Most of us tend to invent a lot of excuses for why we don't achieve the things we want. However, when we really examine these excuses, they all boil down to only two valid reasons. The first is that most people don't know how to set proper goals. The second is that we often subconsciously put up our own roadblocks.

Setting concrete goals is rarely easy. When I speak to groups, the majority of people raise their hands when I ask how many have goals. But when I ask how many have written down their goals, only a few hands go up. My book, Get Out of Your Way, covers several sound reasons why we resist writing goals down, why written goals work and how to write goals to be more effective. The book describes how to determine what you really want, how to set goals to get what you want and how to develop the clarity essential to achieve them. A number of exercises are included to assist in learning these goal-writing skills.

The second reason we do not achieve our goals is because of the roadblocks we put in our own way. We believe we are not educated enough, don't have the right connections, lack the opportunities, are too old or too young … the list is endless.

The truth is that these obstacles exist only in our own minds. Many books and programs deal with how to use affirmations or positive self-talk to eliminate them. When I taught sales training programs, I regularly used these techniques, but I found that many people still struggled because of their built-in "gate keepers." Those are the negative voices in our heads that prevent us from easily changing our core beliefs, however detrimental they may be to our growth. An affirmation might have been, "I am a successful salesperson," but each time the participant repeated the affirmation, the gatekeeper would remind them of all the reasons for believing it was not true.

Then one day, the CEO of an oil company asked if I just couldn't simply hypnotize his sales staff into believing the new affirmation. That began my journey down the path of learning hypnosis, practicing it with thousands of people and then starting my hypnosis institute. There, I taught other trainers to use it for self-improvement and goal achievement.

The hypnosis and training combination led me to work with hundreds of sales organizations, sports teams and business people, and their subsequent success stories were awe-inspiring. These positive results led me to write my book, Get Out of Your Way. In order to make this book more effective, I included a self-hypnosis CD so the reader can use it to achieve the same techniques at home. I test-marketed several hundred books and CDs prior to their full release and again the feedback was remarkable.

Each chapter in the book begins with a universal mental law and how it applies to what we achieve in life. Some of the chapters included are:

• It's the Law!—an introduction to the universal mental laws of success (how they work and how they can be used to your benefit)
• Refuse to Set Goals—a new perspective on how to view the goal-setting process
• How Hypnosis Works—an explanation of what it is and how it works, including the importance the Law of Belief plays

There are chapters on how visualization and focus are of paramount importance to personal business, health and sports development and how they are greatly enhanced by a hypnotic state. By changing what we believe will change how we act, and how we act determines results we get. Using hypnosis to make changes in our core beliefs will change our results permanently.

At the end of the book I have included a workbook section in which the reader is asked to complete a number of detailed exercises in order to establish clearer goals in various areas of life.

Now, thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide, you can "get out of your way" for only a fraction of the price of attending one of my programs. Some of the world's leading speakers and trainers have endorsed this book with the following comments:

• "Each chapter is a treasure of practical gems, exercises and examples that let you sparkle and shine."— Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas, president of the International Hypnosis Federation® IHF and author of eleven books on hypnosis and success
• "This powerful, practical book gives you insight and understanding you can use to unlock your full potential."— Brian Tracy, one of America's leading authorities on personal effectiveness
• "Layton, I consider us great friends and you have my endorsement [to] serve all who listen and choose to apply the principles you teach.">— Mark Victor Hansen, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul