RE: The Power of Beliefs in Transforming Lives

Belief is what you think and approve of yourself or situation around you. Like you mentioned, it goes a long way in shaping out behaviour. It's a great factor that determines our success or otherwise.
Yoruba people have one adage, "ape mora la n pe temidire" meaning "we do verbally call success to ourselves" What one says and belief of himself is very important in who he becomes.
I smoked for sixteen years but when I realized that the habit was taking me down the pit, my belief about the action changed. Prior to that time, I didn't believe on the inscription, "smokers are liable to die young" on cigarette packs. Each time I read it, I wave it aside as inconsequential. When I changed my belief, I began to associate ciggerate with dangers. I began to believe on the inscription on the pack. I began to fear for my life. Then I quitted. I cut ties with some friends to achieve this and I thank God that I did.
Since this experience, I try to believe in whatever will add value to my life. One thing I understand over the years is that one is in charge of what he believes. When you define your purpose in life, it's easy to control external factors to be in your favor. Before an individual's belief can be affected by external factors, the chance is given for it to happen.
@starstrings01, kudos for your thought process.