March 30, 2009 – Blog 53 

I think I began learning long ago that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. – Booker T. Washington

I don’t have to tell you that these are extraordinary times we live in.  And extraordinary times call for us to have extraordinary faith in order to create Unlimited Prosperity in the face of the scarcity mentality that permeates the world around us.

While attending church last Sunday, I witnessed a demonstration of both extraordinary faith AND extraordinary action.  The minister passed around the collection plate, as usual.  Only this time, she didn’t invite us to put money in.  Instead, she requested that each of us take out one of the envelopes stacked on the plates. Each envelope said, “God is My Source” on the outside.  Inside was a $10 bill.  Yes, the church was giving money to the congregation instead of the other way around!

In explaining what was going on, Rev. Margaret reminded us that ours is a tithing church.  That is, we follow the Biblical instruction that each person, business or institution is to give 10% of their income to wherever they receive their “spiritual food.”  All the major religions of the world teach that each follower must give 10% of everything that comes to them back to where it came from – the Divine Source of all prosperity.

In return, the Bible promises that whatever we give will be returned to us ten-fold.  In fact, in the Book of Malachi 3:10, it states that if we “bring all the tithes into the storehouse,” God promises to “open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

I can honestly say that I truly began to prosper big time as soon as I began to tithe in 2002. My car, my house, even my husband, all came to me after I began to tithe, even though I had been working on having a prosperity consciousness for many years before that. Thus, I took this unusual biblical challenge and I have proven the promise to be true for myself, as I realize each person can only do for themselves. 

This is why I never push tithing on any of my Practical Prosperity Coaching clients — it is a personal decision, which isn’t dependent on following a particular faith or spiritual background. Only if and when I sense that they are ready to go from mastering the “Manifestation 101” basics of using the Law of Attraction to the “advanced” level of effortlessly creating unlimited prosperity, do I recommend some dynamic authors like Edwene Gaines or Catherine Ponder who have had stunning results in their own lives as a result of overcoming fear of lack by following the spiritual Law of Tithing.

Rev. Margaret went on to explain that our church recently received a six-figure bequest from a congregant who had passed away.  But this time, instead of following their usual practice of giving 10% of the funds received to a worthy organization that is doing good in the world, the Board of Trustees and Minister decided to allow each member to choose to whom we would give our portion of this large tithe.

We were, however, asked to abide by TWO RULES in distributing our tithe:

1)     We couldn’t give it back to the church. 

2)     It wasn’t to be given to “need.”  A tithe isn’t the same as donating, although that type of giving is certainly encouraged as well! Instead, Rev. Margaret reminded us that we must give our $10 tithe to a person, place or institution where we have received “spiritual food” – i.e., inspiration or enlightenment.

I wish you could have seen the beaming smiles on our faces!  This was much better than finding a $10 bill on the street to keep or spend!  We were much more excited to think of giving it AWAY.  What an extraordinary feeling to actually WANT to give away money, at a time when we are all trying so hard to stretch every dollar — It made us happier to contemplate the impact this money would have on another person when we expressed our sincere gratitude for their gift of inspiration to us.

Rev. Margaret had one last request: Come back next week and tell about who we gave our tithe to AND go to the church website and share our stories there as well to spread the inspiration even farther!

Very much in keeping with this concrete demonstration, the minister’s sermon was based on the teachings of the well-known Master Manifester, Catherine Ponder, who has written over 60 books about Prosperity in her 80 years of living.  Her particiular teaching that this sermon focused on was that in order to become prosperous, you must demonstrate true generosity of spirit. Think first of how you can bless those around you, and you will be rewarded in even bigger ways than you can now imagine.

How can you be of service to a World that so desperately needs your help right now, when perhaps you are short on cash yourself?

1)     Do what you can with what you have. You don’t have to give money in order to make a difference.  Visit a lonely or sick friend who needs your compassionate listening.  Take a hot meal to a neighbor in distress.  Run an errand for someone who is housebound. Pray with someone who is frightened. Give your time. Give your love.  Maybe even give your blood to a complete stranger!

2)     Be positive.  Stop listening to the endless barrage of negative news.  Focus on the positive and be a source of positive energy for others.  Use your words and your talents to inspire — not to spread doom and gloom. Visit this wonderful website that is dedicated to spreading GOOD NEWS —www.goodnewsnetwork.org and spread the word!

3)     Remember who you really are: A Gift to the World!  If you see yourself as valuable, others will see you that way, too.  And those who are of great VALUE receive great REWARDS –not all of them monetary. For example: “If you want to HAVE a friend, you must first BE a friend.”

Among the most meaningful acknowledgments I have ever received is that I have twice been the recipient of a tithe for providing “spiritual food” to another. Last year, a coaching client unexpectedly tithed 10% of his tax refund – a hefty sum! And right after the church service, a woman came up to me and gave me her $10 tithe because she said the book discussion group I led last Fall helped her regain her sense of happiness following the trauma of her husband’s passing.

Until she gave me her tithe, I had been torn between tithing to two people who have inspired me greatly, and was feeling sad that I only had one tithe to pass along.  But now, thanks to this woman’s generosity, I had TWO $10 tithes to give out, I told her that I would further circulate her gift by passing it along to someone very special to me!

I gave inspiration to her, so she gave her tithe to me, and then I gave my tithe to someone who inspired me! Now, that is “circular giving” at its very best!

Next week: I will share with you to whom I gave my two tithes and the results.

SPECIAL REMINDER: There is still time for you and your friends to register for my FREE one-hour Create Prosperity Now Tele-class on Tuesday, March 31 at 6:00pm PACIFIC.  The topic this month is “The How is None of Your Business!”  In this class you will learn the #1 SKILL you must master to manifest your dreams using the Law of Attraction, so don’t miss it!  (If you can’t be there, the call REPLAY will be sent, but ONLY to those who have pre-registered will receive the replay link.) Just send your full name and email to caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com right away and I’ll send you the call number and password.  Please let me know if you plan to be there live or via replay, so we’ll be sure to have plenty of lines available!

*****WIN A VALUABLE PRIZE!*****

Email me a prosperity question no later than 3pm Pacific on Tuesday, even if you can’t be on the call live. I will address all the questions that I have time for and you can listen to the reply on the replay!  Then I will draw one name at random among all those who sent in a question.  If your name is drawn, you will receive one hour of Practical Prosperity Coaching at NO CHARGE! You don’t have to be present on the call live to win this prize!  So email me your best question about The Law of Attraction, creating prosperity, a particular prosperity challenge you are facing, etc.

Your questions and comments are most welcome!  To request a complimentary phone consultation at (888) 503-8145 or caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

3/23/09 – Blog 52 

Your circumstances reveal your beliefs.  Question your beliefs and upgrade them, and watch your circumstances upgrade accordingly. – Alan Cohen

(First published 11/10/08 – Blog 37)

In the previous blog, I revealed how you may be unconsciously harboring a self-sabotaging Limiting Belief that keeps you from manifesting your heartfelt dreams.  This old belief may have been something you made up about yourself out of a childhood incident or off-handed negative parental remark.  You forgot that you “made up” your interpretation of the event, and so have continued to live your life as though that belief is true.

Fortunately, our beliefs are not “The Truth,” but simply our interpretation of  The Truth, based on our experiences or what others have told us.  Therefore, if an old, Limiting Belief is preventing you from reaching your goals, you have the power to exchange it for a new, Empowering Belief that will better serve you.

But that’s easier said than done, especially when you have been living most of your life as though your old, Limiting Belief is TRUE.  You haven’t thought to really challenge whether it is true or not because you have accumulated lots of “evidence” over your lifetime that seems to support it. There is an important limitation about trusting what we “see with our own two eyes,” however: We tend to notice what we are looking for and to miss what we are not expecting to see. 

One of the most vivid examples of this was a famous psychology experiment in which numerous student “subjects” were shown a film of a college basketball game and told to count the number of times the ball was passed by the team in the white jerseys.  Each subject watched the film intently, carefully counting the quick handoffs and behind-the-back passes made by the players in the white jerseys.  The number of passes tallied varied somewhat, proving that not everyone’s focused attention was equally sharp, no matter how hard they concentrated.

But counting the number of passes was not the REAL test of the experiment.  What every single subject missed on the videotape was a man dressed in a gorilla suit, slowly strolling across the court, clearly visible in the upper part of the screen. They were concentrating so intently on what they expected to see that they completely missed something very unexpected. This demonstrates how our conscious mind works, noticing and remembering events that corroborate what we already believe and missing or forgetting whatever contradict our beliefs.

Furthermore, we sometimes unconsciously create “evidence” that aligns with our strongly-held beliefs. We do this via the Law of Attraction, which states that “energy creates like energy.”  Everything in life (including you) is, at its core, simply vibrating energy. Thus, the Law of Attraction causes you to attract into your life the people and circumstances that are in vibrational alignment with your strongly-held beliefs. 

Here are just a few Limiting Beliefs my clients have identified from the “old tapes” that have been playing in their heads for years:

If I don’t work HARD for it, I don’t deserve to have what I want.

If I make a lot of money, something BAD will happen.

No matter what I do, it’s never enough.

If I ask for help, people will think I’m weak.

I am not supported by others; I have to do everything myself.

I never get what I REALLY want.

No matter how hard I try, it will never work.

I’m not good enough to handle success and I will lose it.

We take action in life according to what we believe is true.  Can you see how someone holding such beliefs would have a very hard time taking productive actions that would lead to SUCCESS? 

Now that you see how it sabotages you, how can you CHANGE the Old, Limiting Belief you hold that keeps you from living the life of your Dreams?

STEP ONE: Uncover and NAME the old, Limiting Belief that is holding you back from having your Intention fulfilled.  To do that, start with your Intention.  If you want to create an extra $10,000 in the next 30 days, find the career of your dreams, find the man or woman of your dreams, or win the Top Producer Award at work, ask yourself, “WHY am I not going to be able to do or get that?”

List every reason that readily comes to mind.  Then choose the BIGGEST one – the Number One road block to having your Intention fulfilled — and keep digging down until you reach the deepest belief you hold about why YOU can’t have it. 

Hint: It’s never something “out there” that REALLY stops us from having our dream fulfilled. Instead, the Limiting Belief that is REALLY stopping you is something you believe about YOURSELF and the way you fundamentally are (I am…bad with money, not good at tests, not good on job interviews, too old, too fat, too thin, etc. etc. etc.)

If the reason you come up with to explain why you can’t have the thing you really want is something outside of you (e.g., “the economy,”), that’s not IT. Like the previous examples, your personal Limiting Belief that sabotages you from reaching your goals is about YOU and how you operate in the world – not the world itself.  And it usually shows up in other areas of your life besides this particular Intention you want to fulfill. 

STEP TWO: You must now DEBUNK this old, Limiting Belief before you can create a new, Empowering Belief that will support you in fulfilling your intention.  We humans don’t give up our long-held beliefs easily, no matter how self-destructive they are.  The only way you will be willing to give up your long-held Limiting Belief is if it becomes PAINFUL enough.  But if you can clearly see that the COST of living according to that belief is too high, you can get leverage with yourself to be able to give it up. (This also applies to bad habits you want to break.)

I recommend you sit down privately and answer these questions deeply and honestly in writing, in as much detail as possible. (Stop only when you can’t think of anything else to say for each one):

1. How is this Limiting Belief ridiculous or absurd?
2. Where did this belief originate — am I buying someone else’s belief? 
3. What will it ultimately cost me in this area if I don’t let go of this belief –what will believing it cost me in the FUTURE?
4. How will I FEEL if the above answers become true?

If you were totally honest with yourself, you should be feeling some real emotional pain about now, because you can clearly see that if you keep living according to your Limiting Belief, you will miss out on a lot, some really bad stuff could happen to you and those you love, and you will feel terrible as a result.

STEP THREE: Once you have gotten some pain-induced leverage to want to change, ask yourself what you NEED to believe instead in order to have your Intention fulfilled:

1. What do I need to believe in order to succeed here?
2. Who is succeeding in this area (a personal role model) and what must they believe that is causing them to take actions that make them a Winner?
3. What will I achieve in the future believing this NEW belief (in #5 above)? What will I gain?
4. How will that make me FEEL?

Now you have glimpsed the pot of gold at the end of the Belief rainbow.  If you can come to ACT according to your new, Empowering Belief, just as you used to ACT according to your old, Limiting Belief, can you see how it might help you to reach your Intention – and many others as well? 

Changing your ways and taking action according to a consciously-created Empowering Belief doesn’t happen overnight.  In fact, I have my Practical Prosperity clients declare ALOUD twice each day for 30 days that they give up being “right” about their old belief and instead embrace their new, empowering belief before it really begins to take hold.  For example,“I give up being right that if I make a lot of money, something bad will happen. My new, Empowering Belief is that having money is a great tool for doing the things I enjoy.”

Just like going to the gym to build physical strength, you can build a new Empowering Belief “muscle” if you declare this aloud with feeling each day for a period of time. Remember, your subconscious mind believes everything you tell it. So, by all means, tell it something POSITIVE! 

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: You and your friends are invited to my FREE one-hour Create Prosperity Now Tele-class on Tuesday, March 31 at 6:00pm PACIFIC.  The topic this month is “The How is None of Your Business!”  In this class you will learn the #1 SKILL you must master to manifest your dreams using the Law of Attraction, so don’t miss it!  (If you can’t be there, the call REPLAY will be sent, but ONLY to those who have REGISTERED will receive the replay link.) If you have registered once, you don’t have to register again. But if you OR your friends have not yet done so, send your full name and email to caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com to register.  Please let me know if you plan to be there live or via replay, so we’ll be sure to have plenty of lines available!

Your questions and comments are most welcome!  Share your thoughts or request a complimentary Practical Prosperity Coaching phone consultation at (888) 503-8145 or caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

March 9, 2009 — Blog 51

“A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after awhile he knows something.” – Wilson Mizner

Working in my second-floor home office with the window open on a recent fine spring afternoon, I heard a familiar sound I hadn’t heard since I was about 12 years old.  Splashing with his friends in the community pool just down the footpath from our house, a child called out the first of two words that I had heard countless times throughout my own childhood: “Marco.” That cry was immediately met with a chorus of childish voices shouting back “Polo!”

I have always felt incredibly blessed to have grown up near the beach in Southern California. The carefree summer lifestyle enjoyed by my best girlfriends and me consisted of spending hot afternoons in our bathing suits, going back and forth to their backyards, which were just a few yards away from my own. We would spend all afternoon, alternately practicing backflips off the diving board in one girl’s pool, and screaming with delight as we slipped down the water slide in the other. Although my parents were considerably less well-off than my friends’ parents, it didn’t matter at all to me.  I didn’t need my own pool – I had theirs!

Come to think of it, this may have been one of my earliest demonstrations that the Universe will always find a way to answer our Prosperity requests – sometimes very creatively. The truth is that you don’t have to be monetarily advantaged in order to live a “prosperous” lifestyle. I have traveled abroad, sailed on CEO’s yachts, and experienced many perks of the “lifestyle of the rich and famous” without being rich myself.  Perhaps my friends’ backyard pools were my first hint that the Universe could deliver my heartfelt desires in ways other than money!

Those two familiar words from my childhood – Marco Polo – can also serve as a reminder of one of the most important rules of manifesting unlimited prosperity via the Law of Attraction, which applies to you and everyone else on the planet — regardless of your background.

If you aren’t familiar, the game of Marco Polo is the equivalent of playing “Tag, You’re It” in a swimming pool.  The child who is “It” closes her eyes and stands at the shallow end of the pool, while everyone who is trying to “keep away” from her treads water or holds onto the side at the deep end of the pool. Every time the “It” girl calls out “Marco” anyone whose head is above water is obligated reply audibly, “Polo.”

If you are good at holding your breath, you have an advantage in eluding the tagger, because you can swim right by her underwater, without giving your position away audibly. Using just the sound of their voice to guide her, the “It” girl can zero in on her friend’s position and move toward her, until she eventually catches the would-be eluder, who then becomes “It.”

Although in the land-locked version, I wanted to be one of those trying to elude the tagger, I was always eager to be “It” in Marco Polo.  I was naturally blessed with sharp hearing and an acute awareness of body language (in this case, the sound of splashing and water currents that indicated someone swimming close by), and I enjoyed the challenge of using just those senses to triumph over someone who had the apparent advantage of being able to see me when I couldn’t see her.

What does this child’s game have to do with manifesting prosperity, you ask? Well, playing Marco Polo is much like searching for your “treasure” (i.e. an Intention you are trying to manifest) blindfolded. You know where you are now and you know where you want to get to, but you don’t have the “HOW” that is the key to bridging that gap. You can’t see how to reach that goal on your own. You simply have to have the “blind faith” that you will eventually pick up enough clues along the way to guide you to your prize.

This is exactly how it works when you set an Intention to manifest something you want into the material world.  STEP ONE of the manifestation process using the Law of Attraction is to ASK for what you want, clearly and specifically.  STEP TWO of the process is simply to BELIEVE that it is possible – and don’t worry about “How” you are going to do it.  Instead, you must leave the means for manifestation up to the Universe — trusting that it will come up with the perfect plan and then send you the cues you need to take the right ACTION to make your desire a reality.

How you pick up these “cues” from the Universe that direct you to fulfill you Intention is much like the way I picked up the subtle cues from my friends as to their whereabouts in the pool.  That is, you cannot rely just on your conscious mind and your five senses to connect with the Universal Mind. That would be like relying only on hearing the word “Polo” to direct you.

Instead, you must tune in 100%, not only with all your senses, but also with your feelings and your subconscious intuition.  At the optimal time, the Universe will communicate the “How,” which may be as subtle as a current of water brushing against your leg.  If you are not 100% alert and open to ALL possibilities – even ones that come wrapped in an unusual “package,” you just might miss that essential cue the Universe is trying to send you about what action to take as the means for delivering your Intention.

Once you ASK for something, clearly and specifically — so the Universe can make no mistake about exactly what you want — be assured that the Law of Attraction has been set in motion and your Intention is in the process of being manifested.  But remember, the Universe has an unlimited perspective of the world that you don’t have.  It sees the entire “pool” and everyone in it – while you are “blind” to all except a very few specific aspects of everything that is going on around you.

That’s why YOUR job is simply to ASK for what you want and then to work on strengthening your BELIEF that the Universe is working on it.  This will open up your subconscious mind to tune into even the most subtle cues about where you should go, whom you should meet, what book you should read – to help you make your Intention real.

So the next time you set an Intention, try closing your eyes and remind yourself to activate ALL of the senses – conscious and subconscious – that the Universe has blessed you with to help you find your earthly treasure!  Marco…Polo!

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Tuesday, March 10, at 12 noon Pacific is your LAST chance to REGISTER for the Practical Prosperity Teleseminar that begins March 11 AND receive your special  $100 DISCOUNT off the regular price. If you missed the March 4 Information call, you can still learn all about the Teleseminar – exactly what each of the 8 weeks covers and how it will help you manifest a BIG thing you really want – money, a new relationship, a new job, more clients, etc. – in 30 days or less, GUARANTEED!

Simply go to this link and click on March 4 to hear the replay:http://www.practicalprosperitycoach.com/qandadownload.html

You can also listen by phone at 616-712-8099, Access code: 699670#.

OR go directly to the website to read all about the course and REGISTER NOW for the Practical Prosperity Teleseminar: http://www.practicalprosperitycoach.com/unlimitedprosperity/ .

Remember, your LAST CHANCE to register and SAVE $100 is 12noon TOMORROW, March 10. You will receive your confirmation and the call-in details via email.

Share your thoughts, suggest a topic, or request a complimentary phone consultation at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

3/2/2009 – Blog 50

“A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.” – Frank Capra

We’ve looked at the first of the three steps necessary to manifest anything you want using the Law of Attraction: ASK for what you want clearly and specifically.

Now for the second and perhaps most challenging step:

BELIEVE that what you have asked for will come to you in the perfect way and at the perfect time — and let go of trying to control HOW it will be delivered.

Previously, I talked about the need to get crystal CLEAR on what you really want. The trick is to be clear about the “high, hard ones”– the must haves of whatever it is you desire, while still leaving the Universe enough wiggle room to choose the “bells and whistles” for you. If you don’t try to micro-manage HOW your dream is brought to you, the Law of Attraction often draws to you what you wanted in an even BETTER form than you had imagined for yourself, and often much more easily than you thought possible.

In 2004, I experienced a great example of effortless manifestation when I let go of the HOW of finding a new car and just allowed myself to BELIEVE that it would come to me in the perfect way. I was newly single and I had never before purchased a car without a man in my life to help me narrow down the vast array of choices available.

Every car I saw on the road looked good to me and I was beginning to feel overwhelmed and unsure of even what make I wanted, let alone the “bells and whistles” options it should have. All I knew for sure is that I didn’t want a new car – I wanted a like-new car. Finally, I gave up the struggle and decided to allow the Universe to just send me the perfect car for me.

I simply wrote down all my MUST HAVES for a vehicle:

• Four-door sedan

• Less than 3 years old
• 36,000 miles maximum
• Like -new condition
• CD/tape player
• Heat and air conditioning
• Monthly payment to be no more than $300.

I left the make, model, color and the wide range of available cockpit “gadgets” up to the Universe to deliver to me with ease.

Within 2 weeks of making my list, I unexpectedly got a “hunch” to go visit my friend, Drew, on my way home from work. I’d never been to his place of business, and I realized I was about to pass it, so I just impulsively followed my inexplicable inner prodding, exited the freeway and dropped in on him. (Drew happened to work at a VW dealership in the billing department at the time. The idea of buying a Volkswagen was not even on my radar screen, so it had never occurred to me to ask his advice in my search!)

The minute he greeted me at his desk, Drew said, “You HAVE to come see this car we just got in! We never get these in – people call asking for them all the time.”

There on the lot was a gorgeous silver 2002 Passat with 35,000 miles on it. It was a leased car that was just turned in that morning and it was immaculate. The next thing I knew, I was signing the papers for a 48-month loan at 1.99%. And can you guess? The payment came to $302 a month — after I was given an additional $2,000 discount, just for being the “Friend of a VW Employee”!

If what you want is not showing up quickly and easily, I recommend that you go through a little mental checklist and ask yourself these questions:

1) Have I been CLEAR in asking the Universe for exactly what I want – my MUST HAVES?

2) Am I truly WILLING to receive it in whatever form it shows up — or am I attached to the “bells and whistles” that I think are important?

3) Am I able to BELIEVE that it is possible and that the Universe is working on my request – even if I can’t figure out the “HOW” with my own limited human perspective?

Remember that what you are seeing of your current situation is just a tiny aspect of all that is really there. The Universe takes it ALL in –the BIG picture — including the other people who are involved and their desires. The Universe does not play favorites. Left to its own devices, the Universe creates an elegant, intricate solution that answers the needs of all involved. Everyone involved is served and satisfied!

Did my beautiful car drop from the sky into my driveway just because I believed? No. There is always a “doing” involved in manifesting our thoughts into things. But the “how” it manifests is the Universe’s problem, not yours. All you have to do is be willing to listed to the subtle prodding – the creative inspiration the Universe whispers in your ear — and then ACT on it. That is the “how” you are seeking — the easiest, most efficient way for you to DO exactly what you must in order for your desire to become real in the world.

Your job is to keep your antennae up for a “strange” little notion that pops into your head, a stranger who crosses your path, a business card you notice on the sidewalk — a resource that comes to you in an unexpected way. THAT is the answer you have been seeking to your question, “But HOW on earth am I going to GET it?”

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: You and your friends are invited to a special FREE one-hour Information Call with all the details about the upcoming Practical Prosperity Teleseminar. This informative 60-minute call about exactly how to become a Master Manifester of the abundant life you want and deserve will be held this Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00pm Pacific. Those who register for this FREE call will receive a $100 discount off the regular price of the Teleseminar!

Even if you can’t be on this call live, simply send your name and email to caroll@practicalprosperpitycoach.com, and I will send you the replay within 24 hours.

BONUS!!! If you CAN be on the call with me live, you could WIN A FREE MONTH OF PRIVATE PROSPERITY COACHING, valued at $575 for yourself AND a spot in the Teleseminar for your friend at HALF PRICE! If your friend registers for the free call, your odds of winning will DOUBLE! Bring all your questions about the Law of Attraction, too!

Share your thoughts, suggest a topic, or request a complimentary phone consultation at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

2/23/2009 – Blog 49

The secret of making something work in your lives is first of all, the deep desire to make it work; then the faith and belief that it can work; then to hold that clear definite vision in your consciousness and see it working out step by step, without one thought of doubt or disbelief. — Eileen Caddy

I’ll be going into much more detail in Wednesday’s Create Prosperity Now Tele-class about exactly how your brain works to help (or hinder) you in making your intentions a reality, but for now, I want to share with you one key tool to help you succeed with Step Two of the process for manifesting anything you want using the Law of Attraction. I call this tool, “I’ve done it before, and I can do it again!”

The first step in the manifestation process, you will recall, was to ASK for what you want clearly and specifically, so the Universe knows exactly what to send your way. Now, in STEP TWO, you must BELIEVE it is possible that your heartfelt desire can become a reality — even if you don’t have the foggiest idea of exactly HOW the Universe plans to make it happen. You just have to have that “deep desire to make it work,” and be willing to allow the Universe to determine the perfect means for delivering what you desire to you.

One participant on this month’s Prosperity Coaching Q & A call asked me, “But how do you make yourself believe?” That’s a really good question, isn’t it? I really didn’t have a great answer for her at the time, but I have since gotten the answer crystal clear for myself from watching a video by John Assaraf, one of the teachers behind the world-wide phenomenon, The Secret, which first introduced millions of us to the term “Law of Attraction” (which states that “energy attracts like energy.”)

If you’ve seen the DVD of The Secret, John was the guy in the re-enactment who was setting up his office in his lavish new home when his small son reached into a packing box and pulled out an old Vision Board that John had packed away years ago and forgotten about. On his Vision Board (which is another tool for clearly and specifically ASKING for what you want by posting pictures of the things you desire), John was stunned to see photo of the exact house that he and his family had just moved into! The picture on his Vision Board, which he had cut from a magazine some 15 years before, was an aerial view of the very same sprawling mansion and grounds. But having never seen his new home from the air, he didn’t realize until that moment that the picture was of the house he had purchased. This is a stunning example of how simply focusing on what you want starts the process of the Universe sending you EXACTLY what you have asked for via the Law of Attraction.

In the new DVD series I just watched, “Teachers of the Secret,” John Assaraf reminds us that scientific tests have proven that the human brain cannot tell the difference between what your eyes actually see right in front of you, a memory of something you saw in the past, and an invention of your imagination (your “mind’s eye”) – that has never really occurred. Your brain believes that ALL these things are “real.” Therefore, the more John stared at the picture of the “house of his dreams” on his Vision Board and vividly imagined himself living there, the more convinced his mind became that he really was living there. That set the Law of Attraction in motion to make it REAL for him.

Something besides his simply visualizing it was needed to make it a reality, however. He had to BELIEVE it was possible. He could have looked at the picture and said, “That’s nice, but that couldn’t possibly happen for ME. I’m not rich. I’m not the type of person who could live in a house like that.”

Fortunately, John had learned by that time that the only thing that separated him from being someone who could live in a house like that and his present reality was his BELIEF. If he could believe it was possible, he could begin the process of making it happen. Without belief, it didn’t stand a chance of happening.

Don’t get me wrong. I always remind you that there is DOING involved in creating what you want. Just ASKING and BELIEVING that it is possible won’t cause the thing you desire to manifest in the real world. But if those two steps are in place, you will inevitably be given a chance to perform the THIRD STEP of the manifestation process, which is to RECEIVE the means for manifestation when the Universe sends it to you. And when the Universe reveals to you the perfect “How” to manifest your desire, you must then ACT on that information in order to actually make it real in your life.

We’ll talk more about the RECEIVE step next month, but for now, you must find a way to BELIEVE in your dream or you won’t ever get to experience receiving it. What can you do to BELIEVE? This comes easier to some people than to others. For example, as a result of studying Master Manifesters’ techniques for two decades, my belief system is quite open to accept that I can co-create “miracles” with the Universe. I also believe it’s possible, since I have experienced so many manifestations personally. My car, my house, my husband and my career were all consciously manifested using the Law of Attraction. And in three years as The Practical Prosperity Coach ©, I have witnessed many other seemingly “miraculous” manifestations by over 150 clients. This level of belief is not so easy for someone just starting out, who has not yet consciously manifested a desire using the Law of Attraction.

I must admit that I have had a handful of clients who were NOT able to create something they wanted in 30 days or less. The sticking point for each of them was that they could not allow themselves to simply BELIEVE it was possible and turn it over to the Universe to handle the “How.” It is understandable that for some Type-A, highly successful people who are used to “taking control” and “making it happen” in their lives, it is difficult to surrender control and allow an invisible Co-Creator to do it for them, especially when there is initially no visible evidence that the process is even working!

This is where the “secret tool” for success I want to share with you comes in. It is the method I use to enable my clients to easily strengthen their BELIEF that their desire can manifest. I tell them that since their mind can’t tell the difference between what is REAL and what is a MEMORY or a VISUALIZATION, they have the power to “trick” their subconscious into believing that it is possible by remembering an earlier time when they triumphed against the odds.

I ask them to first close their eyes and think back on an incident when they really wanted something, but weren’t sure how to get it. There was no guarantee that it was even possible, but they wanted it badly enough to TRY. I ask them to think about an incident like this where their first step was simply to create a strong desire for something (ASKING), and then they were willing to GO FOR IT (BELIEVE), even if they had no guarantee how it would turn out.

The past incident could have been a speech contest in school, a sports contest, a job they applied for, a project they took part in, it doesn’t matter. We’ve all had scores of these incidents of “triumph” in our lives, but we quickly forget that, in the initial stages, we may have been very uncertain about the outcome. Nevertheless, we wanted it badly enough to allow ourselves to BELIEVE it was possible and then to ACT according to our belief.

I ask my clients to recreate the memory in vivid detail in their mind, remembering exactly what happened and how – especially the moment of triumph when they reached their goal. Often, they relate that it “happened easier than I had imagined,” or that someone appeared “out of nowhere” to assist them, or that “fate” seemed to just “step in” and make it happen for them at the eleventh hour. They are often surprised to recall that their desire was fulfilled in an unexpected, even “miraculous” way.

And, almost invariably, they can see the parallel that the words they used to describe their past “miraculous” manifestation could also apply perfectly when their current Intention is fulfilled (e.g. “I can’t believe I did it!” “I never gave up and it happened!” “I can do anything I put my mind to,” etc.). This provides the impetus their subconscious needs to believe that they just might be able to have their current Intention fulfilled. That is, if they pulled off something ELSE against great odds, they just might be able to accomplish THIS, too!

Remember, the subconscious remembers, records and believes EVERYTHING we tell it – very literally. It listens in on every conversation you have and all your self talk. That’s why it is so important to think – and especially to SAY ALOUD – only what you would want to see literally manifested in your world! If you say those words often enough, your subconscious will do everything in its power to make them a REALITY. So, the next time you are about to say something such as, “My job is killing me” or “I’ll never get what I want” or “I’m so stupid, I can’t do anything right,” please stop and ask yourself, “Would I be happy if the thing I am about to say becomes REAL in my world?”

This is how your own memory becomes a “secret tool” for creating prosperity in your life RIGHT NOW. By recreating a personal past triumph in vivid detail in your mind, you can convince your subconscious “I’ve done it before, and I can do it again!” And that’s usually all it takes for you to be able to believe that your new Intention can become a reality too. That’s why I say with confidence, “Believe and you WILL receive!”

I hope you will join me for this week’s FREE Create Prosperity Now Tele-class to learn in much more detail exactly how to make your own subconscious your Number One ally for creating the Life of Your Dreams!

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: You and your friends are invited to my next FREE one-hour Tele-class called Create Prosperity Now on Wednesday, February 25 at 6:00 PM Pacific. The topic this month is “Believe and You Will Receive.” In this class, you will learn all about Step Two of the process for manifesting using The Law of Attraction to help you create abundant prosperity in every area of your life. (If you can’t be there, the call REPLAY will be sent ONLY to those who pre-registered, so don’t delay.) To register, just send your name and email address to caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com and you’ll receive call-in instructions

To learn how to become a Master Manifester of the abundant life you want and deserve, go to www.practicalprosperitycoach.com and visit the “Create Unlimited Prosperity Now” section. The next Practical Prosperity Coaching 8-Week Teleseminar begins Wednesday, March 11.

Share your thoughts, suggest a topic, or request a complimentary phone consultation at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

2/16/2009 – Blog 48

“Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain, can we truly know what love means.” – Leo Buscaglia

One aspect of creating unlimited prosperity that I am sure you have experienced at some time in your life is giving without a thought of personal gain and being surprised to receive something wonderful back. It likely didn’t come back to you from the person, place or institution you originally gave to, but some type of reward unexpectedly showed up in your life after you gave from the heart without attachment.

All positive emotions create positive energy, which in turn engages the Law of Attraction (“energy attracts like energy”). Whenever you are loving, happy, satisfied, content, grateful, hopeful, playful, carefree, etc., you send out a positive vibration into the world that can’t help but attract back to you positive people, things and opportunities that can create prosperity in your life. As I’ve said before, gratitude is the MOST powerful emotion for setting the Law of Attraction into action in your life. The more grateful you are for what you already have, the more good things you will attract for which to be grateful.

This giving and receiving, also known as the Law of Reciprocity, works very similarly to how you create something you desire using the Law of Attraction. With the Law of Attraction, you simply ASK for what you want (set an Intention) that is clear and specific. In the second step, you must BELIEVE that it will be delivered to you in the perfect way at the perfect time, leaving the details for deliver up the Universe to figure out. Step three is to be willing to RECEIVE it joyfully when it comes. However, if you are attached to the means that you expect the Universe to use for delivering your desire, you just might miss it completely if the Universe decides to use a different method. Thus, attachment can blind you to the good that is available right under your nose while you are looking for it over there.

Like the Law of Attraction, the Law of Reciprocity says that what goes out must come back. The more you give without attachment, the more you will receive. This is because giving and receiving represent a circular energy cycle. Whenever something goes out from you, something of equal (or sometimes greater) value comes back to you.

Again, the “without attachment” stipulation is the tricky part. It’s relatively easy to give your money, time and talents to a person, cause or institution you believe in, love or want to help. But if you give expecting something in return – even a “thank you” — you are not truly giving without attachment. Giving with attachment means that you have in mind how you want your gift to be used and what you want to get in return. Giving without attachment means that you give freely and joyfully of your time, talent or treasure and trust the Universe to put it to use for the recipient’s highest good – which only the Universe knows. You are leaving it to the Universe to make sure that whatever you give does the most good in the best possible way. This is different from giving money and telling the recipient exactly how to spend it or giving your 10% tithe to a church, person or other institution and dictating how they must use the funds.

Instead, when you give “joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain,” as Leo Buscaglia describes, the Law of Reciprocity will ensure that the good you have bestowed circulates back to you – often in very surprising ways. I recently had a delightful experience of giving without attachment that returned to me in a wonderful way.

If you read my blog, Play Hooky and Prosper, you know that I recently took a workshop from an amazing individual named Dreaming Bear Baraka Kanaan, who taught me that when I am relaxing, playing and feeling happy, I am actually accomplishing a lot. I may not be crossing things off my “To Do” list, but the positive emotions I am feeling can help raise the level of joy, love, peace and prosperity in my own life and for the world as a whole. True prosperity is more than material wealth; it includes having an appreciation for the beauty of the world around us and for our fellow human beings.

This insight had such a profound effect on me that I decided on the spot to tithe to Dreaming Bear. When there was a break in the workshop, I sneaked out into the lobby, wrote him a check and slipped it in an envelope that held the cash from the sales of his CDs and books. I wrote the check for a pretty substantial amount, more than my checking account balance dictated I could really “afford,” but it felt so right that I didn’t spend a moment worrying about the impact it would have on my finances.

I didn’t tell Dreaming Bear how to use the funds. I simply wrote on the memo line: “Tithe. Namaste.” I was truly giving without attachment. I wasn’t even looking for acknowledgment or thanks, because I knew he wouldn’t find it until I had departed. My “reward,” I thought, was simply that it felt so wonderful to be contributing to someone who had contributed to ME.

Dreaming Bear actually started the cycle of Reciprocity just by coming to our church to do the workshop. He left his beloved him in Maui and traveled to California to do a number of workshops up and down the state. For several hours, he freely shared his ideas, his poetry, his love and joy with the small group who showed up at our church. The very nominal fee he charged probably didn’t even cover his travel expenses. He gave to us without concern for what he would receive in return. I, in turn, was moved to reciprocate with my tithe. So the gifts that Dreaming Bear gave without attachment came back to him through this law of circular giving.

But there was also a surprise gift for me in our exchange of giving energy. The very next day, I went out the to mailbox and found a completely unexpected residual check for work I had done months ago. The amount was identical to the tithe I had felt moved to give Dreaming Bear. The gift that I had given circulated right back to me within 24 hours! What a great demonstration of the Law of Reciprocity!

When you give without attachment, the good you do inevitably comes back to you. It likely won’t come from the same place you gave to, and perhaps it will come in a different way or amount (often MORE) than you gave. But rest assured that it will come — in the perfect way and at the perfect time!

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: You and your friends are invited to my next FREE one-hour Tele-class called Create Prosperity Now on Wednesday, February 25 at 6:00 PM Pacific. The topic this month is “Believe and You Will Receive.” In this class, you will learn all about Step Two of the process for manifesting using The Law of Attraction to help you create abundant prosperity in every area of your life. (If you can’t be there, the call REPLAY will be sent ONLY to those who pre-registered, so don’t delay.) To register, just send your name and email address to caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com and you’ll receive call-in instructions

To learn how to become a Master Manifester of the abundant life you want and deserve, go to www.practicalprosperitycoach.com and visit the “Create Unlimited Prosperity Now” section. The next Practical Prosperity Coaching 8-Week Teleseminar begins Wednesday, March 11.

Share your thoughts, suggest a topic, or request a complimentary phone consultation at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

2/9/09 – Blog 47

The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible. – Richard M. DeVos

When I called on my readers to send in questions for the free Practical Prosperity Q & A/Laser Coaching call coming up this Tuesday, I received a great one from a longtime coaching client. Since it has to do with the next step in the process for manifesting whatever you want using the Law of Attraction, I decided to make it the topic of this week’s blog.

You will recall that Step One of the manifestation process was to “Ask for what you Want.”

Step Three, which we’ll cover in depth soon, is to “Be willing to receive it when it comes” – often wrapped in an unexpected package!

But Step Two is the most challenging step for many people: Believe and let go of the How. Regarding this step, my client asked, “What if I believe in my Intention, but I have moments of doubt and fear? What do I do then to get out of the fear?” Excellent question!

You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have doubts and fears about your goals. It’s a sign that you have a healthy Ego for it to be ever-vigilant, constantly warning you of possible dangers to your safety and well-being, whether mental, emotional and physical. It’s your Ego’s job to point out to you all the things that could possibly go wrong with your plan for reaching any goal you have. Thinking ahead about the potential pitfalls and traps of your strategy is a wise approach that can save you wasted time, effort some sometimes emotional grief in many situations.

However, it is exactly the wrong thing to do when you are trying to engage the Law of Attraction to help you create something you don’t already have a strategy for manifesting. That’s because the Universe has a much, much bigger and clearer picture of the true situation than you do. You can only imagine how your Intention might be fulfilled from your very limited human perspective – based solely on your past experience or what someone else has told you.

The Universe, on the other hand, has a “30,000 foot view” of your desire and is aware of other people you haven’t yet met who could hold the answer you are seeking or alternative creative solutions that are much more efficient than you could ever think up. In short, the Universe holds ALL the resources necessary for manifesting anything you could possibly desire, and it will connect you to them – but only if you are willing to set aside your own plans and listen for the subtle whisper of Divine inspiration.

One of my Practical Prosperity Tele-seminar graduates originally set the intention to earn an additional $1500 from her direct sales business in 30 days or less. That’s a great intention, but there was one small flaw in it, which even I didn’t catch. What she really wanted was simply to RECEIVE $1500 in 30 days or less. She had envisioned it could possibly come from her direct-sales business, although she didn’t know how she was going to manage to create that much sales volume in such a short time.

Fortunately, the Universe had a better plan for fulfilling her TRUE Intention. A friend unexpectedly requested her expert help with an interior design project (another one of her side businesses) and paid her exactly $1500 – within 30 days of when she began doing her personal Daily Success Script© for manifestation, which she created in the Practical Prosperity Tele-seminar. It wasn’t the delivery method my client had imagined – which would have taken more time effort than the design project required – but it fulfilled her Intention nonetheless.

Even when you understand and believe in the Law of Attraction, it is sometimes hard not to let fear, doubt and anxiety creep in when you really, really want something and you don’t see it manifesting how and when you thought it would. The reason for your fear and anxiety is your attachment to the outcome. Being attached to a particular outcome make it difficult to fulfill Step Two’s requirement that you simply BELIEVE it is possible and surrender the “HOW” to the Universe’s superior delivery methods.

There is a big difference between being committed to having your dream manifest and being attached to it. When you are committed, you are standing firm in your Intention, with total faith that it is the right thing for you and that the Universe always fulfills your right requests. Remember, the Law of Attraction is a LAW, which means it works 100% of the time, so long as you are using it correctly. When you are committed to your Intention, you simply ASK for what you want, clearly and specifically, and then RELEASE it to the Universe to determine how it will best be fulfilled, as you wait in quiet expectancy for the answer to come to you at the perfect time, in the perfect way.

Attachment, of course, is the opposite of “release.” When you are attached, you not only ASK for what you want, but you dictate HOW and WHEN and WHERE and BY WHOM it will be delivered, assuming the Universe will simply do your bidding.

Unfortunately, in addition to limiting the infinitely more wonderful possibilities the Universe might have for manifesting your dream, your attachment to the specific outcome you envision also can make you feel anxious, worried, disappointed, fearful, resentful, or a number of other negative emotions, none of which is going to attract to you the thing you want. According to the Law of Attraction, “energy attracts like energy” and thus you must inevitably attract to you things that match the anxious and worried energy caused by your attachment.

Back to my client’s excellent question, “What do you do to get out of the fear?” First and foremost, you must continue to remind yourself that it is POSSIBLE for your intention to be fulfilled by a means chosen by the Universe that is easier, quicker and more perfect than any your human brain can now envision. If you don’t believe this fundamental precept, then you really can’t tap into the unlimited power of the Law of Attraction.

Visualization is a particularly powerful tool for manifestation. Anything you can so vividly imagine in your mind’s eye that it causes you to FEEL the actual emotions you will have when you get it, you can manifest into your daily reality. That feeling IS the positive energy that will engage the Law of Attraction to bring you what you want. It’s pretty hard to stay stuck in fear and anxiety when you can visualize yourself HAVING the thing you want and truly FEELING grateful for it, as though it’s real in your life right now.

But let’s take it a step farther, and help you visualize something that will REMOVE the fear and anxiety you may be feeling because you want the thing you are trying to manifest so much that you are actually afraid of not getting it! (Maybe it’s the rent money or something else you see as essential to your well-being, and thus, harder to detach from.)

The following visualization tool came originally from Stretton Smith, the author of the 4T (Tithing of Time, Treasure and Talent) Prosperity Program. Diane Harmony quoted it again in her wonderful Prosperity course, 5 Gifts for an Abundant Life, which I am studying at the moment. She quotes Smith’s great lesson gleaned from the 1970’s space adventure show, Star Trek:

“Captain Kirk and Spock were traveling through a tunnel when they saw some of their crew at the other end being tortured by the enemy.

They rushed through the tunnel to rescue their friends, when, suddenly, Kirk was stopped by an invisible screen.

He couldn’t see what was blocking him, and he couldn’t get through. He looked like a mime washing a window.

But Spock had walked right through!

Kirk cried out to Spock, asking how Spock got through, but he, Kirk, could not?

Spock said it was an anxiety screen and that Kirk’s emotions, his anxiety, prevented him from getting through.

If Kirk would lower the anxiety screen, he would be able to walk through.

So Kirk stood back and imagined that invisible anxiety screen in front of him being lowered – until it was – and Kirk, free of all anxieties, stepped over the screen, and joined Spock. They went on to rescue their friends.”

The next time you are feeling attached and anxious about something you have asked the Universe to manifest for you, try visualizing your own “Anxiety Screen” — the invisible self-made barrier that stands between you and your goal. In your mind, watch it slowly lower until you can step over it and continue on to reach your goal.

And once you can step over those negative emotions and allow yourself to feel only JOY and GRATITUDE to the Universe for delivering your heartfelt desire — which has not quite yet manifested into your real world — it won’t be long before it WILL!

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: You and your friends are invited to my FREE one-hour Prosperity Q & A and Laser Coaching Call this Tuesday, February 10 at 6:00 PM Pacific. Bring your questions about the Law of Attraction or a challenge you are having with manifesting something you want. I will provide answers and laser coaching to help you create abundant prosperity in every area of your life. (If you can’t be there, the call REPLAY will be sent ONLY to those who pre-registered, so don’t delay.) To register, just send your name and email address to caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com and you’ll receive call-in instructions. Even if you can’t be there, email me a question and I will answer it on this call!

To learn how to become a Master Manifester of the abundant life you want and deserve, go to www.practicalprosperitycoach.com and visit the “Create Unlimited Prosperity Now” section. The next Practical Prosperity Coaching 8-Week Teleseminar begins Wednesday, March 11.

Share your thoughts, suggest a topic, or request a complimentary phone consultation at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

2/2/09 – Blog 46

“Play hooky from your ‘Have -To’s’” – Dreaming Bear Baraka Kanaan

I recently met a truly unique individual who gave me a whole new perspective on what it means to be Prosperous. Dreaming Bear Baraka Kanaan led a life-changing workshop (actually a “playshop”) at my church last week, which my husband Rick and I attended.

It is remarkable that I attended his event at all. I have no doubt that it was the Law of Attraction that nudged me to go, even as my “practical” side was screaming at me that I had way too much work to do to waste two hours in a “playshop,” the stated purpose of which was “to tickle your ear and awaken your senses through inspired verse and …take you on a magical journey of transformation and self discovery.” Surely, I had more important things to do than have my ear tickled!

Maybe you can relate: Since I was an adolescent, I have always, at all times, maintained a long list of “Have-To’s.” Whenever one critical thing finally got accomplished, two or three others would take its place on my To-Do list. My hectic schedule often feels like I am barely meeting my self-imposed deadlines, and I never seem able to carve out as much time as I really want to spend with my loved ones, or even with myself. FUN and PLAY are always LAST on my list.

But then I met Dreaming Bear and heard his mesmerizing voice. I felt him make a “heart connection” with me and every other person present through his unique spoken poetry, which, although recited from memory, sounded like it was created on the spot just for us. What convinced me to attend his “useless” workshop was his personal invitation, delivered like a mischievous child trying to entice his friend to come out and play, even though he has chores to do. He said simply, “I know you are busy. You have a busy life. But come play with me. Play hooky from your ‘Have-To’s!’”

Until I met Dreaming Bear, I never really believed that we could live our lives any other way than according to our “Have-To” lists. What I learned from his “playshop” is that we CAN. And, if we are to ever be truly Prosperous, we MUST.

I won’t attempt to tell you all about Dreaming Bear and his Mission, although I hope you will go to his website www.dreamingbear.net and learn a bit about him and his work, because he is out to create nothing less than World Peace — one person, one group, one playshop at a time. But you do need to know just a little about his background in order to really understand his Prosperity message.

Born to a teenage mother of Cherokee descent and Palestinian father visiting the USA on a student visa, Dreaming Bear had a very difficult childhood. When he was eight, his little brother was killed in front of him, and his little sister was kidnapped in the street on the way to school. His father, half-siblings and other Palestinian relatives currently live in a refugee camp in Lebanon.

Fortunately, the Universe also provided Dreaming Bear with a loving Grandmother who constantly reminded him that he was perfect, just the way he was, and that she loved him unconditionally. Perhaps that is why today he holds a Master’s Degree in Communication, was a University professor for many years, and is the author of numerous books, CDs and DVDs, as well as having taken on creating World Peace.

In his early forties, by my guess, he presents a striking figure, with waist-length wavy brown hair and dressed like a cross between a Tibetan monk and a Native American shaman. He currently walks with the help of a beautiful carved-wood cane, as he recovers from having spent much of the last year in a wheelchair.

Despite spending considerable time living on “the ugly side of life,” Dreaming Bear loves life like nobody I’ve ever met. He has been to 26 countries in the past several years, spreading his “Loveolution” message, which boils down to this: Love life and one another and you won’t have time to be unhappy or poor. Look all around you and marvel at the bounty and riches of the earth that are yours to enjoy for the asking. Revel in your own beauty — particularly your lovely smile — and you will realize you are already blessed with PROSPERITY beyond your wildest dreams.

He travels the world to tell people suffering admidst war and strife, “We don’t have to create Peace. There is already Peace. All we have to do is love each other without shame and we will have Peace.” He recently presented this message to a large mixed group of Israelis and Palestinians, in front of the stone wall which divides their city of Jerusalem. With his irresistible smile, he enticed those two groups of “mortal enemies” to join hands in a circle of unconditional love and child-like laughter — delighting in their human connectedness – just as easily as he had persuaded me to dump my Have-To list to come out and play with him.

So what did I get for my two precious hours invested in Dreaming Bear’s “playshop”? Mostly, he shared aloud his beautiful poetry about love, abundance, creativity, and simple delight in the world. His crystal blue eyes sparkled as he also described for us his life on 40 acres in Maui, Hawaii, sleeping in a tree house he built himself, which has a wood stove and kerosene lamps, but no electricity. When not traveling the world, spreading his message of peace and happiness, he loves living in his tree house, writing his poetry, bathing with jasmine petals in the nearby river and eating the fruits and crops he grows himself.

Somewhere during those two hours, it dawned on me that I was not going to learn any skills or gain any tools for crossing things off my life’s To-Do list more quickly and efficiently. I was there simply to get what Dreaming Bear had promised — have my ear “tickled” as I rode the magic carpet of his voice on a “journey of transformation and self discovery.”

Since this blog is always dedicated to helping you create Prosperity, I will share with you that I believe Dreaming Bear came as a personal Prosperity Messenger for you and me. I believe he was drawn to us via the Law of Attraction (“energy attracts like energy”) to shake us out of our “daily grind” stupor because the Universe knows that we are hungering for something more than money and worldly success.

True Prosperity, as his life demonstrates, is more than just material wealth. Being truly RICH means having an appreciation of the incomparable beauty of the natural world and our fellow human beings. This bounty is everywhere around us, free for the asking, but we often step over the Universe’s gift, trying to GET SOMEWHERE and CREATE SOMETHING that we think we must have in order to be happy.

What Dreaming Bear demonstrated to me through his unconditional love and acceptance of everything and everyone — including himself – is that there is nothing and no one “out there” more beautiful than what each of us has right here, right now. Wherever you are at the moment is the most beautiful place on earth. The people you love are the most beautiful souls in the world. The words that come out of your mouth are the most perfect words for expressing the thoughts and emotions that are present for you now.

What Dreaming Bear taught us, through play and poetry in his “useless” little “play shop,” is that all it takes to be filthy RICH is simply to be GRATEFUL for everything we experience, without judging or comparing. If you practice being fully present right here, right now, you will discover that your life is already full of incomparable riches — in the form of precious loved ones, passionate self-expression and purposeful pursuits. You will discover that you already have so much be grateful for — not someday, when you fulfill all your dreams, but RIGHT NOW. And gratitude is the most powerful emotion for drawing more Good to you via the Law of Attraction. The more grateful you are, the more you will have to be grateful for.

So, I invite you to join me in a new daily practice: Pausing in your busy life to spend less time DOING more time BEING. I invite you to “play hooky from your Have-To’s” and instead allow the Universe to simply deliver to you everything you really need — effortlessly.

And, I am sure that if you are open and receptive, the Universe will send you some amazing Messengers of your own to tickle your ear with exactly the message YOU need to hear in order to prosper.

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IMPORTANT REMINDER: The NEW 8-week Practical Prosperity Telecourse © starts on February 4! You have my guarantee that you will learn how to create the abundant life you want and deserve, more easily than you ever imagined, or your money back! Go to www.practicalprosperitycoach.com and visit the “Create Unlimited Prosperity Now” section. Registration closes at midnight Pacific time on Tuesday, February 3, or when the first 20 people have filled the course.

Share your thoughts, suggest a topic, or request a complimentary phone consultation at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

1/26/09 – Blog 45

“We need to find the courage to say ‘NO’ to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity.” – Barbara De Angelis

I admire Barak Obama’s can-do spirit and I love our new national catch-phrase, “Yes, we can!” In order to achieve your dreams, you have to say, “YES” to them.

No matter how distant your Big Dream seems from your current reality, it is possible to reach it. Manifesting your dream requires that you demonstrate both a real PASSION for it and a BELIEF that it is possible to achieve it. It’s not your job to know HOW you are going to get there – that is up to the Universe.

It’s your job to simply say “YES” to your dream. Saying “YES” with every fiber of your being sets in motion the Law of Attraction, which states that “energy attracts like energy. Thus, your “YES,” in turn, attracts to you the perfect opportunities, people and resources you will need to reach your dream.

But there is also a time for you to say “NO.” In order to make space for your dreams and live your life with integrity and authenticity, you must sometimes say “NO” to other people’s requests. This can be hard, especially for recovering “people-pleasers” like me!

Until just a few years ago, my knee-jerk reaction to just about every request made of me was always “YES!” Even if it was something I wouldn’t have chosen to pursue for my own happiness or fulfillment, I generally agreed to the assignment in a misguided attempt to “help” the nice person asking me to perform the task. My thought was,“If I don’t help them, who will?”

In other words, I was saying “Yes” strictly out of guilt. And guilt is a negative emotional energy that will NOT engage the Law of Attraction to help you perform a task with ease and efficiency! Thus, at the end of such a “self-coerced” project, I often felt emotionally and physically depleted and resentful of both the good work I had done and the good person who had innocently made the request.

A few years ago, I was asked to volunteer my time with a worthy organization that relied heavily on unpaid volunteers to do much of the work. Were it not for an army of volunteers, the organization couldn’t have offered their services at low rates to the people who needed them most.

Since I had personally benefited from their services and believed in their work — and had skills they could use — they naturally approached me and asked me to “give back.” At first, it was just a few hours a week, which didn’t seem like much to ask in return for all that I had received. But as my skills grew and the workload increased, the requests for my time grew as well. For the first year, volunteering was a fun, challenging and personally enriching experience, even though I was beginning to struggle to find the time, as my fledgling coaching practice was just beginning to grow.

By the beginning of year two, I found myself performing 15-20 hours a week of unpaid work for a cause whose time had passed for me. I had gotten all there was to get out of the work I was doing there, and it had become simply a repetitive chore for me. I was not one of the “Yes, we can!” people who came there eagerly each week, happy to be contributing to the cause. The work was still purposeful for them, but it no longer was for me. And every weekend that I gave up precious time I could have spent pursuing my own dreams or just enjoying life, I felt more and more resentment. I knew in my heart that I was done. Yet, I lacked the courage to say “NO” every time the volunteer coordinator called me.

Finally, tired and depressed, I was forced to ask myself, “Why am I coming here?” The honest answer turned out to be my guilt-ridden belief, “They need me. If I don’t help them, who will?” When I forced myself to think about it, the answer to that well-meaning question was very clear.

The people who will help the cause are those for whom this work is purposeful! I had not realized before that by “contributing” my time out of guilt instead of “Yes, I can!” enthusiasm, I was doing an uninspired job that neither forwarded the work nor reflected the spirit of the organization. In other words, I was taking up space that could have been an opportunity for the RIGHT person to contribute their skills, to grow and develop and experience fulfillment, just as I once had. By lacking the integrity to say “NO,” I was not only depriving myself of the opportunity to pursue purposeful activity, but I was also depriving someone else of their opportunity as well.

After this life-changing revelation, I did one of the hardest things I’ve ever done — calling the organization’s volunteer coordinator to resign after giving three years of weekly service. I didn’t beat around the bush, explain myself or make excuses. I knew from studying the Law of Attraction that defensive, “guilty” energy would only attract similar negative energy. Please take note: Well-meaning people who attempt to cajole you into participating in their projects will view your attempted “explanation” as a sign that you are waivering and will try to pressure you further. I recommend stating firmly and directly, without a hint of guilt, “Thank you for thinking of me for this opportunity, but I am going to say No. I wish you all the best with your project.” You will be amazed at the reaction! The volunteer coordinator just replied that he understood and thanked me for my service. It was that simple,

So, if you are saying “Yes” to activities, hobbies, committees, politics, a career or personal relationships you don’t truly love or which no longer serve you, please know that you are preventing another soul from bestowing invaluable gifts on the world. And, you are depriving yourself of the joy and fulfillment that come from a life of authentic, purposeful self-expression.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone right now and “Just say No!” Then you will be free to pursue your own authentic dreams — the ones you are passionate about and truly believe in. The ones that make you say, “YES, I can!”

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: You and your friends are invited to my all-new FREE one-hour monthly Tele-class in which you will learn the secrets to manifesting abundant prosperity in every area of your life. This month’s FREE class is on Wednesday, January 28 at 6:00 PM Pacific. (If you can’t be there, the call replay will be sent ONLY to those who pre-registered, so don’t delay.) To register, just send your name and email address to caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com and you’ll receive call-in instructions. In each month’s FREE teleclass, you will learn NEW prosperity tips and get valuable coaching to help you live the abundant life you deserve! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to increase your abundance in 2009!

OTHER NEWS: The NEW 8-week Practical Prosperity Telecourse © starts on February 4! To learn how to become a Master Manifester of the abundant life you want and deserve, go to www.practicalprosperitycoach.com and visit the “Create Unlimited Prosperity Now” section.

Share your thoughts, suggest a topic, or request a complimentary phone consultation at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

Blog 44

“… for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” – The Bible, Galatians 6:7

In the last blog, we talked about how manifesting all you desire for your life using the Law of Attraction involves three steps: ASK for what you want, BELIEVE it is possible and be willing to RECEIVE the answer with gratitude when it comes – even if it arrives wrapped in an unexpected “package.”

The unspoken fourth step in this process, of course, is that you must ACT on the instructions you are given by the Universe. You can’t just sit on the couch, expecting what you asked for to drop from the sky. You must be in action before and during the manifestation process — doing everything you know how to do, while waiting expectantly for more detailed instructions from the Universe. Those instructions – the perfect “How” – will be delivered to you when the timing is perfect and you are truly ready to RECEIVE them.

The Law of Attraction, which states that “energy attracts like energy,” was set in motion by the Universe, just like the Law of Gravity and all the other natural principles that organize and maintain the world for our benefit. Therefore, if you keep your positive energy matching the positive energy of all the wonderful things you want to attract to you, the process of manifesting them will unfold just as naturally and predictably as plants grow to provide food to nourish us.

First, the Universe provides the seed (the “How”) to manifest your desire. Once you receive the seed, your job is to take ACTION. You must plant it, water it and weed the field so that nothing you DON’T WANT can invade it. The well-tended seed (appearing perhaps as an inspired idea or a serendipitous “coincidence”) will then grow to its full potential and you will reap in a bountiful harvest of all your heartfelt desires.

Once you ASK for what you want by setting a specific intention, the perfect seed could arrive very quickly, so you have to be ready at all times to RECEIVE it. Just as a seed can’t grow on barren rock or among the thorns and brambles, you must first prepare the “soil” of your life, so that when the Universe decides to deliver that seed, you are ready to plant, water, cultivate and reap it.

How do you prepare the “soil” of your life to receive that perfect manifestation “seed” which the Universe has chosen to send you? From my decades-long study of the techniques of many Manifestation Masters, I have created three personal practices that have proven to be enjoyable, personally enriching and 100% reliable ways to prepare to manifest my desires quickly and easily. I share because they may serve you, as well:

1) Do some type of prayer, meditation or spiritually inspiring reading every day. This has become as habitual for me as brushing my teeth. Every morning, I take 15-20 minutes to read or listen to inspiring words from the Bible or other spiritual writers. Then I do my 5-minute Daily Success Script © for manifesting a specific desire in 30 days or less, and finally I read aloud my 2009 Year Creation list of all the things I want to manifest in every important area of my life.

2) Keep a daily gratitude journal. Expressing gratitude for the many blessings you have in your life right now is the fastest way to bring more good into your life for the future. Energy attracts like energy, and gratitude is one of the most positive forms of energy you can put out into the Universe. Every morning, I write down 10 things I am grateful for in my life right now. (You can also do it right before bed.) My husband Rick is always first on my list, followed by our perfect health. Our happy family life comes next, followed by our two beautiful homes. After that, I list whatever I am present to at the moment – the weather, the flowers outside my window, my wonderful clients, being able to make a difference in the world while doing work I love, etc. The list of things I have to be grateful for is truly endless, and writing them down always lifts my spirits, regardless of any challenges I am facing.

3) Give regularly to the person, place or institution where you receive your spiritual food. Now, I don’t want you to run screaming from the room, but I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you the truth, as I have personally experienced it: One of the fundamental requirements for creating lasting prosperity that EVERY major religion in the world teaches is tithing.

I myself was very skeptical about voluntarily giving 10% of my hard-earned money to God when I first learned about this practice from Edwene Gaines, a Master Manifester who is out to “transform the prosperity consciousness of planet earth.” What got my attention was the remarkable turnaround she described in her own finances because of tithing. She was a divorced school teacher, raising her daughter alone in “genteel poverty,” when she first began to tithe. At the end of her first year of tithing, she had gone from not being able to pay her monthly bills to making $100,000 by running her own side business – and that was in 1970’s dollars!

That’s when I knew I had to prove it for myself and I started tithing six years ago to the institution where I receive my own spiritual food. Since then, I have been able to create amazing, unexpected prosperity over and over again in every area of my life. You can choose to try it and prove (or disprove) it for yourself or not, but I highly recommend you at least learn about why so many former skeptics have come to make tithing a foundational practice for manifesting what we want.

Just to be clear, this does NOT mean your tithe has to go to a church or institution. Tithing is simply giving back 1/10^th of all the financial abundance that comes to you to the person, place or institution where you receive your spiritual inspiration. That could be a writer, speaker, spiritual leader, mentor or friend. If you choose, you can give to a different source of spiritual inspiration every time you tithe. A coaching client even surprised me once by tithing to me!

If you want to learn more about the power of tithing, I highly recommend Edwene Gaines’ wonderful little book, The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, which is available on Amazon.com or in any bookstore. I believe you will be impressed with the results stories from real people who learned to master money through tithing and three other aspects of manifestation, as well.

To complete our agricultural metaphor, tithing isn’t really about giving away 10% of what you have. Instead, it is really about leaving 10% of your harvest with the Source that sent it you, as seed to plant next year’s crop. As any farmer knows, if you consume the entire harvest, there won’t BE a next year’s crop. Leaving 10% of the harvest with the Source who provided the seed for growing it ensures you will have many more bountiful harvests in the future.

In preparing yourself to receive the seed of abundance that the Universe always sends in response to your ASKING, you must remember that all things of real value require an investment.

If you went to college, you invested considerable time, effort and money into getting a degree because you believed it would lead to greater opportunities for future prosperity. If you started a business or trained to become sales person, consultant, or other professional, you invested time and money to build your skill and proficiency, ensuring greater future rewards due to your enhanced value in the marketplace.

Alas, the Law of Attraction does not promise reward without effort. Instead, it is a “Matching Funds Program,” designed by the Universe, which provides the seed for a bountiful harvest, but YOU must provide the effort. This effort includes investing daily “sweat equity” into cultivating empowering ideas, expressing gratitude for all that you now have, and giving back to the Source that showed you “How” to grow the harvest in the first place.

Invest just 30 minutes a day cultivating your internal “field,” and you will receive the rich return of a life of overflowing prosperity!

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: You and your friends are invited to my all-new FREE one-hour monthly teleclass in which you will learn the secrets to manifesting abundant prosperity in every area of your life. This month’s FREE class is on Wednesday, January 28 at 6:00 PM Pacific. (If you can’t be there, the call replay will be sent ONLY to those who pre-registered, so don’t delay.) To register, just send your name and email address to caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com and you’ll receive call-in instructions. In each month’s FREE teleclass, you will learn NEW prosperity tips and get valuable coaching to help you live the abundant life you deserve! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to increase your abundance in 2009!

OTHER NEWS: The NEW 8-week Practical Prosperity Telecourse © starts on February 4! To learn how to become a prosperity Master Manifester, able to create and live the life you want and deserve – easily, affordably, in the privacy of your own home, go to www.practicalprosperitycoach.com and visit the “Create Unlimited Prosperity Now” section.

Share your thoughts, suggest a topic, or request a complimentary phone consultation at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.