Declare Your Financial Independence — Blog 104

Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives. – William James

 Happy Labor Day to all my readers in the USA! I hope you are enjoying a fabulous time of abundance, freedom and joy in this final long weekend that marks our “unofficial” end of summer.  

I had intended to begin writing a new series of original blogs spotlighting the remarkable results stories of three Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ clients who have created miraculous prosperity for themselves.  But I, like most of America, am having too much fun to dig into something that complex for this week’s blog. 

So I decided instead to pass along a valuable gift that is deceptively simple – a daily affirmation that will help you become more prosperous.  One of my clients sent it to me, explaining that it was given to her by the ADAMA Institute of Self-Healing, which is credited at the end of the document.  As I understand it, the Institute was not the originator of these words, but was given permission to share them with others who are seeking to become Master Manifesters, just as you and I are striving to do. 

I love this affirmation and have just begun to incorporate it into my own daily spiritual practice of reciting aloud a number of inspiring prayers, affirmations and mantras each morning, along with writing down 10 things I am grateful for right now in my Daily Gratitude Journal.  

Affirmations like this are not “magic bullets” or voodoo.  They won’t make the little red sports car you want drop out of the sky onto your driveway or make the winning lottery numbers magically appear on your play slip.  But they are a very powerful means for training your subconscious mind, which absorbs EVERYTHING you tell it, to believe that much more is possible for you than you might have imagined.  

By repeating this Declaration of Financial Independence aloud just three times a day for thirty consecutive days, your subconscious mind becomes convinced of what you are saying. (As I have written before, it takes 25-30 days of practice and repetition for the human mind to build a new neural pathway that makes a thought or behavior pattern your new “default” mode.) 

Once your subconscious mind has built its new belief from this repetition, it will do everything in its power to devise new thoughts and actions for you to take – anything and everything it can think of – to make the outer world match your “inner world.”  It’s really a form of positive self-hypnosis!  When you believe different things than you have believed in the past, you will naturally take different actions than you have ever taken, and NEW ACTIONS invariably produce NEW RESULTS! 

Declaration of Financial Independence

30-day process; read aloud 3 times/day 

I am the source of all wealth. 

I am rich with creative ideas. 

My mind abounds with new, original, inspired thoughts. 

What I have to offer is unique, and the world desires it. 

My value is beyond reckoning. 

What the world needs and desires, I am ready to produce and to give. 

What the world needs and desires, I recognize and fulfill.   

The bounty of my mind is without hindrance or limit. 

Nothing can stand in the way of my inspired creativeness. 

The overflowing power of God life energy overcomes every obstacle, 

and pours out into the world, blessing and prospering everyone 

and everything through me. I radiate blessings. I radiate creativity. 

I radiate prosperity. I radiate loving service. 

I radiate Joy, Beauty, Peace, Wisdom and Power. 

Humanity seeks me and rewards me. 

I am beloved of the world. 

I am wanted wherever I go. I am appreciated. 

What I have to offer is greatly desired. 

What I have to offer brings a rich reward. 

Through my vision, the world is blessed. 

Through my clear thinking and steadfast purpose, 

Wonderful new values come into expression. 

My vision is as the vision of the mighty ones. 

My faith is as the faith of the undefeated. 

My power to accomplish is unlimited. 

I, in my uttermost God Source, am all wealth, all power, all productivity. 

I hereby declare my financial freedom, NOW and henceforth forever! 

So Be it. Thank you, God. 

This Declaration of Independence is a power statement of the truth about you. When it is read with deep feeling morning, noon, and night three times per day, it sinks into the subconscious, where it works a silent miracle. It transforms negative attitudes into positive affirmation of faith and mightily stirs up the spiritual forces that lie dormant within every human mind until they are called into action. Use this unique declaration for the next 30 days and watch miracles come into your life. Read it ALOUD with feeling three times per day. – Passed on by The ADAMA Institute of Self Healing. Candace Pittenger, Founder

Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t we BOTH try this out for 30 days? What have we got to lose? I would be delighted if you would write to me and let me know what happens for you, and I will share my own results with you in a future blog! (And if you would like a copy of the Declaration of Financial Independence emailed to you, just send me your email address and I’ll be happy to provide it to you!) 

Your comments and questions are always welcome!  You can contact me at: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com. 

 

The Truth Will Set You Free — Blog 103

In overcoming fear and sharing our stories with others, we find the truth about who we really are – and discover we’re not alone. – Lisa Hammond 

Well, you might have noticed I took another week off.  As I predicted, we were having TOO much fun for my husband’s birthday week to pause long enough for me to write the blog. 

But that is me walking my talk — entirely in keeping with my intention for this summer, which I call the Summer of Time Prosperity. That is, I promised myself at the beginning of June to pause often for the next three months to enjoy fun, adventure and relaxation, and not miss the special wonders of my favorite time of year. 

And I hope that YOU, too, have been stopping to smell the roses lately because it won’t be long now until autumn raises its spectacular red- and gold-leafed head, leaving yet another summer as just a lovely memory!  I am happy to report that most of my clients have been taking a break too, and I say, “BRAVO” to them.  One of the most precious forms of PROSPERITY is simply having “balance” in life, isn’t it?  The one thing nobody can buy, no matter how much money they have, is more TIME.  We’re all equal in that gift from the Universe.  The same 24 hours a day is available to you and everyone else – so, what will YOU do with it? 

Continuing my practice of taking ample time each week to do all the things I love to do in this favorite season of mine, I have spotlighted a number of “guest hosts” for the blog throughout the summer, which is a Win-Win for both of us.  It gives YOU the opportunity to learn tips and tools for creating a life of abundance from some of my favorite Master Manifesters, and it provides ME the opportunity to enjoy my favorite time of year without guilt!  

My final guest columnist writes about a topic that I feel is often overlooked by those seeking to use the Law of Attraction (which states that energy attracts like energy) to draw more of the things they want to them with EASE.  Everything in life has a price that must be paid for it.  And I believe the #1 price we have to pay for having what we want is to constantly be aware and make sure that we are IN INTEGRITY.  

From my considerable study of the topic of  what it takes to live “in integrity,” which can be defined as being “whole and complete,” I have come to believe that there are three crucial aspects to living a life of integrity: 

1)     Always keep your WORD to yourself and others. This includes paying your outstanding debts or making specific arrangements about when you will pay them if you can’t pay them now.  It also means doing what you said you would do — on time and to the very best of your ability. However, if something prevents you from doing that, you must immediately let the person impacted know that you won’t be doing what you said you would do – and then re-promising by when you will do it (or helping to find a replacement to carry out your promised accountability.) 

2)     Clean up any “messes” you have created and complete all incompletions. This is the solid foundation upon which to build a life of abundance, freedom and peace of mind: You must empty out the “closet” of your life of all clutter from the past and make energetic “room” for more good things to flow to you. This step can be anything from cleaning out the garage, as you have been promising your partner for months now, to contacting the IRS to work out a way to pay the taxes you still owe from last year, to sincerely apologizing to someone you know you hurt in some way. 

3)     ALWAYS tell the truth, no matter what.  This includes actions like admitting when you have made a mistake, resisting the temptation to embellish your resume to make yourself look better, or overcoming your fear of conflict to finally say something you really need to say to someone.  Remember, the truth always comes out eventually, so you are always better off telling the truth now, rather than getting caught in a lie later — no matter how well-meaning it was.  The truth is defined as what is purely FACTUAL. Therefore, there is no such thing as a little white lie. A statement you make is either “the truth and nothing but the truth” (i.e., what you believe to be factual) or it isn’t.  

This week’s guest author, Joan Gattuso, explains this last aspect of integrity succinctly and memorably in wonderful little article published in a magazine put together by Unity called Survival Guide for the Soul, Part II. Here is her article in its entirety: 

“How to Be Honest When the Truth May HURT”

By Joan Gattuso

 “According to an ancient Hindu teaching, if you can only speak the truth and tell no lies – either miniscule or outrageous – for 12 consecutive years, you can attain enlightenment.  This is no easy assignment. 

Most of us perceive ourselves to be honest and forthright, never intentionally lying, but most of us have been taught through life’s experiences to mask our true thoughts, pad our words, or simply avoid a response.  We attempt to convince ourselves that a “little white lie” doesn’t matter. 

The spiritual truth is: Everything matters. 

A friend was recently sharing how her single sister had traveled to Europe alone and was e-mailing photos back regularly.  These two are 10 years apart in age, live on opposite coasts, and see each other once every two or three years at most. 

As the younger one who was the traveler sent photos with herself in them, she would regularly ask, ‘How do I look?’ My friend chuckled as she told me that she thought her sister looked way too skinny and had way too many lines in her face.  That was the truth as she saw it.  But what she wrote back was, ‘In each picture you look like you are having the time of your life.  I am so happy to see you looking so happy.’  That was the truth also, although a kinder expression of the truth. 

Many people, however, are unclear as to what the truth is, because they haven’t told the truth to themselves for so long that they no longer recognize what the truth is.  They say it doesn’t matter when it does, convincing themselves that no one will notice or everyone cheats just a little.  All such justifications are ignoble thoughts and behaviors. 

A spiritual principle I have taught and know to always be true is: The truth will always emerge.  And when you tell the truth, there is a whole lot less to remember. 

A noble being will always tell the truth.  Do you?  Begin now with the first step of simply noticing if you do tell the truth immediately, or if your first instinct is to pad or alter the facts a bit. 

If you notice you are regularly withholding the complete truth, resolve to be honest with yourself and others starting today.  Know it is safe to be truthful.  Like many lifestyle changes, resolve to tell the truth one day at a time. 

And after 4,383 days you just may become enlightened.” 

WOW! What great wisdom, huh? Now, I must excuse myself again…I’m off to begin a fabulous end to my summer: the combined 39th & 40th reunion celebration of the Newport Harbor High School classes of 1970 and 1971!  My two best girlfriends from high school, now living in Northern California and Oregon, are renting a beach house and we and another local high school girlfriend are all getting together for a whole week of fun in the late-summer sun, sand and surf (and shopping malls and restaurants) of Newport Beach!  Just the thought of a week of time freedom and fun, laughing and enjoying this beautiful vacation destination with people I love makes me I feel positively RICH!  Feeling prosperous often costs a whole lot LESS than we imagine, doesn’t it? 

I hope you also plan to get outside where YOU live and enjoy a fabulous time of abundance, freedom and joy in these last two weeks leading up to the “unofficial” end of summer — Labor Day.  That’s when I will begin writing a new series of original blogs spotlighting some remarkable clients of mine whose stories of creating miraculous prosperity for themselves will absolutely amaze you, while teaching you the principles they used to do it! 

Your comments and questions are always welcome!  You can contact me at: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com. 

 

The Raspberry Mystery – Blog 102

“So divinely is the world organized that every one of us, in our place and time, is in balance with everything else.”—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

Did you miss me the past two weeks?  I admit it: I was simply playing hooky. My Summer of Time Prosperity really took over!  First, my husband whisked me away to the California Coast “Wine Country” (which you may have seen in the delightful movie “Sideways” a few years back), for a long weekend as a belated birthday celebration.   

Then I came back with every intention of writing a new blog last week, but there were just TOO much opportunities for fun pulling me outside, including a backyard party we put on so our friends could savour our Million Dollar View from the back patio – stretching about 100 miles to the Palos Verdes Pennisula in another county. 

To me, summertime is a season of myriad delights to be sipped and savored — and not a day of it can ever be replaced. It wasn’t always thus. Last summer I “woke up” to the fact that the previous summer had gone by in a blur of tele-seminars, projects and paperwork, while I missed the opportunity to savor the many big and little moments of relaxation, rejuvenation and FUN that are available only during my favorite time of year.  

Continuing my practice of taking ample time each week to do all the things I love to do in this favorite season of mine, I am spotlighting a number of “guest hosts” for the blog throughout the summer, which is a Win-Win for both of us.  It gives YOU the opportunity to learn tips and tools for creating a life of abundance from some of my favorite Master Manifesters, and it provides ME the opportunity to enjoy my favorite time of year without guilt!  

This week’s guest columnist plays right into my summertime theme of fully appreciating and savoring what we love, yet realizing we can’t hoard it.  We can experience true abundance and prosperity by enjoying what we have right NOW to the fullest, and then trusting that when its season is finished, something equally delightful will be provided to us by the endlessly creative and abundant Source of everything around us. 

I found Paula Langguth Ryan’s wonderful little article in a magazine-style publication by Unity called Abundance is Yours! What follows is an excerpt from her piece: 

“Embracing God’s Abundance, The Raspberry Mystery”

by Paula Langguth Ryan 

“When I was a young girl, I used to spend my summers ‘grandma-sitting’ my great-grandmother on her farm in northern Indiana.  One of my favorite activities every morning was harvesting the raspberries from the raspberry canes.  Each morning I’d go out with my basket, and come back into the farmhouse kitchen with two pints of raspberries.  One pint, we’d clean and put in the freezer; the other pint, I’d sprinkle with sugar and eat for breakfast.  I was always amazed that every morning there were always two pints of raspberries waiting to be picked.

 One summer it dawned on me that since there were two pints of raspberries to pick every day, I could save a lot of time and energy if I picked the raspberries once a week.  That way, I could harvest all fourteen pints of raspberries at one time.  So I let a week go by, then I went to the raspberry patch and started harvesting my raspberries with great joy.  But when I finished, all I had were two pints of raspberries.  I couldn’t understand what had happened.  There should have been seven times as many raspberries, but there weren’t! 

It wasn’t until many years later that I truly understood what had happened that summer.  As long as I was embracing my abundant supply of raspberries every day, my abundance continued.  It was only when I stopped embracing my abundance that the flow of abundance decreased.  Because I didn’t show up to harvest my raspberries on a daily basis, the abundant flow of raspberries passed me by.  Some raspberries ripened an fell to the ground or were eaten by birds.  Other raspberries simply didn’t develop because there was still an abundant supply on the canes that hadn’t been harvested. 

This was one of the first of the universal laws of prosperity that I have grasped: Until you learn to be happy with what you have, you won’t be happy with more. 

Until we learn to notice and cheerfully embrace the abundance that surrounds us right now, we won’t be open and receptive to additional abundance.  So how do we learn to embrace the abundance that we do have?” 

Later in her article, Paula gives this great suggestion to help you appreciate all the abundance that is present in your life right NOW, as a first step for increasing it: 

“Becoming Aware of Life’s Everyday Gifts

The first step toward receiving abundance, then, is to simply acknowledge our abundance in whatever form it takes. 

We each have so much abundance in our lives, but most of us can’t see it because it’s not taking a form we recognize.  We have our sights set on abundance being a specific thing, like a raise or a bigger house or a gold card.  We don’t see the true abundance. 

A friend recently shared with me a technique she uses as a reminder of the abundance in her life.  She has a little notebook in which she keeps track of not only her income and expenses every day, but also “gifts” she receives every day. 

For example, if someone buys her lunch, she records that as a gift.  If she finds a dime on the sidewalk, she records that as a gift.  If someone offers to carpool with her and she doesn’t have to drive every day, she records that as a gift.  If she’s out shopping and the item she intended to buy is on sale, she records that as a gift.  Whenever she receives a hug, she records that as a gift.  And she’s careful to record a monetary value for each gift so she can clearly see her abundance. 

My spouse and I decided to try out this gift-recording technique.  The very first day, our results were astonishing.  First, we went to the pharmacy and got free lollipops – value: 25 cents.  Then we went to lunch and offered some words of encouragement to a restaurant owner, and we got a free lunch worth $15 and two free loaves of bread worth another $7.  Then we went back to the pharmacy and got what would have been an expensive prescription filled with generic medicine, which we had thought would not be available – a gift of $70.  Then we went grocery shopping and two of the items we were buying had “buy-one, get-one-free” sales, so we got $6 worth of free groceries. 

What abundant gifts have you received in your life today or during the past week?  Start keeping a gift record just for a few days, and see the abundance in your life that is being overlooked.” 

Amen to that!  You know I am a big proponent of keeping a daily Gratitude Journal, where you write down 5 or 10 things you are grateful for in your life RIGHT NOW – that are already a part of your joy and fulfillment and abundant living. 

Well, I am going to add to that practice.  I will take Paula Langguth Ryan’s suggestion and immediately begin carrying a little notebook everywhere I go, in which I will record all the many big and little gifts the Universe bestows on me all day every day. That will give me even MORE things to be grateful for, because as you know, GRATITUDE is the strongest positive emotion you can have. Gratitude brings you more things to be GRATEFUL for  – that’s the Law of Attraction (“energy attracts like energy”) in ACTION! 

I hope you will do the same.  Be sure to write me and tell me what surprise gifts you find already available in your life right NOW, just as it is.

And, if by some chance, the blog doesn’t show up again next week, you will know that it’s the start of my husband’s birthday celebration.  Although his birthday is August 16, Rick doesn’t just celebrate a birth “day”; he celebrates a birth WEEK!  We have some very fun things planned to do for my Leo in his great summer birthday season: a trip to the county fair, enjoying some great new movies, making our monthly excursion together to Disneyland, savoring a New Orleans-style Sunday brunch at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney with our friends on his birthday eve. 

I hope you, too, have a delightful summer week ahead, as the Dog Days of summer dwindle down to a precious few, and Labor Day begins to rear its autumn head… And, yes, do be sure to savor every last “raspberry” in your world!

_______________________________________________________________________

 You Can Make Your Big, Juicy Dreams REAL! 

Don’t let your dreams die on the vine like unpicked raspberries!  

If you have a Big, JUICY Goal you want to manifest in SIX MONTHS OR LESS , join us for powerful, inspirational SUPPORT and FUN for a 90-minute LIVE tele-class each month beginning Thursday, August 19.  The Jumpstart Mastermind course is forming now.  I hope you will join our group of positive-thinking, prosperity-minded Big Juicy DREAMERS who are dedicated to just ONE thing: Supporting YOU in making YOUR biggest dreams come true!  Watch for a special email in the next few days — or don’t wait – contact me NOW for all the details: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

 

Random Acts of Kindness II — Blog 101

“Acts of love are what will bring peace to your life and to the world.” – Lee L. Jampolsky, Ph.D. 

I am pleased to report that my personal Summer of Time Prosperity is very going well!  As you know, last summer I “woke up” to the fact that the previous summer had gone by in a blur of tele-seminars, projects and paperwork, while I missed the opportunity to savor the many big and little moments of relaxation, rejuvenation and FUN that are available only during my favorite time of year.  

This summer, I am continuing my practice of taking ample time each week to do things I love to do in this favorite season of mine — even as I continue to write this weekly blog for you. So, taking a page from Johnny Carson when he was the host of the Tonight Show, I am spotlighting a number of “guest hosts” for the blog throughout the summer, which is a Win-Win for both of us.  It gives YOU the opportunity to learn tips and tools for creating a life of abundance from some of my favorite Master Manifesters, and it provides ME the opportunity to enjoy my favorite time of year without guilt!  

This week’s guest columnist continues the theme I introduced in the last blog  – how performing “random acts of kindness” for others can increase your happiness and even your prosperity. Lee L. Jampolsky, Ph.D. is a renowned psychologist and author whose book is called “Smile For No Good Reason.” According to this great little paperback’s cover, its purpose is this: 

“Dr. Jampolsky offers a series of powerful and concise stories that teach us how to joyfully exchange fear for love, selfishness for service, and anger for clarity – to respond to life’s challenges with peace, confidence, and laughter…Your attitudes, nothing more and nothing less, are your most important tools for building happiness and good health.”  

Amen to that! ALL of the dozens of Master Manifesters whose work I have studied over the past two decades say the same thing: ATTITUDE is everything.  What you think about, you bring about.  Therefore, if you maintain the right focus, belief and positive attitude, you really CAN create the life of your dreams! 

As I shared with you last week, one of the most powerful little “secrets” of manifesting prosperity and happiness that I have personally experienced is this: Whenever I bless others, the Universe always blesses me in return.  The Law of Circular Giving says that when you give freely of your time, talent and treasure to help others, without expectation of thanks or reward, your good deeds ALWAYS circle back around to bless YOU – usually not from the same person or in the exact same way — but in the exact way that you need, just when you need it the most.  It’s never failed me. 

Each morning, I remind myself of the affirmation, “As I bless others, so shall I be blessed.”  And I ask the Universe to connect me to those people who need my help that day, regardless of their ability to pay me or reciprocate in any way.  It causes me to place my faith in the right place – with my Source. I know that if I simply concentrate on doing my very best to help my fellow man or woman, I will receive what I need – my “daily bread” — in return. 

 While last week’s blog focused on giving your “treasure” (money) to bless others, this week’s excerpt from Dr. Jampolsky’s wonderful little book focuses on the blessing of donating your time.  When you give to others in any way, you strengthen your own ability to believe that whatever is needed in the way of financial, emotional or physical support will be provided to YOU.  This is a critical prerequisite for putting the Law of Attraction into action in creating whatever it is that YOU want for yourself. 

From Smile For No Good Reason

by Lee L. Jampolsky, Ph.D.: 

Choose an hour a week to reach out. 

“I don’t have time.”  This is a common response to why one can’t be giving in the community.  It’s no wonder.  I the United States today, people work longer hours and commute longer distances than ever before.  Many people still make charitable contributions with their money, which is wonderful, but few actively give of their time.  Imagine the world if everyone devoted just one hour a week to doing acts of kindness. 

There is simple wisdom in the saying, “Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” 

It doesn’t matter where you start extending love.  It only matters that you see it as much of a priority as all of your other activities.  If you spend some time each week giving unconditionally, you will find all other areas of your life uplifted.  When you take the time out of your stressful life to give, your whole life becomes less stressful and more purposeful.  You are also likely to find the attitude of unconditional giving spreading over to your other activities, bringing increased peace and calm to your life. 

Some people find it helpful to have structure to their giving: Volunteering with an organization, school, retirement home, hospital, or the like.  Other people like the adventure of setting out for an hour each week to find someone to give to: Perhaps a neighbor doing yard work, a homeless person on a bench, an abandoned animal.  It matters little who the recipient is, it is the act of compassion that will heal your life and contribute to the healing of the world. 

I had a friend, Max, who died a few years back – well into his nineties.  For over fifty years, he walked Carmel Beach every morning, picking up garbage.  I think he lived so long and with such joy because of those morning walks of service to nature. 

It is easy to become hopeless and overwhelmed by all the problems and atrocities in the world.  Train your mind to know that extending love makes a difference.  Don’t just sit and read the newspaper, wondering what is happening to the world.  Make a difference by taking an hour a week to make happy news.  At the end of the week, if one life on the planet, or the planet itself, feels a little more cared about because of your decision to take the time to give, you have made an invaluable contribution.” 

Since I became a professional coach almost six years ago, I have directly experienced the good that comes to me from donating my time to others many times. When I first began my career, I needed clients, so I did scores and scores of “free sessions” of coaching – donating one or two hours to helping someone solve a problem, with no guarantee that they would sign up for coaching with me.  

While they thanked me profusely for the help I gave them, most of them said they didn’t have the money to enter into coaching at that moment.  So I blessed them and sent them on their way, never knowing if I would hear from them again, but knowing for certain that the time I had spent with them had sharpened my skills and fulfilled my purpose as a coach. 

But over time, I began to notice that those I helped in this way through one of their life’s toughest challenges often found unexpected ways to bless me in return.  Many referred their friends to me for coaching, which I would discover with immense gratitude through a surprise phone call, asking if I had room on my schedule for a new client.  Others reciprocated months or years later through personal favors that I could not foresee ever needing at the time of our free coaching session. 

One of the most miraculous blessings came back to me from a sometime realtor I’ll call “Alice,” who lives in a small town in Southern California.  When a friend gave her a coupon for a free coaching session with me in early 2008 , she was feeling hopeless about her family’s situation, as the nation’s housing meltdown and Great Recession began in earnest. 

At the time, Alice was a stay-at-home mother of three young children, whose husband had lost his construction job months before and his unemployment benefits were about to run out.  She knew she needed to make some serious money fast to help support her family, but she had no idea how to do it.  During our coaching session, she revealed that she had a valid license, but that she hadn’t been active as a realtor in several years.  She had recently begun dabbling with it again, but hadn’t had much luck finding clients. 

In just two free sessions of doing Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ together, I watched as Alice’s attitude completely turned around.  She did her personalized Daily Success Script™ twice a day without fail, and set the intention that she would get 20 “hot” leads that month – far more than she had ever had before.  Thanks to her persistence, determination and positive attitude, she ended up getting 24 solid leads, and had 13 people out looking at properties to buy, all within one month of our first consultation. 

After that, there was no turning back.  Alice became a wildly successful realtor, got her broker’s license, opened up her own real estate company, and eventually had 17 agents working for her.  Her husband began running their company’s property management division full time and her family prospered.  

She had never paid me a dime for my coaching, but I was totally happy with the huge emotional rewards I received from watching her life turn around.  And, of course, she recommended my coaching to everyone she knew in her small town, although there were few takers. 

To “pay it forward” for the abundance she was receiving from the Universe, Alice opened a division in her real estate office devoted solely to helping distressed homeowners negotiate with their lenders to lower their payments and enable them to stay in their homes. Although very effective at it, she charges nothing for this service because she feels blessed, not just by the abundance she has created for herself and her family, but more importantly, by the positive impact she has been able to have on so many other lives. 

A couple of days ago, I called Alice and asked her to help my husband and me negotiate a lowered mortgage payment with our lender, and she eagerly agreed.  I could tell from the detailed instructions she gave me that she has thoroughly learned the “ropes” of this complex and often frustrating process. My husband, a seasoned realtor, could have painstakingly worked through it himself, but we both know that Alice’s experienced help will make it go much smoother and save us lots of our most precious resource – our TIME. 

Through Alice and many other people, I have seen first hand that when I bless others by donating my time without any expectation except the satisfaction of knowing I have made a difference for them, I am regularly blessed in unexpected, wonderful ways. Thank you, Alice, for proving to me once again that “As I bless others, so shall I be blessed!” 

My prosperity tip for you this week is similar to last week’s: Find someone to bless by performing a “random act of kindness” for them when they least expect it.  It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, just that it takes something for you to do it.  But this time, don’t make it a gift of money; make it a gift of your TIME … any amount that is a stretch for you to donate to meet someone else’s need.  

You can give the gift of your time to bless a stranger, an animal or someone you know.  It is important that you DON’T give it expecting to get anything in return – not thanks, monetary compensation or any other reward. Simply do it from your own sense of open-hearted generosity, expecting nothing, and BELIEVE that the Universe is taking note.  Then, one day soon, when you have almost forgotten about it, I guarantee that you will receive a wonderful surprise “out of the blue” of someone giving their time to YOU — in just the way you need it, just when you need it the most. That’s the Law of Circular Giving in action! 

I hope you will share your chosen “random acts of kindness” with me, and what blessings you have received from the Universe in return! And be sure to let me know if it is OK to publish it in a future blog (anonymously or otherwise), so your gift can continue to “pay it forward” to your Community by inspiring others to do the same! Contact me at: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

 

Random Acts of Kindness — Blog 100

 “By concentrating on the positive, we create a sense of optimism and energy.” – Christopher Novak 

As you know, I have vowed to continue the practice I began last year of making this my personal Summer of Time Prosperity.  In 2009, I “woke up” to the fact that the previous summer had gone by in a blur of tele-seminars, projects and paperwork, while I missed the opportunity to savor the many big and little moments of relaxation, rejuvenation and FUN that are available only during my favorite time of year.  

This summer, as last, I am practicing taking ample time each week to stop and smell the roses, even as I continue to write this weekly blog for you. So, taking a page from Johnny Carson when he was the host of the Tonight Show, I will continue to introduce you to several “guest hosts” for the blog from time to time during the summer.  It will give YOU the opportunity to learn tips and tools for creating a life of abundance from a number of my favorite Master Manifesters, while giving ME the opportunity to enjoy my favorite time of year without guilt!  

This week’s guest columnist is actually a group of writers – the Editors of Conari Press – who compiled the wonderful little book titled “Random Acts of Kindness” – a collection of short anecdotes from people who practiced doing good things, usually for strangers, and got a great feeling (and sometimes even more tangible benefits) in return. 

This book resonates with me because since “The Great Recession” began in 2008, I have been consciously focusing on blessing others, while allowing the Universe to bless me in return – following The Law of Circular Giving, as it’s called.  And it hasn’t failed me once!  

Each morning, I remind myself of the affirmation, “As I bless others, so shall I be blessed.”  And I ask the Universe to connect me to those people who need my help that day, regardless of their ability to pay me or reciprocate in any way.  It causes me to place my faith in the right place – with my Source. I know that if I simply concentrate on doing my very best to help my fellow man or woman, I will receive what I need – my “daily bread” — in return.  I truly believe that God (or the Universe, or Allah, or Buddha, or Source, or whatever name you choose to call your Higher Power), takes care of US in whatever ways we need because WE take care of OTHERS in whatever way they need.  God doesn’t have arms or legs or a checkbook, so God relies on ME to do what needs to be done for my fellow human beings, on God’s behalf. 

Random Acts of Kindness provides many inspiring real-life examples of compassion, kindness and open-hearted giving – the type of acts that always come back around to bless the giver with whatever support THEY need  – usually from an entirely different source than where they bestowed their kindness. That’s Circular Giving at its best! 

I want to share these two excerpts from this wonderful little book, because they happen to focus on helping others with money.  The aim of this blog is to increase your prosperity and abundance, which of course, are not limited to mere money or material possessions.  Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that when you “put your money where your mouth is” through an act of generosity to another who needs it, you strengthen your own ability to believe that whatever is needed in the way of material support will be provided to YOU.  This is a critical prerequisite for putting the Law of Attraction into action in creating whatever it is that YOU want for yourself: When you genuinely BELIEVE that what you ask for WILL come to you, nothing is impossible….And belief is usually the hardest thing for us, isn’t it? 

The following are excepts From Random Acts of Kindness by the Editors of Conari Press 

Spare Change   

Every day I walk down the mall to get a cup of cappuccino, and every day I get hit up for spare change.  Every day.  The panhandlers all have these wonderful stories but you never know what to believe.  After awhile, it gets to be an irritation, and then I find myself getting upset that I’m so irritated over what is really just spare change.  One day this person came up to me and said, “I just ran out of gas.  My car is about six blocks away from here.  I have two kids in the car and I’m just trying to get back home.” 

I said to myself, “Here we go again,” but for some reason, I gave him $10.  Then I went on and got my cappuccino.  As I was walking back to my office, I again saw the man standing by his car, which had run out of gas right in front of my office.  Seeing me, he came over and said, “Thank you, but I don’t need the full ten,” and handed me $2. 

Now I find that being asked for money no longer bothers me and I give whatever I can every time I get the chance. 

“The quality of mercy is not strained;

it dropeth as the gentle rain from heaven;

upon the place beneath; it is twice blessed;

it blesseth him that giveth and him that takes.”

– from The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare 

The Forgiven Debt 

I had a client who owed me a good deal of money.  Eventually, she stopped seeing me, but each month I would send her a bill and receive no response.  Finally, I wrote to her and said, “I don’t know what difficulty has befallen you that you are unable to pay me, but whatever it is, I’m writing to tell you your debt is forgiven in full.  My only request is that at some point in your life, when your circumstances have changed, you will pass this favor on to someone else.” 

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.  I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live.  Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me.  It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” – George Bernard Shaw 

I must admit  that forgiving a monetary debt is a challenging thing for me to do, especially when things are still tight for us in the current economy. Yet, I have been inspired to do this several times over the years, and each time, funds miraculously came back to bless me, usually from an entirely different source.  

Once, out of the blue, one of my clients sent me a gift of $3,000!  She said she had gotten the “message” from the Universe several times in no uncertain terms that she was to send that specific amount to me.  I was flabbergasted!  And my own debts have sometimes been kindly postponed – or even entirely forgiven – by others.  I know that is no coincidence, but the result of trying to live according to the credo “As I bless others, so shall I be blessed” – or in the vernacular, “What goes around, comes around!” 

My prosperity tip for you this week is simple: Find someone to bless by performing a “random act of kindness” for them when they least expect it.  It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, just that it takes something for you to do it.  To me, giving $50 would constitute a Big Gift, while to you, that might be chump change!  So don’t spend your family’s grocery money, but make it something that is significant for YOU.  And it doesn’t have to be money; it could be a significant gift of time, for instance…anything that is a stretch for you to do for someone else.  

It’s preferable if you give your gift to a stranger, or do it anonymously, if it’s to someone you know.  But above all, do NOT do it expecting to get anything in return – not thanks, acknowledgment or a reciprocal gift. Simply do it from your own sense of open-hearted generosity, expecting nothing, and BELIEVE that the Universe is taking note.  Then, one day soon, when you have almost forgotten about it, I guarantee that you will receive a wonderful surprise “out of the blue” (and quite possibly when you need it the most), just as YOUR gift came to your beneficiary “out of nowhere” when they needed it most. 

I hope you will share your chosen “random act of kindness” with me, and what blessing you received from the Universe in return! And be sure to let me know if it is OK to publish it in a future blog (anonymously or otherwise), so your gift can continue to “pay it forward” to your Community by inspiring others to do the same! Contact me at: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

 

Appreciate ALL You Have — Blog 99

“Seeking the good in every experience ensures that you will bring your better self into every encounter.  Lives change when we do this – ours as well as those we journey with today.”  — Karen Casey 

I believe there truly IS good in every experience we go through on Schoolhouse Earth – and I also know that is sometimes very hard to see while we are going through it! So gaining perspective on our current “crisis” situation – often through the eyes of someone else – is a very useful thing. 

I just received another great letter from my friend “Mitch,” whom I’ve written about many times in this blog because he so frequently inspires me with little tales that illustrate this very point.  Mitch, you will recall, is a young man who is currently incarcerated in a federal correctional facility because he did something really stupid, using the internet, which automatically made it a federal offense.  And as his stories of life “behind the Wall” constantly remind me, federal time is the hardest time an inmate can do in the USA. 

So the first lesson I get from EVERY letter Mitch writes me is that I am fortunate and grateful just to be FREE.  Being free to come and go as I please, to make my own decisions about when to go to bed and when to get up, what to wear, what to eat, what career to pursue and which people to associate with are aspects of life that I take for granted, as I’m sure you do most of the time.  But to Mitch, these are PRICELESS freedoms he isn’t going to have a chance to enjoy again for at least another 18 months, when he will be eligible to be released to a “halfway house” — not quite true freedom, but a darn site better than the conditions he is living with behind bars. 

This particular letter also included an equally important lesson: that it is only when we are grateful for what we have right NOW that more good will come to us.  The Law of Attraction states, “energy attracts like energy.”  So whenever we are focusing on what we DON’T have, feeling resentful or scared or upset about our lack, then more LACK is inevitably going to show up for us.  But when we are filled with appreciation for what we have in our life right now, what we will attract is more things to appreciate. 

Mitch is a very kindhearted, intelligent and spiritual young man.  He is constantly on the lookout for ways to make the very best of a very bad situation, to help others, and to embrace every opportunity for personal growth that his punishment holds for him.  I know he believes in the universal Law of Attraction, because in the face of the most cynical, angry and uncaring energy that often surrounds him, Mitch always looks for the good in even the smallest places he can find it – and then expresses gratitude for that good.  

As a result of his attitude of gratitude, Mitch has attracted many amazing serendipitous occurrences and happy surprises — from unexpected money sent from friends to the five-hour visit with his 2 ½ month old son, his girlfriend and me that he says is the highlight of every month for him.  His latest letter explains exactly WHY I believe this huge and unexpected blessing came to him.  He’s given me permission to quote him: 

“…My gut check told me to send this [journal entry] to you.  I don’t know why.  It’s an oldie from when I used to live in J-Unit, about a year ago.  So keep in mind this was around the time you found out I’d seen “Junior” only once in 8 months or so and it was a bad time for me.  I hope you like it: 

Stash-2009

I reach over to my locker.  In the back, I pull out a green colored album.  It’s frayed at the edges, in poor shape, and held together by a myriad hodgepodge of blue painter’s tape and electrical tape.  Inside the cover is my stash, my most prized possessions that hold me together.   

Each person, whether they care to admit it or not, has one.  A box, a bag, an envelope or book cover.  It contains our home, connections so small — a letter, a picture, a drawing, a piece of paper folded, scented with perfume whose fragrance slowly wafts away….Each item a priceless Faberge Egg. 

I see my son, a picture of him playing.  He is so big now.  He was such a tiny guy when I saw him last.  A card with his crayon scribbles (He can hold crayons now!  Growing so fast!)  I always remember him just trying to eat them.  It is precious, gorgeous, more than any Monet, Van Gogh, any Impressionist or abstract artist.  I might hang it in my locker by buying a pair of broken headphones no longer sold, break them open and grab the magnets inside to hang my card. 

One night, before lights out, walking back from the shower down the long tier, I see a guy sitting on his bunk, clutching a paper to his chest and crying silently.  It had two stick figures holding hands in crayon and said ‘Daddy’ on top.  A Faberge Egg – priceless. 

There are points when we need that contact so bad, no matter what your security level, whether it’s Supermax or a camp with tennis courts and the amenities of a Club Med, it is still a prison.  There is still the lack of family, separated, and for some, that’s the worst prison of all. 

My Faberge Egg inspires me and touches me.  It asks, ‘What are you going to do now? What will tomorrow look like?’  I tell it things will be different — I’ll be there.  For now, I tuck it away in my green album and hang one in my locker and know that home is there in the scribbles of my Faberge Egg.” 

Mitch ends his letter with this post-script:

“I’m not sure why I was called to include this, but there you are.  Looking back on the entry, it is still true that I draw strength from my connections to home (cards and pictures) and it allows me to see what I took for granted.  How many times outside did I receive a Christmas card or birthday card from my now-departed Grandma and toss it aside with ‘That’s nice’ – instead of cherishing that moment?  Not often enough, for sure.  Now it’s different.  I appreciate it so much more.”

Mitch’s question is an excellent reminder for you and me to truly CHERISH all the big and little gifts of love and connection in our lives – of whatever and whomever represents HOME for us.  They are each a precious Faberge Egg, after all. 

And I also believe that it was Mitch’s appreciation for the cards and photos he had of “Junior” that brought the opportunity for the real thing to come to him.  When I first visited him after about a year of corresponding (and successfully gaining clearance to visit him, via a very cumbersome process, emblematic of federal bureaucracy at its finest), I discovered that his girlfriend and son had only been to visit him ONCE in all that time, despite the fact that they lived less than 30 minutes’ drive from the prison!  I was dumfounded. 

Without a hint of resentment, Mitch calmly explained that because his girlfriend doesn’t have a car, she had to come by bus. Prison regulations prohibited her from bringing a baby stroller into the building (or even leaving it parked out front, at her own risk.)  Junior was simply too heavy for her to carry over a mile from the bus stop to the prison. Couldn’t she get a ride from someone? Her family disapproved of Mitch’s situation, and so refused to help her and Junior visit him. Mitch’s father and girlfriend didn’t see eye to eye, so she refused to ask him for a ride, even though he visited Mitch regularly. 

I was appalled.  At that moment, I decided that I would make sure Mitch got regular visits from his girlfriend and son as long as he is incarcerated there.  So I arranged to pick them up and drive them with me once a month.  Junior is adorable, funny, smart and absolutely delighted to see his father. Mitch is on cloud nine every time he gets to hold him in his lap and play with him in the visiting room.  And I am just happy to know that once a month, at least, Mitch is “home” for real – not just in a photo.  

Mitch is now taking special parenting classes that will allow him more visits with Junior – every Tuesday night, for several hours, with more freedom to interact freely together – a special playtime just for dads and their kids.

 We have yet to address that scheduling challenge, but I know it can be worked out.  After all, Mitch’s has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt the truth that I pass along to all my Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ clients: GRATITUDE is the #1 most powerful positive emotional vibration you can possibly have, which immediately puts the Law of Attraction into action – bringing you even MORE to be grateful for — more precious Faberge Eggs! 

I will be taking next week off from the blog to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend. I wish all my readers in the USA a very happy Independence Day! I hope you remember to pause amidst enjoying the BBQ, beer and fireworks with your loved ones to express your heartfelt gratitude for the MOST precious gift of all: FREEDOM — because, as we all know, “Freedom isn’t free.” 

Summer Spectacular ENDS Wednesday! 

Normally, my private one-on-one coaching clients invest $575 to learn how to create anything they want in 30 days or less. Recent Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ success stories include: 

• A client who manifested her dream car in less than two weeks — without the credit, down payment or monthly fees needed to pay for it!  
• A client was hired for her dream job in less than 30 days. It met every one of her “must have” criteria — even though there are fewer than five such positions in existence in the USA! 
• A client manifested $5,000 in one month from multiple sources – all totally unexpected and unforeseen – as soon as she gave up worrying about the “How”! 

In the month of JUNE, to celebrate my birthday and the kick-off of my favorite season of the year, I want to offer a very special gift ONLY to my Cup of Caroll readers and their friends: 

If you contact me by JUNE 30 and request a complimentary, no-obligation phone consultation in July, the cost of your future Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ is just two easy monthly payments of $149 each. 

This is a savings of $275 off the regular tuition for private, one-on-one coaching that is guaranteed to help you manifest a specific intention in 30 days or less – or I will refund all your tuition.

But you need to hurry! This special discount is available ONLY if you email me BEFORE 12 midnight Pacific time this Wednesday, June 30 to schedule your FREE, no-obligation consultation. 

Remember, our consultation can be scheduled for anytime in July – but I now have a very limited number of slots still available, so email me NOW to schedule a FREE 30-minute phone consultation and together we’ll determine if Practical Prosperity Coaching is the perfect way for you to manifest something BIG you are dreaming of !  

Your questions and comments are most welcome! Contact me at: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com. 

 

Be Good to Yourself — Blog 98

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Siddartha Guatama Buddha 

As you read in my last blog, I have vowed to continue the practice I began last year of making this my personal Summer of Time Prosperity.  In 2009, I “woke up” to the fact that the previous summer had gone by in a blur of tele-seminars, projects and paperwork.  Yes, I achieved a lot professionally in 2008, but I also paid a heavy personal price by missing the opportunity to savor the many big and little moments of relaxation, rejuvenation and FUN that are available only during my favorite time of year.  I sacrificed my own mental and physical well-being for what I viewed as my many obligations (also known as “shoulds”) at the time. 

This summer, as last, I am vowing to take ample time each week to stop and smell the roses (and the barbecue), spend many relaxing moments with my bare toes in the grass, my nose in an entertaining book and my back on the chaise lounge (or a movie theater seat).  In order to do that, I must be creative and resourceful in finding ways to cut down on the 12-14 hours I typically spend each weekend catching up on paperwork, including my weekly blog. 

Make no mistake, I LOVE writing this blog!  It’s no chore, but it does take considerable time.  So I decided last year to take a page from Johnny Carson when he was the host of the Tonight Show by featuring some “guest hosts” for the blog from time to time during the summer.  It will give you, my cherished reader, the opportunity to learn tips and tools for creating prosperity from a number of my favorite Master Manifesters, while giving me the opportunity to enjoy my favorite time of year without guilt!  And this is my birthday week, so what better time to begin the Summer FUN than right NOW? 

This week’s guest columnist is Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D., a dynamic writer and speaker who teaches us many simple and effective tools for achieving vibrant health and prosperity.  She has mastered the art of abundant living in ALL aspects, and she knows it takes much more than just financial abundance to create a happy and fullfilling life.  I heard Susan speak a couple of months ago at my church and was so impressed that I bought several of her books.  The one I want to share from today is a paperback entitled Choose to Live Each Day Fully: A 365-Day Guide to Transforming Your Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary. 

I hope her simple, wise, and very practical suggestions will inspire YOU to join me in focusing on being GOOD to ourselves each and every day! 

Day 85: Boosting Your Self-Esteem

From Choose to Live Each Day Fully

By Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D. 

“How you feel about yourself affects all aspects of your life – whether you are happy, peaceful, successful, and fulfilled in life.  Here are some of the key ingredients to loving yourself and thus making your life a celebration. 

Take loving care of your body. Eat healthy food and exercise regularly.  Think of your body as more than pounds of flesh and tissue; treat your body as the miracle it is and with love and respect. 

Count your blessings.  Look at all the positive aspects about your body and life and write them down so you can see them all the time.  Make a list of all the things for which you are grateful: your eyes which show you beauty, your hands which let you touch, your children, your spouse and friends, the flowers in your yard, or the park down the street. 

Be patient and trust.  Everything happens in the proper timing. Trust that all will unfold for your highest good.  Be patient with yourself and choose to live one day at a time. 

Today’s affirmation: I like and value myself very much. 

Day 86: Boosting Your Self-Esteem II

From Choose to Live Each Day Fully

By Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D.

 Be here now.  Live in the present moment and with as much love in your heart as possible.  All you ever truly have is this present moment, your moment of power. 

Let go of all criticism.  Be loving and kind towards yourself and release all criticism.  When you catch yourself being judgmental and critical, stop and think of something positive.  At least once a day, look in your mirror and take one minute to praise and support yourself. 

Be of service to others.  One of the fastest ways to feel better about yourself is to do something nice for another person.  It could be as simple as giving someone a hug, cooking a meal for a sick neighbor, giving your time watching a friend’s child  so he or she can have some time off, or sending a card saying how much you appreciate another.  In giving to others, we give to ourselves. 

Live in the presence of love.  There is nothing that will transform your life more quickly than living with a consistent feeling of love in your heart.  For the next twenty-four hours maintain a consistent feeling of love; your entire life will change for the better and will be enriched.  It’s not very easy.  Keep practicing and see how long you can go. 

Today’s affirmation: I treat myself to the very best; I deserve it.” 

It is my hope that you will practice one or more of Susan Smith Jones’s wonderful suggestions for enhanced self-esteem and abundant, healthy living this week.  Focusing on even ONE of these guidelines will produce a noticeable increase in your mental, emotional and physical vibrancy and happiness! 

Ooops — gotta run!  It’s time to “treat myself” to some more relaxation and enjoyment…because “I deserve it!”  How about you?  What are YOU going to do to be good to yourself today? 

Practical Prosperity Summer Spectacular  

Normally, my private one-on-one coaching clients invest $575 to learn how to create anything they want in 30 days or less. Recent Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ success stories include: 

• A client who manifested her dream car in less than two weeks — without the credit, down payment or monthly fees needed to pay for it!  
• A client was hired for her dream job in less than 30 days. It met every one of her “must have” criteria — even though there are fewer than five such positions in existence in the USA! 
• A client manifested $5,000 in one month from multiple sources – all totally unexpected and unforeseen – as soon as she gave up worrying about the “How”! 

In the month of JUNE, to celebrate my birthday and the kick-off of my favorite season of the year, I want to offer a very special gift ONLY to my Cup of Caroll readers: 

If you contact me by JUNE 30 and request a complimentary, no-obligation phone consultation in July, the cost of your future Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ is just two easy monthly payments of $149 each. 

This is a savings of $275 off the regular tuition for private, one-on-one coaching that is 100% GUARANTEED to help you manifest a specific intention in 30 days or less – or your MONEY BACK!  

But you need to hurry! This special discount is available ONLY if you email me BEFORE 12 midnight Pacific time on June 30 to schedule your FREE, no-obligation consultation. 

Our consultation can be scheduled for anytime in July – but I have a limited number of slots available, so email me NOW to schedule a FREE 30-minute consultation and together we’ll determine if Practical Prosperity Coaching is the perfect way for you to manifest something BIG you are dreaming of – 100% GUARANTEED!  

Your questions and comments are most welcome, too! Contact me at: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

 

Time for Fun! — Blog 97

“Regard your life as an extended working vacation.” – Victoria Moran 

It was exactly one year ago that I had a big “Ah-Ha Moment” that changed the course of my summer and has had a lasting positive impact on my life: I learned how to let go and have FUN!  I learned that it isn’t how much time you have available, but how you spend your time that determines the quality of your life.  

It was June 15, 2009 when a simple, random memory came to me that liberated me to have FUN during my favorite time of year: SUMMER!  Here’s what I wrote one year ago – which all came true, by the way: 

“When I was in high school, the best time of the year was definitely Summer Vacation!  Of the many things I loved about summer (including my June birthday), one of THE best parts was getting to stay up late to watch The Tonight Show.  Having the biorhythms of a typical teenager, I was naturally a night owl.  I loved to sit in my bedroom, working on a paint-by-number painting at midnight, as I enjoyed some of the most talented people of the 20^th Century chatting with Johnny Carson.   I thought Johnny had THE coolest job on the planet. 

I now also realize that Johnny had an even better job than I was aware of at the time, because he only worked three or four nights a week at most, and had entire weeks off quite regularly.  Yet, I watched the show even when he was gone, enjoying his favorite Guest Hosts of the moment bringing their own strengths to the show, while Johnny enjoyed time off from his ‘grueling’ schedule. Boy, he really DID have it made! 

As I’ve said many times, Prosperity isn’t just about money.  It’s really about living a lifestyle you love and enjoying everything you have been blessed with, regardless of how much more money or toys the Joneses next door may seem to have.  Feeling prosperous requires only that you recognize and feel grateful that you have an abundance of MANY good things in your life, including health, energy, happiness, work you love to do, hobbies you love to pursue, people you love to be around, laughter, time for rest and relaxation, to name a few. 

Well, I think Johnny Carson had abundant prosperity, not because of his considerable salary, but because he clearly loved his job AND he was smart enough to take plenty of time off from it, too.  He lasted decades as a beloved cultural icon because he made it a continuing pleasure for himself, rather than letting it become a grind. Of course, his viewers benefited too, because we were introduced to a number of rising stars whose careers took off because of Johnny’s absence.  He didn’t feel threatened by them or fear for his job security because they might be good, too. He was even more appreciated by his audience because he allowed other talents to shine, too. 

I say all this as background for sharing with you that I have a new plan for my own work this summer:  I vow to create more Prosperity in my life this summer.  During [summer 2008], I worked six and a half days a week almost every week.  I was coaching 20-30 clients Monday through Friday, 9am to 7 pm, and then spending all day Saturday and every Sunday afternoon catching up on all the extra paperwork and projects I needed to do. (Yes, including writing this blog, which I love to do, but which generally takes about half a day every week.) As a result, the loveliest time of the year for me went by in a blur.  

For me, the greatest form of Prosperity I can dream of is having the luxury of TIME for trips, reading by the pool, going to movies regularly, having a “date night” every weekend with my wonderful husband.  I’ll bet you can relate.  I’ve never met a productive, ambitious adult who feels that he or she has plenty of TIME for all their beloved pursuits and activities.  

We all want to create more wealth, too, of course.  But the only thing in life that we ALL have the very same amount of is TIME. And if we don’t spend some of that precious time each and every week doing things we truly love, we will never, ever get it back.  You can lose a fortune and eventually work hard enough to regain it, but you can never regain a single minute of your life. Tick Tock!  It’s going by right now, as you are reading this. 

So, I am promising you to take a page from Johnny this summer.  It is the end of school and the beginning of Summer Vacation in many places.  My stepson, Matthew, just [finished his first year of college].  So it is the perfect time to declare this the Summer of Time Prosperity!  I am going to look for ways to lighten my workload and say “no” to anything optional that I really don’t WANT to do.  I am going to read a trashy novel or two, watch every summer blockbuster that comes to the local cineplex and spend more time walking around my favorite Southern California beach town, Laguna Beach.  I am going to sit on the patio with my husband and share an adult beverage and some chips and guacamole while we watch the sunset together.  I am going to eat more ice cream with strawberries and drink more champagne (possibly also with strawberries).  I am going to journal more, meditate regularly, and take a walk EVERY morning — not just when I think I can spare the time.  I am going to keep our lovely rosebushes looking spectacular and just sit in the chaise lounge and watch the hummingbirds flit about the yard on a Sunday afternoon.  

What difference does it make to YOU, you ask? Well, one of my strategies for creating more time freedom this summer is that I am going to take a week off from writing A Cup of Caroll once in awhile.  However, that does NOT mean there won’t be a new blog every Monday to help you learn the principles and secrets to creating unlimited prosperity in YOUR life. It just means that, like Johnny, I will be welcoming regular “guest authors” to help me share many exciting Prosperity secrets with you. There are some really wonderful Master Manifesters sitting on my bookshelves right now, just waiting to share their wisdom with you, as they have done with me for two decades.” 

Back to the present: My first “guest host” for Summer 2010 will be Susan Smith Jones, PhD, a delightful speaker and author who recently autographed for me her wonderful little book of wisdom, entitled Choose to Live Each Day Fully: A 365-Day Guide to Transforming Your Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary.  This paperback is a series of 365 short essays on how to create a rich, healthy and abundant life in big and little ways, every single day of the year.  I will share a little gem from it that will provide the perfect kick off to our Summer of Time Prosperity. 

So please join Dr. Susan Smith Jones and me next week… Sorry, gotta run now!  It’s date night and we’re going out for sushi and watching The Karate Kid at the cineplex! 

Practical Prosperity Summer Spectacular  

Normally, my private one-on-one coaching clients invest $575 to learn how to create anything they want in 30 days or less. Recent Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ success stories include: 

• A client who manifested her dream car in less than two weeks — without the credit, down payment or monthly fees needed to pay for it!  
• A client was hired for her dream job in less than 30 days. It met every one of her “must have” criteria — even though there are fewer than five such positions in existence in the USA! 
• A client manifested $5,000 in one month from multiple sources – all totally unexpected and unforeseen – as soon as she gave up worrying about the “How”! 

In the month of JUNE, to celebrate my birthday and the kick-off of my favorite season of the year, I want to offer a very special gift ONLY to my Cup of Caroll readers: 

If you contact me by JUNE 30 and request a complimentary, no-obligation phone consultation in June or July, the cost of your future Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ (whenver you decide to begin it) will be just two easy monthly payments of $149 each. 

This is a savings of $275 off the regular tuition for private, one-on-one coaching that is 100% GUARANTEED to help you manifest a specific intention in 30 days or less – or your MONEY BACK!  

But you need to hurry! This special discount is available ONLY if you email me BEFORE 12 midnight Pacific time on June 30 to schedule your FREE, no-obligation  consultation. 

Our consultation can be scheduled for anytime in July – but I have a limited number of slots available, so email me NOW to schedule a FREE consultation and together we’ll determine if Practical Prosperity Coaching is the perfect way for you to manifest something BIG you are dreaming of – 100% GUARANTEED!  

Your questions and comments are most welcome, too! Contact me at: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

 

Heads or Tails, You Win! — Blog 96

“One of our greatest gifts is our intuition.  It is a sixth sense we all have; we just need to learn to tap into it and trust it.” – Donna Karan 

All human beings have it.  Our intuition — otherwise known as a “gut feeling” — seems to be a factory-installed inner guidance system that lets us instantly sync up with the Universal Creative Mind to receive the perfect answer to our every need – if we choose to follow it.  The dictionary defines this seemingly-magical state as “being aware of or knowing something without having to discover or perceive it…” 

When you face a critical decision, your unique, personal intuition is the greatest tool you have for making the right choice for YOU — whether it’s “Should I get on the parking garage elevator alone with this stranger late at night?  Something just doesn’t feel right in the pit of my stomach, but I don’t want look silly, or to hurt his feelings!” Or, “I wonder which of these two job offers I should I take?  They both have some big pluses and a few drawbacks.  How do I decide?” 

I believe that what we call intuition is actually another manifestation of the Law of Attraction (“energy attracts like energy”) in action.  When you follow your intuition, you are listening to and acting on a subtle message directly from the Universe, telling you exactly HOW to get that which is for your Highest Good.  But when you choose to override that inkling you have for purely “logical” reasons, you run the risk of ending up with something that you DON’T want. 

The problem with intuition is that it is sometimes difficult to get a clear message from your GUT – or to allow yourself to act on it — when your HEAD gets in the way.  

Two of my coaching clients recently had an opportunity to follow their intuition.  One did and one didn’t, and their very different outcomes reinforced for me the importance of following our inner guidance. That is why I wanted to share their lessons with you, in hopes of helping you to tune in more easily to your OWN intuition. 

My first client is a civilian working on a non-combat military base in the Middle East.  Normally very affable and spiritually-oriented, “Terry” is slow to anger and quick to diffuse a volatile situation with humor or understanding words. Nevertheless, being ex-military himself, he is also a realist and is well aware of the danger signs that someone in uniform is under stress.  

After a minor, annoying run-in with an office co-worker left him feeling irritated, Terry decided to go to the staff lounge for a cup of coffee, something he rarely does during the work day.  He told me later, “I don’t know why, but something inside me told me to hurry up – to just get my coffee and get OUT of there.  But I wasn’t feeling like hurrying back to my annoying co-worker, so I just hung out there for a couple of extra minutes, slowly stirring creamer into my coffee.” 

Soon, out of the corner of his eye he saw a man in uniform enter the room.  Even turned away from him, Terry could just feel a negative vibe coming from the guy. “I didn’t even know him.  Never saw him before in my life.  But he started banging cupboards louder than he needed to, and his body language just told me he was angry.”

At that point, Terry decided to clear out.  As he turned to walk past him, the other guy made a slight move, reaching out his arm like he meant to jostle Terry, or even to strike him.  “Don’t even TOUCH me!” the guy growled, followed by a string of words in Spanish that Terry couldn’t understand, but whose tone was clear. 

Terry had to make a split-second decision about whether to respond and risk escalating the volatile situation, or simply walk away.  Immediately, he thought of losing his great job – of all he’d worked for going up in smoke. In a heartbeat, he decided it just wasn’t worth it, and so chose to walk away….but not before tossing one snide remark over his shoulder as he exited the room: “You are going to die POOR!”  

The senselessness of the near-altercation and his disappointment with himself for uttering those petty words shook Terry for days afterward. “I KNEW I shouldn’t be in that room! I was given a clear direction to GET OUT.  If I had followed it, I would have completely avoided that crazy guy and not had this spoil the rest of my week.  Why didn’t I follow my hunch?”

The answer, we agreed, was undoubtedly that Terry’s mind was still clouded with annoyance at his co-worker, which prevented him from tuning into his own inner guidance system at first.  Still, I pointed out, it’s a good thing that he DID follow his gut when he realized that the volatile soldier could create some REAL trouble for him. It just would have been so much more pleasant for him if he’d chosen to LISTEN to his intuition and exit the room three minutes earlier! 

My second client, a creative, hard-driving entrepreneur, faced a much different problem with her intuition. She said she wished she had some clear sense of inner guidance, but she had no clue about what was the best option to follow in an important decision regarding the company she owns. She and her staff had been preparing for a couple of months to put on a lavish celebration for her distributors, the purpose of which was to unveil many new enhancements and an exciting new direction for the company. 

She intended for this to be a fun event – a glamorous “party” atmosphere, combined with a serious business focus, meant to inspire and motivate her distributors.  But in making a series of small decisions along the way, “It just got away from me,” she said.  She had over-committed to a big, expensive venue, many frills including champagne and door prizes, outside speakers and entertainers. Still it would all have been worth it — except that she had sold only HALF enough tickets to justify holding at all, and the person she’d hired to secure some big sponsors to cover the costs hadn’t gotten a single one to commit.  And now the event was just two weeks away. 

She said, “I fired the marketing person, and I know I could do a much better job of it myself.  But I still have so much to do with the program itself, and the materials….I know if I drop everything I should be doing to get on the phones — and send my staff out to round up more vendors — we could probably get more, as well as sell some more tickets.  But what’s the point if I get everyone there and I don’t have the new stuff ready to show them? That was the original REASON for this event, after all! I really can’t do both jobs, and we’re running out of time!” 

The difficult choice she had to make was whether to try to work around the clock for two weeks, and hope to be able to pull off an event that was bound to be much less than she wanted it to be, or whether to postpone it and live with the financial losses on the rented venue and items already purchased. And what message would that send to her sales force, she wondered? It seemed like either choice had a potentially severe downside. “I just can’t decide what’s the RIGHT thing to do!” she said in exasperation. 

So I asked her to do a “gut check” and say aloud what it was telling her.  “Nothing!” she said. “ I’m so confused, I’m not getting anything!” Clearly, her fear about the consequences of her decision had her too much in her head to be able to listen to her gut. 

That’s when I remembered a simple trick – I don’t even know when or where I learned it – to uncover what your intuition is trying to tell you, when you can’t get present to it. I asked her if she had a quarter.  She did.  “OK, since you can’t decide, let’s just let fate do it for you.  Flip the coin, and we’ll say that if it comes up heads, you go through with the event, and if it’s tails, you cancel.  Will you agree to abide by fate’s decision?”  She said she would and flipped the coin.  It came up tails. 

“OK, you are going to cancel the party,” I said. Then I asked her the magic question: “How do you feel about that?”  She exclaimed, “ I feel relieved!  I feel GREAT!” 

Well, that’s the real point of the coin toss, I told her.  It’s not what it tells you to DO that matters, it’s what it reveals about how you authentically FEEL about the decision.  If she had felt somewhat nauseated about canceling the event, for example, it would have revealed that the RIGHT choice, according her “gut,” was actually to go through with it.  Instead, her feeling of RELIEF clearly indicated that canceling the event was what her inner guidance knew was the RIGHT thing for her.  

And it was.  The cash loss for canceling was relatively small — especially compared to the food, entertainment and other items she hadn’t yet paid for.  And when she found out that the venue was willing to turn her deposit into gift cards that she could give her staff, clients and distributors, she saw it as a “win-win.”  She made personal phone calls to every one of the distributors who had already purchased tickets, offering them a refund and promising that the event will be re-scheduled for the near future when it is 100% ready to be done RIGHT. They completely understood and were flattered that the company owner called them personally to explain. 

So the next time you are faced with a difficult decision where you really don’t know what the right answer is – the pro’s and con’s seem equal in your head and you don’t have a clear channel open to receive the answer that the infinite wisdom of the Universe is trying to send you, remember that you can always access your intuition with the simple flip of a coin. Whichever way it lands, your immediately FEELING of relief or disappointment will tell you what the right answer truly is for you. 

Heads, you win….Tails, you STILL win! Hey, you’ve got to love those odds!

______________________________________________________________________

 Your questions and comments are always welcome!  Please contact me at: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

 

Be Grateful for What They Gave You – Blog 95

 

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.” – Henry Ward 

Gratitude is THE most powerful positive emotion to attract all the wonderful things you desire into your life…We can never feel or express TOO MUCH gratitude for all the good already present in our lives. Here is an updated version of one of my favorite past blogs about Gratitude. I hope you enjoy it! 

As you know, today is Memorial Day in the U.S.A.  This holiday — originally called Decoration Day — began in 1868, as a time set aside to commemorate those who died fighting in the Civil War by decorating their graves with flags and flowers.  

But I find it equally appropriate to celebrate Memorial Day by taking a moment to remember with gratitude ALL those who have gone before you who have contributed to making you who are today:  

• All the strangers, friends and loved ones who served in the armed forces to preserve your precious freedom.   
• Your parents, grandparents and other dear ones who raised you and helped you determine the values you choose to live by. 
• All the mentors and teachers who freely gave of their precious time to help guide you along your purposeful path.  
• Everyone who has ever showed you the encouragement and love that nurtured your spirit and helped you grow into your authentic Self.   
• Yes, and even those who disagreed with you honorably or sought to undermine you dishonorably — because they, too, had a hand in strengthening your character and determination to succeed against all odds. 

Let us today transform our sadness at the loss of those who contributed so much to our lives into abundant GRATITUDE for all they have contributed to us.  While sadness and regret are negative emotions that attract more pain, gratitude is one of the most powerful positive emotions there is.  Gratitude can help you put the Law of Attraction to work to make your most heartfelt dreams and ambitious intentions a reality.  If “energy attracts like energy,” as the Law of Attraction states, then feeling GRATEFUL for all those who have blessed your life with their presence can only attract more good to you. 

And because an abundantly prosperous life involves so much more than just money, I want to close with something profoundly simple, yet powerful, that I learned from my wise minister, Rev. Margaret.  It’s the Four Spiritual Truths to live by, which can help you create a life that is truly abundant and prosperous in every way. (I loved them so much, I had them made into a plaque for my office!) 

1)     Breathe deeply.  Breathing slowly and deeply nourishes your body with oxygen, makes you more alert to new ideas, and settles you down.  It makes you aware of being in the NOW and living fully in the present moment — which is really the only time that you have available to you.

2)     Live Fully.  Go out and make a miracle today.  God is busy and needs your help.

3)     Kiss slowly.  Appreciate all the love in your life – in ALL the forms it may take.  Don’t give your dearest loved ones just a hasty peck on the cheek as you bolt out the door.  Take time to really appreciate them and show them your love.

4)     Love wastefully.  Don’t hold back.  Spread your love around lavishly, so there isn’t a drop left at the end of your life.  Love can’t be hoarded; it must be spent to be enjoyed! 

I hope you enjoyed a gratitude-filled Memorial Day weekend with people you love.  If you didn’t, try following these Four Spiritual Truths, and watch what happens! 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE DEADLINE FOR YOUR GOALS IS HERE!

Remember all those big, wonderful New Year’s resolutions and inspiring Big, Juicy Goals you set for yourself with such enthusiasm and optimism on New Year’s Day?  Well, how are you doing on fulfilling them? 

The five-week Fresh Start June Jumpstart Tele-course begins on Tuesday June 1 at 6pm PDT/9pm EDT. If you want 2010 to be the BEST year of your life yet, Career and Life Design expert Sue Koch and I will show you exactly how to make your Biggest, Juiciest Dreams a REALITY – not “someday,” but right NOW! 

But registration CLOSES on Tuesday, June 1, at 1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern time, so there’s no time to lose! Go here NOW: http://timeforafreshstart.com to register for the June Jumpstart Tele-seminar! 

The course registration form and ALL the information about the June Jumpstart Tele-course is also on the same web page as the audio replay of our recent F.R.E.E. 60-minute Tele-class, June Re-Start: It’s Not Too Late To Reach Your 2010 Goals!  

So, if you couldn’t be with us live, just go to http://timeforafreshstart.com to listen to the streaming audio of this powerful F.R.E.E. call! 

Don’t miss this opportunity, if you are ready to…

• Clean out the “junk drawer” of your past to make room for exhilarating new possibilities
• Discover the biggest goal-setting mistakes and how to eliminate them forever
• Learn the secret to making your Big, Juicy Goals turn out successfully – with ease
• Crash through the roadblocks to success once and for all
• Find out how to make your Big, Juicy Dreams come true and have FUN doing it! 

Here’s what a few past participants in this powerful Jumpstart Tele-seminar have to say about how it helped them reach their Big, Juicy Goals this year: 

“I got a lot out of this course.  It made me realize what my true goal is and to start creating from that to get what I want for my family and myself… I will definitely use the tools from this course moving forward.” – Marci Ginger 

“This course made me realize what I was hiding from myself and my dreams behind my escape mechanism of self-induced clutter…” – Toni Federe   

In the past, I’ve had issues with saying I will do something and then letting it fall by the wayside. I am confident that with the Action Plan and accountability structures that this course helped me create, I will complete my journey to fulfilling my dream!  Thank you for getting me into action — FINALLY! ” – Penny Kempfert 

Your questions and comments are always welcome!  Please contact me at: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.