Friday, February 27, 2009

Gratitude and Now

I came up with a couple of new prayers today that I thought I'd share with you:
Thank you God, that I have more than enough of all good things, plenty to share, and freedom from desire, want and need. Amen.
That’s it. No need to ask for money, love, stuff, food, etc. Just assume He is providing me constantly with more than enough so I can share my wealth (of all types) generously, and that I’m free from desire (cravings, yearnings, wanting what is lacking). That’s a good place to be, eh? And I can be there right now. That's much better than arriving there "someday in the future".

The other one is more of an affirmation:
Right now, I am happy!
As I am,
Where I am,
With what I have,
And who I am...
Because I choose to be.
Thank You, God, and God Bless Me! Amen.
Have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Can You Identify Your Goal in 5 Words or Less?

I couldn't before, but I can, now.

So many blog posts go on at length in an attempt to define a concept, goal, or belief. I should know. I've been doing it myself. As you know, I tend to ramble. And I've been trying for months now to provide my skeptical friends and family with a sufficient explanation of why I find the concept of having a J.O.B. so offensive and out of alignment with my true nature.

I've tried to describe this state of producing things from my heart and soul, of enjoying my efforts, of having more than one source of income and still being highly successful (as in, no need to book me a couch at your place for the month, thanks). I've come up with a long list of the myriad ways in which money can be had other than from a J.O.B. I've tried to dispel the myth my parents told me—without a job, you will not be able to survive.

Along the way, I have (as you probably also have) run across quite a number of folks who are defying that myth daily—people like Portable Empire's Pat O'Bryan or The Attractor Factor's Joe Vitale—as well as people who are doing what they love no matter how crazy it might sound and enjoying amazing success doing it, like my horsemanship mentor Pat Parelli.

It's proof that you don't need a trust fund or a lottery win to have it all.

You've probably tried your hand at affirmations. If so, then you are aware that brevity is the key to success, because it's easier to focus on a brief statement than a long-winded ramble. You know that it's easier to visualize a focused concept akin to remembering one scene than to try to replay the entire movie in your head. You also know how difficult it can be to condense into a short sentence the Ultimate Goal you're trying to achieve.

I'm with you there. I've struggled with the same thing.

Until today.

All I did was read another's blog post. I'm giving a big shout-out to Pat O'Bryan for summing it up for me in his own ramble.

Drumroll, please.

My Ultimate Goal is to have...

"multiple streams of passive income"

That's it. That's all it takes to define my goal. Five little words.

Passive income, meaning I don't have a J.O.B. by definition but I still have the income; and multiple streams meaning it comes from my "various creative endeavors and not one takes primary focus". With multiple streams of passive income, I'm free to pursue all of my activities and enjoy my life rather than waste my precious years working for someone else, doing someone else's "thing", making someone else's dreams come true while mine die on the vine.

All right. I have my goal. I'm heading off now to visualize my goal and set my intention for having "multiple streams of passive income". Thanks for listening.

PS: When you can define your goal in five words or less, please share it with me in the comments.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Energy Shifts

I've been struggling with a few concepts today, but I’ve had insights. Big ones. The main point is:

If I put out half-assed energy, I’ll get back half-assed energy and results.

My struggle has been with doubt and hesitation over actually pursuing a new home business venture that I've been thinking about doing. Being the crafty creative type, with a background in fiber arts, I've been mulling over the possibility of turning my art into profit. This past month, against all logic (because I'm in need of a funding injection, bills are due, and I'm still liberated from the workforce), I took a small risk and invested a tiny bit of money in supplies and equipment for said venture. I launched into it with great gusto.

Then came the procrastination after the first efforts were complete.

I was happy with my results, yet... this nagging feeling began to grow. Since then, I've been finding all sorts of reasons not to focus on my art.

Now, when I think about getting up to do the artistic thing, in the back of my mind this voice of doubt pipes up, saying:

“I shouldn’t be doing this, I should be out looking for a job.”

Yes, I realize I am shoulding all over myself and that's a big LOA no-no.

Well, it occurred to me that no matter how productive I’m being all day over the dye pots, if I’m doing it with THAT energy going out alongside of it, with this little voice in the back of my head nagging at me and insisting I should be elsewhere, then...

What energy am I going get in return?

I'll tell you what: a whole lot of evidence to support that voice that said “I told you you should have been out looking for a job rather than futzing around with that silly little 'hobby' of yours”.

But... what if the energy shifted?

What if I purposely shifted the energy? What if I was actively engaged in my creative pursuits with the constant conscious refrain of:

“THIS is what I’m meant to be doing RIGHT NOW, this is what I AM doing, and this is what is supporting me and my furry loved ones for the next several months or years and it IS successful”?

What do you suppose might happen?

My feeling is that the energy shift is all it would take to change everything for the better. My guess is, I'd be more productive, more enthusiastic, and doors full of opportunities would fly open before me. My guess is, success would begin to chase ME down.

This is so simple, yet so darned hard at the same time.