“If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” – Mary Engelbreit 

Before we dive into this week’s topic, I promised to keep updating you weekly on how I’m doing with the “21-Day Challenge.”  Well, I’m starting to think the actual title is supposed to be the “221-Day Challenge,” because I have restarted FOUR times since I began with such confidence on March 20!  

As you will recall, I learned about this personal “challenge” from Master Manifester Edwene Gaines, in her wonderful prosperity guide entitled, The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperty.  The purpose behind trying to go 21 days in a row without uttering a single word of complaint or gossip is that you will gain a lot of POWER and positive ENERGY to help you manifest what you want in life, because you will have stopped focusing on what you DON’T WANT (i.e., the people and situations we tend to complain about.) 

I thought this would be a snap, since I consider myself to be a positive person, and I’ve always tried to “say something nice” whenever possible.  In taking the 21-Day Challenge, however, I discovered just how prone I am to making snarky comments – especially to the television!  When watching some of my favorite “reality shows,” I sometimes just can’t help but blurt out my opinion of how stupid a Survivor’s behavior is or how “lame” somebody’s ballroom dance moves are.  Thank goodness, I don’t do it as much about “real” people, but this past week when I got together with my best girlfriend, we did a bit of EXTRA discussing and laughing about how ridiculous or wrong we thought MANY people on television (and a few people we know) are.  

It doesn’t really matter if the subject of one’s derision is someone we know personally or a “celebrity” on television, the point is to notice what negativity, criticism and gossip do to OURSELVES.  It really doesn’t leave me with a clean, powerful feeling about myself when I have trashed someone else — even a stranger on a desert island!  

So, I re-started again a few days ago, and now I’m really, REALLY trying to keep the streak going for the next 21 days.  I hope you are joining me in the 21-Day Challenge, because I promise you will have a rock-solid foundation to be able to manifest anything you want, once you make a habit of positive thinking and speaking! 

Now, for this week’s topic:  As has been the case in many of my blogs, this week’s inspiration came courtesy of my good friend, whom I’ll call “Mitch,” to preserve his privacy.  Mitch is incarcerated in a nearby federal prison and I visit him once a month, taking with me his adorable two-year-old son and the mother of his child.  He is a good-hearted, well-meaning young man who made a REALLY stupid mistake.  He didn’t hurt anyone else, or I would not be supportive of him.  But since his crime involved the Internet, he is doing “federal time,” which is the hardest time someone can do in the United States of America. 

Mitch has great intelligence, education and people skills.  In fact, he is a trained Life Coach, just like me.  This sets him apart from maybe 97% of the other inmates.  Sometimes that makes him have to work extra-hard to follow the “social rules” of that unique society.  The written rules established by the Federal Bureau of Corrections are one thing; the unwritten rules established by the inmates themselves are something else – and the penalties for breaking them can be quite severe (even fatal).  One of the well-established inmate rules is that the prison population keeps itself rigidly segregated into social groups with many external “labels,” including race, ethnicity, and religion, to name just a few.

 Prisoners are suspicious of anyone who doesn’t embrace this self-segregated society and who tries instead to treat people as unique individuals, regardless of their “label.” Nevertheless, I firmly believe that Mitch’s positive attitude — even if he has to tone it down somewhat to survive – will gradually work away at the negativity of those around him, like the steady drip, drip, drip of water eventually dissolves a stone.  I believe that he and a few other like-minded prisoners will change their negative environment, if only they can keep focused on what they WANT, instead of what they DON’T want. 

Mitch’s letters often contain inspiring stories of how some small event that he caused or witnessed made a big difference for those around him.  His latest letter contains a wonderful lesson about the power of our GRATITUDE to change the world around us and he has given me permission to quote him for your benefit: 

“I had an experience that I wanted to share with you.  It has to do with a running theme of both how the Law of Attraction and living in Gratitude work in tandem. I was reminded of the story yesterday when in line for chow.  I’ve shared with you about how I use the Law of Attraction to attract more desserts and cake my way during chow; this is quite a complicated task to do without these tools.  I find myself at lunch thanking people when they drop something on my plate.  It is more of an unconscious thing I do, thanks to my mom.  

I went in line yesterday and there was one white guy amongst a bunch of Hispanic [servers], who were handing out the good pieces to their ‘homies.’  This poor white guy is getting flack from everybody because he is just trying to do his job.  I get my whatever he is handing out, probably potato substitute, and thank him.  A smile wraps around his face; he couldn’t believe what just happened!  Gratitude landed his way – a miracle for the line servers! This experience reminded me of a story to tell you about. 

I am standing in front of the chapel about a month ago, when a black guy comes up and starts talking to me.  I chat back, but I feel awkward because I have no idea who he is.  This guy tells me that he works as a line server and sees me there all the time. (Some people never go to chow, preferring to make their own meals.) He tells me that he notices that I thank people as they serve me.  He advised me that this is a very rare thing seen in the line, as people know they are going to get food, and just grunt as they go past. ‘The food sucks anyway, so why should I thank them?’ is the common thought.  So he said that for someone to thank them is a breath of fresh air.  He says that the guys [on the serving line] learn after awhile who the few individuals are that express gratitude, and it starts to pay off in terms of portion.  OK, well that is not the best part! 

Two days ago, I am in line where I see that same guy is handing out cake.  I get a honking piece.  The guy who witnessed the conversation earlier was behind me, and was quite clear on why this happened.  So he, too, thanked the guy for his cake and subsequently got a larger frosting-laden piece. 

We then sit down to eat with my ‘pessimist’ friend who complains about the crappy little piece that he got and wonders why his luck is so bad that WE got good pieces and HE got a really small corner with no frosting.  My friend [who was behind me in line] and took up my approach explained that he was taking the opportunity to thank people for the food they give him and it pays off.  I found this very touching because it explains two things: 

1. That gratitude is contagious in prison. (Imagine how contagious it is on the outside!) AND
2. That you were right that I am water slowly eroding a stone away. 

I felt this was important because by applying what you talk about – gratitude – it allows me to fulfill and be aware of the options that wouldn’t necessarily be there [except] through the Law of Attraction.” 

I couldn’t have said it better myself!  Now, I want to leave you with a beautiful summation of the lesson that Mitch learned from his experience.  It’s from The Secret Daily Teachings, by Rhonda Byrne: 

“To allow the Universe to move you in your life to happier and better things, you are going to need to look around you and appreciate the good things here and now. Seek the beautiful things and count the blessings of where you are. Dissatisfaction will not bring the happier and the better into your life. Dissatisfaction roots you to the spot where you currently are, but appreciation for what you have attracts the happier and better to you. Remember that you are a magnet! Appreciation attracts appreciation!”

So, do you want the crummy little piece or the great BIG corner piece with LOTS of frosting? It’s entirely up to YOU!

How Are Your 2010 Goals Coming Along?

Remember all those big, wonderful New Year’s resolutions and inspiring goals you set for yourself with such enthusiasm and optimism back in January?  

Well, how are you doing on fulfilling them?  Are you where you thought you’d be by now?  Or have you already succumbed to Resolution Resignation and given up on your dreams?  Are you afraid it’s already too late to have 2010 go the way YOU wanted it to? 

On Tuesday May 18, Coach Sue Koch and I will present a F.R.E.E. 60-minute Tele-class entitled June Re-Start: It’s Not Too Late to Reach Your 2010 Goals!  In one powerful hour, we will show you that it’s NOT TOO LATE to wipe the slate clean and get a Fresh Start on your Big Goals for this year!  

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 our Fresh Start 2010 teleseminar 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 

Please join us on Tuesday, May 18 at 6pm Pacific time for this invaluable F.R.E.E. information to help you make 2010 the BEST year of your life yet!  Just email me to register. Even if you can’t be with us live, be sure to register and you will be sent the Reflections Exercise and a replay link for the call. 

P.S. Please invite your friends to register too — everyone is welcome! 

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

“If you focus on results, you will never change.  If you focus on change, you will get results.” – Jack Dixon 

This week’s topic is directly related to the purpose behind the 21-Day Challenge I originally started on March 20.  I say “originally” because I have had to re-start it three times! 

By the rules of the 21-Day Challenge, which I first learned about from Master Manifester Edwene Gaines, you have to start the Challenge all over again, until you can go 21 days in a row without speaking aloud a single word of complaint or gossip. So far, I’m an 11-day streak, but I know that I’m just one careless kvetch away from re-starting again!  I’m learning that it’s not nearly as easy as I first imagined it would be to speak only positive, encouraging and uplifting words aloud. 

Even with a green rubber band around my wrist 24/7 to remind me, it requires moment-by-moment, day-by-day vigilance to break the insidious habit of complaining and gossiping, in order to gain the very tangible reward of greatly increasing my power to manifest my dreams. 

And again, thank you to my wonderful readers, for continuing to update me on your own progress and pitfalls in doing the 21-Day Challenge. Knowing that you are going through it too helps me to stay on the straight and narrow! 

This week’s topic is all about the necessity of changing yourself from within, in order to reap the rewards of manifesting what you want in the outer world. Who you are being on the inside creates an energetic vibration that is either positive or negative.  If you are trying to master the art of manifesting things more easily and quickly using the Law of Attraction (which states that “energy attracts like energy”), it is essential to manage your inner state of being . 

My Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ clients quickly learn that their empowering (or limiting) beliefs, integrity (or lack thereof) and good or bad behavior toward others all  work together to either attract what they WANT or attract what they DON’T want.  

When you begin a new life practice, such as trying to maintain only positive thoughts, actions and words, often the first thing that shows up to challenge to you is the direct opposite of that.  This phenomenon, though annoying, is actually a blessing in disguise, because it enables you to decide whether you are truly COMMITTED to changing yourself in order to have what you say you want. And it is only when you are truly COMMITTED to transforming within — which can only be demonstrated by the outer ACTIONS that you take – that the Universe delivers to you the means for getting whatever it is that you desire. 

One of my clients recently achieved her intention of creating $5,000 in cash in one month outside of her regular sources of income.  Normally, this creation process would take 30 days or less using my Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ system.  For her, it took quite a bit longer.  But the inner journey, as she wrote me later, was necessary and well worth it. 

When we first started our weekly coaching calls, she was focusing daily on her prosperity intention, but what was showing up instead were more and more bills, merchandise she’d paid for that mysteriously got lost in the mail, a house that wasn’t moving after months on the market, very little social life, and a job she disliked more each day. 

She was at first taken aback by how things seemed to be going from bad to worse for her. But what she came to understand was that everything that was going “wrong” in her life was just an outer manifestation of her inner turmoil.  Week by week during our coaching, she gradually acknowledged the many incompletions in her life that she had been sweeping under the rug.  Her own lack of integrity had created a negative energetic vibration that was palpable to me every time we talked on the phone.  And her negative energy was keeping her desires from manifesting. 

I sent her Edwene Gaines wonderful little book, The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, and she took the lessons about manifesting to heart so much that she even began tithing 10% of all money that came to her to people whom she found inspiring. And after a lifetime of waiting for “the other shoe to drop” and more bad things to come her way, she instead began repeating my favorite intention aloud many times throughout each day:

“I claim, accept and expect THE BEST from myself and others 100% of the time.”

And THE BEST actually began to show up! 

Once she uncovered and admitted the many out-of-integrities that she needed to clean up, her energy immediately brightened. She no longer felt like a “victim,” but realized for the first time that SHE was completely in control of her life. When I asked her how she was, she began to answer with real enthusiasm, “GREAT!” instead of her usual “OK,” or “Not so good.”  

Once she began to take 100% responsibility for creating whatever was showing up – good or bad – in her life, her outer circumstances began to shift radically.  Merchandise she had ordered online, which used to mysteriously disappear before delivery, began to show up on time. She began socializing more with friends.  Her tax issues began to get handled.  She now has far more “Zero Bill” days than days with bills in her mailbox. Her house finally sold AND her realtor surprised her by reimbursing her $1,000 for the closing fees. She was even notified that she is going to receive a substantial amount of money from a class-action lawsuit she didn’t even realize she was part of.  Several relatives surprised her with large cash gifts out of the blue. She got a much bigger annual bonus (by several thousand dollars) than she was expecting, and she even met (and flirted with) someone who looked a lot like her “dream man,” Tom Selleck. 

So even though it took a total of three 30-day do-overs for her “$5,000 in one month” to manifest, along the way her whole outlook on life changed — and that was worth far more to her than the money.  She wrote in a recent email, 

“You gave me guidance even on topics that were not directly related to my Intention but certainly affected the end result.  When I was stuck, you lent me Edwene’s book to help me through…Thank you for helping me to break through my limiting beliefs.  With your help and insight, my whole outlook on my abilities, esteem and how precious I am drastically changed.  You will be my coach for life!” 

Oh, and her new favorite affirmation is also from Edwene Gaines:

“Large, rich, opulent, lavish financial surprises now come to me, and I am GRATEFUL!” 

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Reach your Goals in Record Time!

If you missed the four-week Tele-class I co-taught with Lifestyle and Design Coach Sue Koch in February, it’s not too late!  Go to this link, and listen to the streaming audio near the bottom of the page: http://myjanuaryjumpstart.com.  On this F.R.E.E. call, we share with you the KEY secrets about exactly what it take to set and fulfill your biggest, juiciest goals – and how to avoid the pitfalls that send so many people into “resolution resignation” by this time of year. 

We hope that once you hear this very valuable information about how to set High Quality Goals for your life, you will want to actually SET and FULFILL them in 2010!  

Our four-session tele-seminar, Resolution Breakthrough: Designing Your Fresh Start for 2010, won’t be repeated LIVE again until June.  But you don’t have to wait until then to begin working on your Big Juicy Goals because the course is now available at 50% off the “live” tuition fee as a home-study course that you can go through at your own pace, listening to the same audios on your computer that we recorded during the live calls and using all the great tools we developed to help you create goals you are PASSIONATE about and which you can really ATTAIN.  

The self-study version even includes ONE HOUR of PRIVATE COACHING by phone with either Sue or me (a $150 Value!) at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE, to make sure you are on-track to meeting your biggest goals for this year and beyond. 

In fact, the course is GUARANTEED to do just that! If you listen to all four course sessions, follow all the guidelines and you still aren’t in action on your #1 Big Goal for 2010 by the end of the self-study course, we will refund your money! So what have you got to lose? 

Go to the F.R.E.E. call NOW at http://myjanuaryjumpstart.com and learn how to beat resolution resignation once and for all. If you like what you hear, simply go to the bottom of the same page and follow the instructions for registering for the Fresh Start 2010 Self-Study course! 

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

“The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.” – Wayne Dyer

 Before I get to this week’s topic, I promised to keep updating you weekly on how I’m doing with the 21-Day Challenge I started on March 20.  (Thank you readers who are keeping me updated on your progress, too.)  The 21-Day Challenge is a quest to increase our power to create what we WANT by eliminating the energetically debilitating practice of complaining.  

I am still wearing the same green rubber band on my wrist as a reminder — green representing the prosperity I will gain when I have eliminated negative thinking.  And it DOES help to remind me of my pledge not to speak aloud any words of complaint or  gossip. (And thank GOODNESS the 21-Day pledge only applies to spoken words!  If negative thoughts counted, I don’t think I could ever win this challenge.) 

What are my results so far?  Well, after re-starting THREE times, I am pleased to say I’ve now completed five straight days of negativity-free expression.  After losing a lot of time to my slip-ups, I am now much more mindful of my daily speaking, and learning to monitor my mouth BEFORE engaging it. Still, I’m finding that making snide comments aloud (both aloud to the television and to other people) is a hard habit to break! So, if you have had to start the 21-Day Challenge over multiple times, don’t worry, you have plenty of company! 

Today, I wanted to remind you of something I’m sure you know, but it’s easy to forget. That is that our physiology has a lot to do with our emotions, which in turn have everything to do with creating an energetic vibration that we give off, which is either positive or negative.  If you are trying to master the art of manifesting things more easily and quickly using the Law of Attraction (which states that “energy attracts like energy”), this is a very important point to remember. 

As I teach my Practical Prosperity Coaching ™ clients, what it takes to permanently change a behavior or belief system is called a “Triad” because it involves THREE separate things that all work together to anchor the change.  All three must be present for any change you make to be LASTING: 

1)     A new FOCUS (because whatever you focus on expands and grows stronger)

2)     Using positive WORDS (like we’re working on right now in the 21-Day Challenge)

3)     PHYSIOLOGY that supports positive emotions (which, in turn, create a positive energetic vibration in you that will attract to you things and people who are emitting a similar energy.) 

Of these three, about 75% of the impact comes from your physiology – how you move, breathe, your posture, facial expression, etc.  The power of our physiology is often underestimated in its impact on how we feel emotionally.  For instance, if you simply shift your body right now from sitting slumped over to sitting erect, with your shoulders back and chin up, you will notice that your energy instantly shifts to reflect more confidence, pride and poise. And anyone looking at you from across the room or listening to you on the phone will sense this new, positive energetic vibration you are emitting. 

Have ever been in a “bad mood” when something made you smile or laugh unexpectedly?  I bet in that moment, your mood immediately shifted, because it’s utterly impossible to feel a negative emotion while you are SMILING.  Your mind just couldn’t handle that incongruity. 

An article in the Health section of the Los Angeles Times for March 29, 2010 states that “People who smile a lot are usually happier, have more stable personalities, more stable marriages, better cognitive skills and better interpersonal skills, according to research.” Is this phenomenon the chicken or the egg? Are these folks smiling because they have these advantages in life, or is their habitual smiling somehow helping them to CREATE these positive circumstances? 

Well, the Times article goes on to cite a truly fascinating phenomenon related to smiling, which comes from an article published in the journal Psychological Science: 

“Science has just uncovered another benefit of a happy face. People who have big smiles live longer. 

Researchers at Wayne State University used information from the Baseball Register to look at photos of 230 players who began their careers in professional baseball before 1950.  The players’ photos were enlarged, and a rating of their smile intensity was made (big smile, no smile, partial smile).  The players’ smile ratings were compared with data from deaths that occurred from 2006 through 2009.  The researchers then corrected their analysis to account for other factors associated with longevity, such as body mass index, career length, career precocity and college attendance. 

For players who had died, the researchers found longevity ranged from an average of 72.9 years for players with no smiles (63 players) to 75 years for players with partial smiles (64 players) to 79.9 years for players with big smiles (23 players). 

This isn’t a bunch of psycho-hooey, the authors said.  Smiles reflect positive emotion, which is linked to physical and mental well being.” (Told ya!) 

“ But they added, ‘The data source provided no information as to whether expressions were spontaneous or in response to a photographer’s request to smile.’ Still, big smiles are more likely to reflect true happiness than partial smiles.” 

So, if you want to live a longer, happier and more prosperous life, my tip for this week is to make your home and/or workspace a No-Complaint Zone AND to smile as much as you possibly can.  (As an added benefit, seeing you smiling and looking happy all the time will drive your habitually complaining co-workers and family members crazy!)

_____________________________________________________________________

 Reach your Goals at a GREAT Discount! 

If you missed the four-week Tele-class I co-taught with Lifestyle and Design Coach Sue Koch in February, it’s not too late!  Go to this link, and listen to the streaming audio near the bottom of the page: http://myjanuaryjumpstart.com.  On this F.R.E.E. call, we share with you the KEY secrets about exactly what it take to set and fulfill your biggest, juiciest goals – and how to avoid the pitfalls that send so many people into “resolution resignation” by this time of year. 

We hope that once you hear this very valuable information about how to set High Quality Goals for your life, you will want to actually SET and FULFILL them in 2010!  

Our four-session tele-seminar, Resolution Breakthrough: Designing Your Fresh Start for 2010, won’t be repeated LIVE again until June.  But you don’t have to wait until then to begin working on your Big Juicy Goals because the course is now available at 50% off the “live” tuition fee as a home-study course that you can go through at your own pace, listening to the same audios on your computer that we recorded during the live calls and using all the great tools we developed to help you create goals you are PASSIONATE about and which you can really ATTAIN.  

The self-study version even includes ONE HOUR of PRIVATE COACHING by phone with either Sue or me (a $150 Value!) at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE, to make sure you are on-track to meeting your biggest goals for this year and beyond. 

In fact, the course is GUARANTEED to do just that! If you listen to all four course sessions, follow all the guidelines and you still aren’t in action on your #1 Big Goal for 2010 by the end of the self-study course, we will refund your money! So what have you got to lose? 

Go to the F.R.E.E. call NOW at http://myjanuaryjumpstart.com and learn how to beat resolution resignation once and for all. If you like what you hear, simply go to the bottom of the same page and follow the instructions for registering for the Fresh Start 2010 Self-Study course! 

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