Today we are sharing a guest post from Christine Kane. Christine Kane is the Mentor to People Who are Changing the World. She helps women and men Uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly Uplevel You eZine goes out to over 20,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a FREE subscription at christinekane.com.

Mindset shifts. Law of Attraction. Positive focus.

I believe in these things wholeheartedly.

And you know what else I believe in?

Taking action, and taking chances.

This is not good news for some.

In fact, I regularly hear from people who are scared to take a chance on themselves or their ability to Uplevel. They’ve been taught to mistrust their own ideas and dreams.

So, they think that if they work on their mindset enough, they’ll make the fears, doubts and negative “stuff” disappear.

But it doesn’t work like that. In fact, it works the very opposite!

When it comes to your dreams, you have to act. At some point you may have to get a little scared. Maybe even a lot scared. You’ll have to give some weight to your affirmations, visualizations and good vibrations. It’s the best way to let the universe (and yourself) know that you’re serious about this dream of yours and about this life of yours.

Does that mean you have to give up on all of that good mindset stuff you’ve been doing?

Huh-uh. But it does mean it’s time to put some legs on it.

Risk is different for everyone. For some, it’s a simple action, like raising your prices or offering your first event. For others, it’s a big giant change, like starting a business or moving to another city, or letting go of a high-paying non-ideal client.

Sometimes it’s not really a risk. It’s just an action. But since it’s not what you’re used to doing, it feels like a risk.

But no matter what – you have to get out of your comfort zone and take chances. And there comes a point when you know it’s time. You simply know that it’s time to take the chance or to take some action. You might not know it consciously, but you do know it DEEPLY.

How? Well, I compiled a list for you. Think of it as a little cheat sheet.

It might be time to take a chance on yourself if…

• You’ve said, “…at least I have benefits” more than once in the last month.

• You’ve written “My job has benefits” in your gratitude journal more than 25 times in the past month.

• You think to yourself, “I need to just learn to surrender to this place and be present and grateful.” And a few seconds later, you think, “Don’t I?”

• You’re waiting to be discovered.

• You check your email regularly to see if you’ve been discovered yet.

• You’ve convinced yourself that everyone who has their own business works 12 hour days.

• There are more than three empty Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough Ice Cream containers in your trash this week.

• You envy the cast of Glee.

• You envy your cat.

• You envy at all.

• You’ve thought, “Maybe God just doesn’t want me to succeed.”

• You’ve watched “The Lake House” more than three times in the past month.

• You’ve used any of the following words or phrases when referring to yourself: “Stuck.” “Can’t.” “Shouldn’t.” “Should.” Or “This is just how I am.”

• You’ve used the following word when referring to anyone else: “Fault.”

• You’ve used any of the following words or phrases when referring to your situation: “Wish.” “Yeah, but” “Benefits.” Or “This is just how it is.”

• You sigh more than 8 times a day.

• You bit off all your nails last week.

• You think that other people must not experience fear.

• You worry about upsetting your parents.

• You worry about upsetting your friends.

• You worry about upsetting your spouse.

• You worry about upsetting the cashier at the grocery store.

• You’re waiting until you’re sure you can do it perfectly.

• You think “getting out of your comfort zone” means getting out of bed in the morning.

• You’ve said to yourself “I really need support in my business” but haven’t done anything about it.

Which of these things have you ever said to yourself – and how did you or will you break it and start taking a chance on yourself by making a decision and taking action? Share with us in the comments!