Ok, something weird and wonderful happened to me today.
I've been listening to "The Secret" on an audio book (if you don't have a subscription to Audible, I highly recommend it
). I don't want to give away the "Secret", but suffice it to say that it re-packages old knowledge in an understandable and motivational form. **SPOILER** I cannot really discuss my impression of the book without giving it away, so if you havn't read it, and plan on reading it, STOP NOW!.
I can do without the spiritual music in the background, giving it somewhat of a voodoo feel, because it's probably a turn-off to anyone without the patience to listen to the first few minutes. There's a whole science of subconscious reaction - and this one tripped my triggers. You need to give it some time.
Once you get past the mystical yoga-like musical track, the book gets to the point pretty quickly.
"The Secret" doesn't break any new ground for me, being a student of "possibility" to begin with. You see, I've already been down this road, and I *know* with 100% of my being, that it works. "The Secret" sort of collects the teachings of the bible, Motivational speakers and writers of old and new, as well as a strong dose of Quantum Physics. "The branch of physics that uses quantum theory to describe and predict the properties of a physical system"
Back in the old days, the 80's, I had being unsuccessful down to an art. Really, I did. My future father in-law (god rest his soul) referred to me as "the bum". He would answer the door, I would ask "Is Cindy here?", he'd yell upstairs "Cindy, da' bum is here, close the door in my face and walk away - such was my life. It actually was a really fun life in that moment.
I was a bartender at night (7 to close), and pretty much drank and played golf during the day. Oh, drank at the golf course too. We would make a bunch of cash from tips, leave the bar around 1 or 2, hit the all night restaurant where I would buy breakfast for all my friends, then get up late, take a shower, make a cooler of lemon aid and vodka, sit out on the pier and tan, then play 9 holes and sober up and finally, go back to the bar.
I was making nada' for all practical purposes. Finally, I decided to go to community college. My High school grades sucked, and I barely got out of there. I was taking a couple of history courses, and political science courses as the most logical direction for a drinking, fun loving manipulator like myself was Politics!.
I wound up getting myself elected to the Student Senate, and that gave me a feeling of self worth that I didn't have before. I quit the bar, and started working at a small computer place. First I learned to build computers, then I moved into sales. I made a whopping 6 grand that year. I got my first credit card too, a "Diners Club" card, I used primarily for cigarettes and gas.
I was watching TV late at night, when I saw the "Tony Robbins" course offered on TV. I was mesmerized. Here's a guy telling me that "He" has the secret to success, and if I bought his program, I could learn it. Things like "Have anyone in your life you want", "Have as much money as you want", "Have great health and happiness". This was the first time I'd ever bought anything over the phone. I didn't tell anyone, I was TOTALLY EMBARRASSED THAT I DID IT!
I can remember *vividly* opening the package. It came to my house in a cardbord box. I was sitting in the parking lot of school, in my crappy old brown mustang with the white quarter panel (I cunched it in an accident), and the red-white and blue hood (loaned it to a friend, he wrecked the hood). Both parts came from the junkyard.
I stuck the first cassette into the player, and got that familiar "da da daaa, da da dahhh, da da da da da da da da daaaaaaa" music, and then heard him speak. What a hyper son of a bitch. This guy was NUTS. Nuts and full of passion... Back then I think I almost turned it off thinking this guy was some kind of fanatical lunatic, and on tape two he would introduce me to Amway.
I listened to the whole program, side A on the way to school, side B on the way home. I had nothing to lose, so I did the "exercises" every day, just as he described them, exactly when he told me to. When I finally got to the "Goal setting seminar", I was a full blown student. He tells you to set goals, great goals, un attainable goals. Just let your mind free, write whatever you think. Short term, mid term, long term. It's a fantastic experience and I recommend that too.
To make a long story short, I set probably 50 goals. Good ones, bad ones funny ones, stupid ones, immediate ones, 5 and 10 and life goals. It took me about 10 years, and I achieved about 80% of them. Some, like being a professional bowler, weren't in the cards. I'm not saying it wasn't do able, I just wasn't as committed as I thought I would have been.
I did set income goals.
At the time, I was making 6k a year, and I made the mental commitment to double my income every year. Here's the rub - I had no idea HOW it would happen, I was just committed to IT happening. See, making a goal like this if your an exec, or someone around money, you can get in touch with big dollars. If you make $40k a year, you know what it's like to have $80k, because you probably have experience with people who do. Someone who makes $40 k however, would really be stretching themselves to commit to making $800k a year with no plan at all.
I made that commitment, I was going to make $100k a year. I was going to make about 16 times my current income in 5 years. Now, if I had the actual resources, knowlege or ability to make $100k at that moment in my life, I would have. You have to understand that this was waaaayyyyy out there for a guy like me. I didn't even KNOW anyone that made that kind of money. My Dad made $40k, and I thought HE was loaded.
I applied the teachings, I stuck to the rules, I made the commitment and through completely unrelated circumstances, I was making about $150k a year. It took me more like 7 years, but I got there.
There is a FANTASTIC speech Steve Jobs gave at Stanford University that is so important and compelling, I suggest everyone read it.
Steve points out that moving forward in life, you feel like you're jumping and changing directions all the time, and you may not trust those decisions. You have to have faith. Because, looking back, each and every "dot" in life will make a perfectly logical path from it's origin to this moment in time. Every "dot" will make sense - perfect sense. It makes NO sense going forward, perfect sense going back. Read it.
Back to the "Secret"....
The book is simply a summary of what Jesus, the Apostles, the Kings of old, Carnige, Mellon, Ford, Brian Tracey, Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins and the like all know and shared with the world. They call it the "Law of attraction". Simply stated, the "Law of attraction" says that what a man thinketh, so shall it be.
The book goes a little out there, and I'm not sure it's entirely accurate. If you don't read between the lines, you may come away with the notion that just thinking, and making a wish on the universe will deliver.
That may actually be what they intended, but I feel that there is an element of action and awareness that needs to take place. Sure, there's the story of the woman who won the lotto - twice - purely through "wishing and Positive Mental Attitude", and there is hundreds and thousands of stories that are testaments to the power of PMA, mine included.
I believe however, that when you create strong focus, you in turn create strong subconscious awareness at the same time. You need to act on opportunities that present themselves. The universe may provide, but YOU need to recognize that opportunity and make it your own, or you will be passed by just as fast.
I have forgotten all of this over the past 5 to 10 years. I left it behind basking in my successes, not enormous successes - I don't own a movie studio or anything - but great sucess in my own right. I have been miserable and frustrated lately, actually, I had been for the past 5 or 6 years. The funny thing is that it never really occured to me until late, how I even got here. I totally lost touch "wit' da one whut brung me" to use an old phrase.
Last week, I was sitting idly on my porch, and I said "God - please help".
The next morning, I went on line to cancel my Audible subscription and noticed I still had credits. I went to the best sellers section to download a bunch of stuff, so I wouldn't waste those credits before I canceled. Well, the "Secret" was right there. I didn't scroll down to it, I must have hit my mouse wheel or something because the book was right in the middle of the page. I downloaded it.
Finally - my point.
In the book, there is a story of a guy who decided to test the power of "intention". He decided to visualize a feather. Not any feather, he visualized a very specific feather. He said to himself, if the universe brings him the feather, he will believe.
A few days later, while walking into a building down town, when the *exact* feather blew up to him as he was opening the door. A miracle. (yea, riiigghhtttt). I thought about it and said wow, what a coincidence.
This morning, when I went into the shower, I dropped my sweatshirt on the floor, kicked of my pajama pants and started to get ready. For some reason, I have NO IDEA why, I walked over to my sweatshirt, and kicked it.
Underneath it was a feather! Seriously.. a green feather!. I looked around the bathroom trying to figure out where it had come from, the girls had a bath last night, were they playing with something with feathers?. I couldn't find anything. A doll, a scrub brush, soap, water cup, rubber toys, nothing with a feather.
I have that feather in my pocket right now. I'm keeping it as a reminder. I have no idea if it has any meaning or significance, but as Tony Robbins says; "It's a cause set in motion".
Don't tell anyone what's in my pocket though - It's a Secret!
