You Are A Child Of God!

I sent this article out on two occasions last year but as I read through it again I was struck by how powerful it is and decided I needed to send it out once more. I apologize for the redundancy. I remember when I first came across this affirmation in the book Born Rich and fell in love with it. I not only printed it out so that I could read it throughout the day, but I recorded it on a cassette tape and would listen to it, over and over while I got ready in the morning. If your computer allows you to record I would suggest you record it to yourself, or if you want a different voice, ask a friend to record it. It’s so powerful, especially when you hear your name in it. Michael

In doing some research online I came across a magnificent author by the name of Orison Swett Marden (1850 – 1924). Mr. Marden is considered to be the founder of the modern success movement in the United States. In 1897 he founded Success Magazine that still exists today, 116 years later.

The positive affirmation below that I found in the book Born Rich, was originally written and published in Orison Swett Marden’s book, How to Get What You Want. The Born Rich version has been updated since the Marden version was originally written at the turn of the last century.

Now that I have my attributions correct let’s take a look at the affirmation. According to Wikipedia an affirmation is a declaration that something is true. As you read below I want you to believe that it is true of you. I know what you’re going to say, as you read it you are thinking, “This certainly isn’t me. In fact I am the exact opposite of this positive statement. I don’t think this will ever be me!”

And my answer to you is this, it will be you. Not today and probably not tomorrow. But if you continue to recite this affirmation daily, sooner than later, your mind will accept it as the truth. And when it is the truth you will become the David who slew Goliath. Able to achieve anything and everything you desire.

(Insert Your Name), you are a child of God and the being God made was never intended for the sort of weak, negative life you are leading. God made you for success, not failure.  You are perverting the great object of your existence by giving way to these miserable doubts of yourself, of your ability to be what you desire with all your heart to be. You should be ashamed to go out amongst your associates with a long, sad, dejected face, as though you were a misfit, as though you lacked creative power within, as though you did not have the ability to do what your creator sent you here to do. You were made to express what you long to express. Why not do this? Why not stand and walk like a conqueror, like David who slew Goliath, instead of giving way to fear, discouragement and doubt and carrying on like a failure? The image of perfection, the image of your creator lies within you. You must bring it to the center of your conscious thoughts and express it to the world. Don’t disgrace your maker by violating that image, by being anything but the magnificent success God intended for you to be.

With love,

Michael

The Power of Thank You

I begin each day reading a page or two out of A Course in Miracles. This is my bible, and like the Old and New Testaments, not always easy to understand.

What I like to do is before I begin I will ask Infinite Spirit to guide me to the topic that is most important for me to learn that day. I will then randomly open the book to a chapter or page. It is when I begin reading that I realize that what I am reading is exactly the information I needed to discover that day.

Today I opened A Course in Miracles to page 220 and Lesson 123, entitled I thank my Father for His gifts to me. It begins:

Today let us be thankful. We have come to gentler pathways and to smoother roads. There is no thought of turning back, and no implacable resistance to the truth. A bit of wavering remains, some small objections and a little hesitance, but you can well be grateful for your gains, which are far greater than you realize.

This and the remaining seven paragraphs in this lesson brought me great comfort and reminded me of how it is so important to be appreciative and grateful for all that God has given me. But it also reminds me that being thankful for what I receive also works to ask God, the Universe, Infinite Spirit, your higher power for what I desire in my life. And this is how I do that.

Instead of asking for a safe and enjoyable drive to my destination when I get into my car and put on my seat belt, I will often say; God, thank you for a safe and enjoyable drive to (my destination). May traffic flow perfectly all the way there.

If I’m going into a business meeting I will say; Thank you Infinite Spirit for a perfect meeting. And then I will describe what a perfect meeting means to me.

Try these over the next couple of days. As you begin to see the things you are grateful for start manifesting into your life – expand it to everything you desire.

With love,

Michael

How to Create the Perfect Life in 3 Steps!

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past 10 years you probably have heard of The Secret and its message: The Universal Law of Attraction.

But exactly what is this so-called universal law? And how does it work in your life? Simply put, it says that we attract into our lives that which we think about and give emotion to. In other words, your thoughts become the things in your life.

Now you’re probably thinking that sounds pretty good. I’ll just think about $1,000,000 to miraculously appear in my bank account, and poof there it is. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that.

Basically, the law states that our various thoughts all vibrate at different rates. That those vibrating thoughts go out into the Universe and attract other like thoughts that vibrate at the same frequency. These vibrational thoughts then act as magnets, attracting to you the things you desire in your life.

The challenge we face is that of the 60,000 thoughts scientists tell us each of us think in a day, 90%, or 54,000, are negative. This means that we have a 9 in 10 chance of creating negative things in our lives, the very things we don’t want, as opposed to the things we do want. That’s why we so often hear people say that the law doesn’t work. But it is working, only it is working in reverse.

Considering that our minds generate so many thoughts in a day we must bar the door to negative thoughts, or we will create negative things in our life. And to help us do this, we have been given a very unique tool. We feel our thoughts. What I mean by this is that our thoughts create feelings. Happy creative thoughts generate feelings of joy and happiness. Negative thoughts generate feelings of fear, uncertainty, doubt, worry and sadness. When feeling fear ask yourself, what am I thinking? It will be a negative thought. Now let that thought go and replace it with the positive thought of what you truly desire.

To make the Universal Law of Attraction work for you follow this simple plan. 1) Ask the Universe for what you want (positive thought). Be specific. Try to picture in your mind exactly what you want. If it’s a new car picture yourself driving this new car and feeling how exhilarating it is. 2) Continue to hold the positive thought in your mind. Believe that in time your desire will manifest itself into your life (faith). And, 3) fully expect that what you want will indeed be delivered to you (expectation).

It will take some work, but I can assure you that the law does work. In fact, look around you. Everything you see first started out as a thought in someone’s mind. Your mind is just as fertile. Thus, the next great invention may come from you.

With Love,

Michael

 

Loose Lips Sink Your Life!

Luckman’s Law: The Universe always gives you exactly what you ask for. Even those things you never thought you asked for.

The Universal Subconscious Mind (or as some would say, the Mind of God) cannot distinguish between what is true and what isn’t. It just acts on whatever suggestion you offer it with conviction, and then manifests that into your life.

Hold the belief that you are rich and the Universe will see that you are rich. Tell the Universe you’re terrible at math and the Universe will do everything in its power to prove that you are terrible at math.

Now, listen to what you say to yourself. Often in a self-deprecating manner you make fun of your shortcomings. Unfortunately the Universe doesn’t know if this is true or not. But since you say it so often to yourself and others, it assumes that it’s true and acts upon it by providing you with exactly what you don’t want in your life.

Let me give you an example. Years ago I had a super saleswoman working for me. She was young, attractive and the type of woman, if you were single, you’d want to bring home to meet the folks. Everyone loved Jill, except the men she married and the guys she dated. After every failed relationship she’d bend your ear about how abusive the guy was, and ended each conversation with the hope that the next guy she met, and was attracted to, wouldn’t physically and emotionally abuse her. But they always did.

You see, Jill unknowingly would continuously ask the Universe for what she didn’t want. Instead of asking for the perfect man, one who was loving and gentle, she asked for the opposite. She would spend all her energy thinking, talking and worrying about the abusive men that may enter her life. And what she recklessly asked for by these words and thoughts, did indeed manifest into her life.

In World War II there used to be posters wherever there were ports where ships docked. They said, Loose Lips Sink Ships! It was a warning to all Americans that idle gossip about the war effort could be picked up by enemy spies and forwarded on to the Axis nations we were at war with.

You need to make up your own signs and post them at work and at home. Except this time have them say, Loose Lips Sink My Life!

Love,

Michael

I Am – The Two Most Powerful Words

I am prosperous, I am wealthy, I am successful, I am rich.  Money is good and I use money and love people. ~Born Rich

The above is a positive affirmation from the book Born Rich. According to Scott Armstrong of the Boulder Coaching Academy, “Affirmations, really, are simple. They are you being in conscious control of your thoughts. They are short, powerful statements. When you say them or think them or even hear them, they become the thoughts that create your reality. Affirmations, then, are your conscious thoughts.”

Long ago I learned that the words “I and am” are the two most powerful words in the Universe. Used in combination they declare to God, the Universal Subconscious Mind, Jesus, Spirit and to all that is, what you believe to be true about yourself. The above affirmation deals with how you see yourself in relation to money, success and abundance. Even to the point of stating that you use money and love people, which are often reversed when people are climbing their personal ladders to success.

Now, I can only imagine what you are thinking; “Michael, I wish I could say this positive affirmation, but I don’t believe it’s true for me. As I say it my mind keeps rebelling and tells me that this is a lie. Probably good for others, but certainly not for me.” And I can understand that.

Instead you might be thinking, “As soon as I am prosperous, wealthy, successful and rich I’ll have no problem repeating this affirmation.” And here lies the problem. Affirmations are the triggering mechanism for creating your reality. Right now your reality, as you look around you, might be lack, scarcity, poverty, depression, failure and who knows what else. You have to change your reality. And here is how you do it.

Lenin, the father of the Soviet Union is quoted as saying, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” What he was really saying was; the communist government must lie to its citizens to completely brainwash them into believing that life behind the Iron Curtain was far superior to life in any western nation. I’m not sure every Soviet citizen bought into this.

But I want you to buy into a lie. And the lie I want you to buy into is the above affirmation. Of course, your mind and probably every cell within your body will rebel against these words. Because they know it’s not the truth. But you must persevere. If repeated daily, in fact multiple times a day, but certainly as you begin and end your day, you’ll find that your body, mind and spirit will slowly stop fighting you and in time, this “lie” will now become your truth. And what does this mean for you?

Everything that you have ever really wanted in your life will now be yours. Because with your “new” reality this is exactly what you will be attracting. Just as a magnet picks up steel shavings your mind will now attract everything you desire.

With Love,

Michael

Life is More Than a Journey – It is an Adventure

I’m sure you’ve heard this statement before, Life is a Journey. In fact you could even consider it a cliché. But it’s true. Life is a journey. But I like to take it one step further and call it an adventure.

I believe that there are three types of people in the world. Those that live in the past. Those that live in the future. And those who live in the present. We each know people in all three categories, and as you read on, you may even recognize yourself.

For those living in the past their belief is that their best days are behind them. They are either reliving their past glories, experiencing once again those good and positive feelings about themselves. Or, they’re besieged by nightmares of past mistakes, errors and failures. Feeling the shame and the embarrassment over and over again.

For those who live in the future they see glory, wealth and fame just over the next horizon. All they need to do is just slog through another day. Hoping and wishing that they’ll win the lottery, or some other stroke of luck will happen to them. Or, for some, they live in fear of the future constantly worrying about when the next catastrophe will occur. They fear the future because they fear the unknown.

And then there are those who live their lives now, in the present. Here you’ll find the smallest number of people. A very slim minority.

People who live in the present know that their life is a gift from God. That they do not live in a chaotic Universe where things just happen. They know each moment is powerful. For it is in the moment when they create their future by asking their higher power for what they want. Knowing that their asking coupled with their faith and expectation will create in their life all that they desire.

Stop and take five minutes of your present and ask yourself; Where do I live; in the past, in the future, or in the present moment?

Then remember – it is never too late to start creating the life you want. NOW!

With Love,

Michael

We are Just Weeds – For Now!

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have yet to be discovered. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

My wife came across this Emerson quote yesterday and forwarded it on to me, knowing that I’d enjoy it and see its enormous meaning. I hope that you enjoy it too.

Everything and everyone has a purpose. Nothing is waste. Every plant, every animal, every compound and mineral and certainly every human being has a reason for existing. We are all part of God’s plan for the world we live in, and God creates nothing that is less than perfect.

Have you ever watched the National Geographic Channel or read their magazine. What totally intrigues me is when you see an animal in its natural habitat and it is ingesting a weed or plant and the narrator says, “Here we see the animal eating a rare vegetation found nowhere else on earth. Scientists tell us that this plant is eaten by the animal when it is suffering from pain, similar to a human taking an aspirin.”

Everything that we need for a successful life has already been given us. We were each born perfect, although many would argue that point. Like the weed in Mr. Emerson’s quote, we have virtues ready to be discovered, by others and certainly by ourselves.

For a great many years I believed that I was born without any talents. I was never a good student and had this inner belief that I wasn’t very smart. Even when someone would complement me on something I did well, I would brush off their kind words and describe what I did as just a fluke. I have spoken about this numerous times, that what we believe about ourselves is what was told to us by others. And often what was told to us was a lie.

I didn’t understand my talent until I was in my fifties. I have been blessed with the ability to communicate with others, both written and verbally. I also have a talent for feeling empathy and compassion for others. I can easily put myself in another’s shoes and feel their suffering. And because I have struggled for so much of my life with the same worries and fears that others experience, I have discovered ways to overpower these negative emotions.

You are the weed in the above quote. You possess all the virtues necessary to achieve your Greatness. They have been embedded within you by a higher power. Just waiting to be discovered.

God is waiting, but more importantly, so is your fellow man.

Love you,

Michael

Don’t Just Sit There!

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. ~Will Rogers

Will Rogers (1879–1935) was a great American humorist.  He was a cowboy, vaudeville performer, social observer and motion picture actor. A plain spoken man he used simple words to convey some very important social commentary. One of my favorites is the quote above.

I believe that almost everyone knows someone who achieved a high level of success — and then lost it. If not an individual than perhaps a company. Maybe even one you worked for. What happened?

What happened was that person or company plateaued. They reached a point where they needed a next step to maintain their forward momentum, but what often happens is they reached the very edge of their comfort zone. To them the next step was scary. It required them to step out of their comfort zone and take a risk.

If it was a company maybe they needed to add to their headcount or move to a larger facility, but the naysayers said now is not the right time to expand. Or if it was an individual their friends or relatives may have talked them out of making a move because they were afraid they would fail.

So instead they allowed their inner voice to negotiate with fear. They convinced themselves that they could just maintain the level they were at. But that’s impossible. You see we’re all a part of nature, and in nature you either grow or you die. There is no standing still and there is no in between.

To grow is to risk,

Michael

And Now a Word From Our 16th President

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. ~Abraham Lincoln

Since today is President’s Day I thought we’d discuss a quote from my favorite president, Abraham Lincoln.

In a past blog I stated that as human beings we were created to be optimistic. Which makes a lot of sense. Who would go to work and produce goods and services if we got up in the morning, looked out the window, saw a gloomy day and said, “the hell with it. I’m going back to bed.” Instead, most of us are optimistic. We might wake up to see a gloomy day, but then we take a shower, eat breakfast, go to school or work, and make it the best day we possibly can.

But are we happy? This is what our 16^th president was alluding to. We have choices. We all too often let our external circumstances define our happiness. When things are going well we can feel good about what’s happening all around us, or choose to feel sad and blue when things go wrong. Being happy or unhappy then is entirely up to us.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “I would love to feel happy even when things aren’t going my way, but how do I do it when unhappiness just comes over me?” And here is the crux of the matter; we feel happy when the thoughts in our mind are positive, and we feel sad when the thoughts we are holding in our mind are negative. And so the answer is we must change what we are thinking about, or as President Lincoln said, “happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Before you ask I’m going to tell you how to release a negative thought. I like to use my higher power, or as Florence Scovel Shinn taught in her wonderful book, The Game of Life and How to Play it, cast the burden. And I do it this way; Infinite Spirit, I cast the burden of this negative thought about (fill in) on you and I go free. I’ll say this 3-5 times or until the negative thought vanishes. I then replace the emptiness in my mind with something more positive and I feel a whole lot happier.

Love you,

Michael

Worry – Worry – Worry!

I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened. ~Mark Twain

Let me ask you a question. I am writing this on Valentine’s day. Can you tell me what you were worried about last Valentine’s day? How about Valentine’s day 2011? Here I’ll make it easier for you. On January 3^rd of this year, only 42 days ago, what was your number one worry?

If you’re like most of us you have no idea. And, do you know why that is? It’s because over 90% of the things we worry about, never happened. Yes, they never happened. But I bet your worries drove you crazy.

Maybe you couldn’t sleep because something in the future was going to take place. Or your kids faced an unusual challenge. Or, perhaps on a Friday afternoon your boss called and left a voicemail and she didn’t sound happy. Do you think you would have a great weekend? Probably not. I’ve experienced those calls and all weekend I would be asking myself, what did I do wrong? Why is she mad at me? My mind would be going crazy with fear and worry.

Did you ever have to give a speech or get up in front of your colleagues and make a presentation? Was it scary for you? For most people it is the epitome of terror. In fact more people fear public speaking than fear death itself.

As scary as it was when you finally had to give your talk it was nowhere near as frightening as your mind made it out to be in the weeks leading up to the event. The fact is for most people the daily fear and worry they feel regarding an upcoming event is often greater than the fear they feel at the time the event happens.

Why does this happen and what can you do about it. In my book, Overpowering Fear – Defeating the #1 Challenge in Sales and Life I talk about having to give a speech after accepting an award in New York City. For weeks leading up the speech I was a nervous wreck. Every day my mind raced as I came up with one excuse after another to try get out of it, including faking an illness. It was pure misery.

But at the moment I was called up onto the stage the fear seemed to disappear and I knew I would be alright. Isn’t that usually the way it happens? We allow our minds to generate nothing but negative and catastrophic thoughts which in turn cause the fear based feelings we feel in our bodies. It ruins our days, and our nights, and for what?

So, the next time you’re facing a scary challenge or are worried about some future event, remember that only one out of ten things you worry about ever comes to pass. And when that one thing does happen it is never as bad as you made it out to be.

Just remember the words of the immortal Alfred E. Neuman; What, me worry?

Love you,

Michael