Most of us normally perform far below our capabilities simply because we lack faith in ourselves. This can be changed . When we talk about faith and belief, we have to refer to the greatest book ever written and the greatest teacher of the ages. He summed it up when he said, “Go thy way; and as thou believed, so be it done unto thee.”

This simple statement cuts both ways, like a two-edged sword. Faith is your key to unlock the door of success. Or it is the lock that imprisons and keeps you from experiencing success and achievement. “Faith keeps the man who keeps his faith,” says the award-winning actor Lou Gosset. “Genuine faith,” writes Dr. King, “is assuring, insuring, and enduring.” And singer Patti LaBelle captures the essence of faith. She says, “Faith gives us the courage to endure the present as we anticipate the future.”

As a positive power, faith is the promise of the realization of things hoped for and unseen. Faith only comes by doing. We learn by doing. For example, we learn to walk not by reading books on walking or watching others walk, but by walking. We learn to talk not by listening to others talk, but by talking. We learn to love not by discussing love, but by loving; we learn to hope by hoping. And likewise we learn to add to our faith by expressing our faith. In order for faith to be effective, it cannot exist in the passive state. Faith must be applied. So add to your faith.