sole determiner of reality. The sooner you accept this, the better you can “let go” of those aspects of life that aren’t in your control.
Love this…good reminder!
that’s funny, i have been contemplating fear today…
You bring up a great point. We aren’t the sole determiners of our future, but I suspect we often don’t realize just how much power we have. If I were to rewrite this quote, I would likely change “determines” to “influences” or something that suggests that there are, in fact, other factors that shape the future. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I love that quote!
I completly agree.
Thank you for sharing.
You are most welcome. =)
“Pyramid” is a term for an illegal scheme, so you were involved in an illegal business? Believing is good, but where’s the rest of the story?
Tiny Buddha is incredible. It seems to know what I’m thinking and what I need every day. I was just out for a walk and thinking about believing in myself…I walk in the house and TB is right there enriching my perspectives when I need. Has happened more than once. Grazie!
Love this post Lori. I’m reminded of a quote “The imaginative man does not deny the reality of the sensuous outer world…but he knows that it is the inner world of continuous imagination that is the force by which the outer world is brought to pass.”
If you click on the link inserted into the words “pyramid scheme” you will find a little more information about my experience there. I usually keep these posts “tiny” and then allow conversations to unfold around them in the comments.
I got involved thinking it was an ethical company; but I learned later that there were a lot of shady things going on. It taught me to think critically, but reinforced that believing in myself and my intention is instrumental to success.
I love synchronicity like that! =)
There’s pyramid and there’s legitimate network marketing companies. There are tons of unethical businesses out there. It’s funny how people use the term pyramid not knowing what it means.
In this particular instance, I was involved with a company that I originally thought was a legitimate, ethical business, only to learn that it was, in fact, a pyramid scheme–meaning the revenue came primarily from recruiting new contractors, and only the people at the top earned money. It actually went bankrupt because of its fraudulent business practices.
I realize that there are legitimate network marketing companies out there–though I personally am not a fan of the business model since it relies heavily on selling to friends and family, which can ultimately create awkwardness and pressure. This is personal preference, of course!
That’s why I say sorry to hear you weren’t properly trained lol. We all do this all the time, you see a great movie and you recommend it to your friends. If you are bugging people or trying to “convince” someone, you are not approaching it the right way.
I personally think that it was the company’s model that was flawed–not the training–but I realize that other people may see it differently!
Like many others, I find the posts here coincide with what is going on in my life at the moment, but often I end up with more questions than answers. I tend to see good more than I see bad, so I can be a bit naive when choosing to believe in something. I guess the trick is to open yourself up to the bad in a situation, without developing a tendency to look for only that. Also, the part about understanding “why” you want something is very important. Our motivations are a good indication of whether or not what we want is really good for us to begin with.
It’s interesting that you wrote that, because my book is actually about questions–and how there really aren’t any concrete answers.
The truth is I don’t have many universally applicable answers. I think it really comes down to asking ourselves the right questions and listening to our instincts to answer them for ourselves. I’ve found that my answers have changed a lot over time, and I suspect they will continue to evolve.
I love what you wrote about our motivations being good indicators. Sometimes I do something without really knowing why I’m doing it, and then I end up feeling a little lost. When I can discover my actual needs and intentions, it’s a lot easier to recognize the right choice for me.
Great story. I think we all have fallen for the con one or twice in our lives. I’m happy for the mistakes that I’ve made because I wouldn’t were I am today.
I’ve been in a situation where I was conned out of $80 dollars and I probably could have gotten it back, but I decided not too. I choose to pay for the experience instead.
Love this post, Lori! I think most of us have been sucked into things we later realize were not what they appeared to be at first because we wanted them to be real so badly. We saw the possibility and, like you said, wanted to believe it was all true. Research and critical thinking and some background information about the company (or whatever it might be) is always so helpful. The great thing is that the internet has made research so much easier.
But you’re right. The first step to accomplishing something great is to believe that greatness can come out of you! Without that belief, or at least that suspicion, no steps will ever be taken toward creating the greatness.
Thanks for what you do here, Lori!
I love that quote Elle. Beautiful! =)
Hi Ken,
That experience definitely taught me the value of critical thinking! In retrospect, it’s bizarre to me that I got involved so willingly without doing any research. I was in love with this idea of everyone making money by helping each other, but I wasn’t even slightly passionate about the business itself. I learned a lot about directing passion so that my belief in myself doesn’t go to waste!
Thanks for reading and commenting =)
Lori