“The Law of Attraction”
Since we're at Jack
Canfield's seminar, it's perfect timing to share with
you my thoughts about the Law of Attraction (LoA), which
many if not most of you have been exposed to through the
movie, "The Secret". I want to first tell you my
experience with the LoA, and then talk about a
misconception many people have about it.
During the summer of
1995, as I was getting ready to go back to college for
my senior year, I had one of those heart-to-heart
conversations with a good friend of mine, Kameel.
We were talking about girls (what else do 22-year-old
guys talk about?) and I shared that I was starting to
think about having a family some day since my baseball
career was coming to a close.
The quandary I was in,
however, was that I had created a perfect mate in my
head when I was younger, and I never wanted to settle
for anything less that that (which is why I didn't have
many girlfriends in school - they never measured up to
what I wanted).
So I told Kameel I was
at a crossroads - do I stay committed to my dream until
I find the perfect wife, understanding that it might
take years or decades, if it even happens at all, or do
I settle for someone who comes close so I can achieve my
goal of raising a family?
I remember very clearly
my answer: "I will not settle, even if it means I never
get married or have a family." I had made a
decision. This is what I want and I won't tolerate
anything less.
Less than a week later,
I started dating Cybil. To say she fit the
'perfect mold' in my head would be lying. She blew
it out of the water. We've been together for over
10 years now, married 9 of them, and haven't argued
once.
What I now realize is
that I attracted Cybil into my life, just as the Law of
Attraction teaches us. Whatever you focus on,
expands and is attracted to you. Plus, if you're
clear about what you want, you'll always know what to
look for in your environment. That's why it is
absolutely critical that you focus on what you
want instead of what you don't want.
And looking back, there are numerous times I used the
LoA, both good and bad.
In Mary Kay, it's very
common for consultants to focus on 'not losing money' or
'not being rejected'. Directors often times focus
on 'not missing production' or 'not losing team
members'. These are survival thoughts - designed
to just keep your head above water - and they're very
limiting. Instead, you must lock your sights onto
the achievements you want, as clearly as you possibly
can, or else your unconscious mind doesn't know what you
want.
Now, a big misconception
that a lot of people have about the Law of Attraction,
and the topic of much criticism, is that it's message
means we can simply think our way into achieving
anything we want. It's been a while since I've
seen the movie, but I think there are some parts where
the guy in his living room just thinks about a car, and
it appears.
However, if you listen
to the speakers from "The Secret", none of them is
saying that all you have to do is visualize your way to
success. In fact, as you see in the title of this
article, the last 6 letters of Attraction are
A-C-T-I-O-N!!!
After you focus
specifically on whatever it is that you want, you
absolutely must take action steps to achieve it.
And as long as you continue to focus on what you want,
instead of complaining about what you don't have, you'll
be able to maintain a consistent target to shoot for.
The mistake most people
make is they come up with a vague idea of what they
want, then never create an action plan to get there.
All the positive thinking in the world does not have the
power to turn your dreams into reality.
So after you 'see'
whatever it is you want in your heart, take the time to
work backwards and design the perfect road map to get
you from where you are to where you want to be in as
short a time as possible. And then there's just
one more thing to do...
ACTION!
Here’s to your dreams…
SS
HAD
ENOUGH OF FEELING STUFFED INTO A BUCKET?
