He had a PhD from Harvard, but he believed he was stupid.

He was brilliant. Accomplished. Objectively successful by any measure. And he was my client.

When I asked him how he could possibly think that given his achievements, he said: “I’m a good con man.”

Think about that for a moment. To sustain such a sophisticated “con” over years—to fool professors, colleagues, and an entire institution—would require extraordinary intelligence. But logic didn’t matter.

The belief didn’t care about evidence.

No amount of new achievements could change it. He’d just find a way to explain them away. “I got lucky.” “They didn’t look closely enough.” “Anyone could have done it.”

That’s the power of a belief.

Once it’s in place, your mind automatically filters everything through it.

This is the like vs. unlike problem.

The belief was formed one way—from past experiences. But people tried to change it another way—with present logic. Like vs. unlike. It doesn’t work.

You’ve Seen This With Your Clients

And if you’re honest, you’ve probably experienced it yourself.

You know what you’re doing. You’ve studied multiple modalities—reframing, questioning, energy work. You’ve helped plenty of clients make progress. But then there are the ones who stay stuck.

The client who understands intellectually that they’re worthy but still can’t charge what they’re worth.

The one who knows visibility is necessary for their business but freezes when it’s time to post or present. The one who gets the strategy, has the plan, but can’t seem to take action. The one who makes money and then somehow finds a way to lose it.

You’ve tried everything in your toolkit.

And maybe—if you’re really honest—you’ve hit some of these same walls yourself. Despite all your training and all your growth, there’s that voice that says “I’m not good enough.” That fear when it’s time to be more visible. That procrastination when it’s time to complete your own project.

You know better.

You’ve done the work.

But the Belief Doesn’t Care What You Know

If you’ve ever tried to help a client change—or tried to change yourself—and failed, there’s a good chance you were making the same mistake everyone makes.

You were trying to use like vs. unlike.

And that’s like trying to mix oil and water. They don’t go together.

Here’s an example:

I have a friend whose daughter loves to read aloud.

When she was reading a book, the word “sword” came up. Except she was pronouncing the “w” so it came out “s-a-w-a-r-d.” Her father corrected her just once, and from then on, she pronounced it properly.

The mistake was made because when she saw the letters, she heard it improperly in her mind.

Once she heard the correct pronunciation, she got it for good. And never made the error again. Like fixed like.

But beliefs are different.

A belief was formed from events in the past—often loaded with emotion. Your client might justify it with evidence from today, but if you try to use today’s evidence to change it, you hit a wall.

Why?

Because the belief came from how they interpreted something that happened years ago. Current evidence—no matter how logical—doesn’t touch the real reason they hold the belief. Like vs. unlike.

Why Some Clients Stay Stuck (Even When You Do Everything Right)

You’ve probably noticed that your methods work beautifully for some clients.

They get insights. They make breakthroughs. They move forward.

But then there are the clients who understand everything intellectually, do all the exercises, and still… nothing shifts at the core.

It’s not your fault. And it’s not theirs either.

It’s because beliefs formed from past experiences require a specific type of approach.

Like vs. like.

My Harvard PhD Client Is a Perfect Example

We didn’t try to convince him he was smart.

Logic can’t eliminate a belief—because logic didn’t create it in the first place.

Instead, we used like vs. like.

He formed the belief from past experiences. So we went back to those same past experiences. We looked at them from his adult perspective. And we saw that there were other ways to interpret what happened.

He realized something crucial.

He never saw his belief in the world the way you can see an object. It was never out there. It was only in his mind.

And then—something shifted.

The belief simply wasn’t there anymore.

For the first time, he could appreciate his accomplishments.

He could see that he had genuinely earned them. That he was actually capable and intelligent. And that gave him the confidence to go on and accomplish many great things—not to prove anything, but because he finally knew he could.

Why This Changes Everything for You as a Coach

When you go back to those past events and see them differently, the belief stops being “the truth.”

It becomes just one interpretation among many. And once you see that, the belief begins to lose its grip.

This is especially powerful for beliefs about yourself.

“I’m not good enough.” “Who am I to charge premium rates?” “What if people judge me?” “I can’t finish what I start.”

You can’t escape beliefs about yourself.

You’re with yourself all day long. It’s like living in a cage that you walk around in all day long.

But when the belief is gone, the cage disappears.

You walk out, free at last.

And here’s what makes Core Belief Coaching different.

You won’t just learn a technique to use with clients. You’ll eliminate your own limiting beliefs first—the beliefs about self-worth, visibility, money, and taking action that have been holding YOU back.

And as you experience that transformation yourself, you gain the confidence that comes from knowing—not just believing, but knowing—that you can eliminate any limiting belief. Because you’ve done it. Again and again.

That confidence changes how you show up with clients.

You’re no longer wondering if this will work for them. You know it will because you’ve experienced it yourself. You’ve seen how a belief that felt absolutely true one moment can simply dissolve the next.

And you’ll have the exact process to guide them through the same transformation.

The technique you use on yourself is the same technique you’ll use with your clients.

Like vs. like.

So here’s something to think about.

What belief about yourself have you been trying to change with techniques that don’t address how it was formed? And what would it feel like—for you AND your clients—to finally walk out of that cage, free at last?