Why Self-Help Doesn't Work For Everyone - And What You Can Do To Improve The Results You Get  - By Robert Scheinfeld Our libraries, bookstores, mail order catalogs, the Internet, and the speeches of our public speakers and trainers are filled with suggestions, formulas and techniques you can use to change your life, get more of what you want and become more successful. Unfortunately, most of them fail to produce lasting results. As a participant, trainer and designer of self-help programs for more than two decades, I have uncovered two "myths" that explain why so many self-help approaches fail to produce lasting results. I've also developed many strategies you can use to improve the results you get from using self-help techniques. I discuss these subjects on my web site and offer the following insights for your immediate consideration. Myth #1: "You Have Unlimited Power And Can Create Anything You Want" Most self-help systems communicate a similar message: "You have unlimited power and can create anything you want if you just use 'X' technique." Then you're told you can change or create anything you want by using techniques like goal setting, visualization, affirmations, NLP, meditation,  prayer, etc. If you look closely, those theories cannot be supported by your actual day-to-day experiences - no matter how good it sounds, how many people say it, or how much you want to believe it. First of all, if you really created your own reality - consciously - and your thoughts, beliefs and expectations actually manifested (or even just the ones you focused on), you would be miserable and your life would be total chaos - especially when you consider how little we know about ourselves and the people around us, how fast the world changes, and how often we change our minds about things. Secondly, if you look closely, track everything and measure it scientifically, (which I've done), it becomes clear that even the most successful people achieve very few of the goals they set and receive very few of the things they "ask for" using self-help techniques. If the techniques are so foolproof, why is that the case? From my experience, we don't usually know - consciously - what will make us happy. We just think we do. Therefore, what you think you want in any given moment (from the limited perspective of your conscious mind) and what you really want (to fulfill your life purpose) are often worlds apart. You came into this life to experience something special - to fulfill a unique life purpose. As a result, another part of you, an unconscious part I compare to the Director of a movie, was assigned the task of managing your daily experiences and filtering the "requests" you make from behind the scenes. That brings order to the chaos and ensures that you fulfill your life purpose. It's important to understand that the director part of you is running the show, not your conscious mind. The key to success in life is to uncover what your life purpose is, build a good working relationship with your Director, and learn how to be as clear as possible about what you really want in any given situation. Myth #2: "One Size Fits All" Most self-help approaches offer what I call "cookie cutter techniques and strategies that are supposed to work for everyone. More than two decades of experience has shown me that there are no self-help techniques, approaches or systems that work for everyone. We're all too different. We all came here with different life purposes to fulfill.  And to get what we really want in life, we must learn how to develop and apply approaches, techniques and strategies that are customized to who we are as unique individuals. The surest path to success is to consider other people's opinions as possible routes to success only--no matter how smart or "successful" someone is, how much "proof" you're given, how much you trust or respect someone, or how logical something seems. Make every self-help approach, technique or strategy you discover your own.Shape it, mold it, tweak it, change it. Experiment with an open mind, use what works for you, and discard the rest. Why? Because ultimately, the path that leads to what you define as success will be unique to you. What To Do When Self-Help Fails To Produce The Results You Want Give yourself a break, be gentle with yourself and know that you didn't do anything "wrong." Remember that your conscious mind is not running the show, so what you think you want and what you really want may be worlds apart.   Rather than pushing yourself to follow someone else's path, find comfort in the knowledge that you came here to carve out your own unique path to success. Realize that every self-help approach is just a possible pathway to success. Experiment with an open mind, use what works for you, and discard the rest. Continue to ask for everything you think you want and flow with what you feel strongly motivated to do in response. Trust that your "Director" is taking care of you from behind the scenes and you will either get what you asked for-or something even better that is more in alignment with the "real you" and your unique life purpose. Robert Scheinfeld has dedicated more than two decades of his adult life to personal growth. He is a  pioneer in the field of psychospirituality, which blends the best of psychology and  spirituality. Visit his "Invisible Path to Success" web site and enroll in his free 5 lesson class to discover the "missing link" in self-help: http://www.lifechangetips.com/article2.cgi Reach Bob at support@lifechangetips.com