Proof that Visualization really works

(as if you needed proof. But what the heck, let's roll with it)

I am living proof that visualization works.

Did you know that when I was a kid, I would stand and talk into my mirror for hours on end?

I always dreamed of being on television, or in the movies.

Mission accomplished.

Now I'm sitting (instead of standing) and talking into a video camera for hours on end.

Might sound boring to you, but when I get feedback like this email from Mary Jane in Atlanta,
I know I'm following my true path:

"Hands down, Amy Grant is the most empowering personal development coach I've found (and I've used many). Amy's style is engaging, friendly and humorous and her content presentation is powerful and simple-as-pie to follow and implement. I especially benefit from her compassionate, practical, and flat-out funny examples. Complete gratitude!"

I wanted to let you know that in addition to having my own weekly show (Be-Do-Have It ALL) on The Manifest Station, I am also the featured bio of the week.

Oh yeah -- I'm definitely a believer in visualization!

So what's next? Well, I've got my eye on this Range Rover Sport...But more about that later.

This week's episode of Be-Do-Have It ALL is not about visualization, but it is about getting what you want.

This week, my show is on every day:

Wednesday 7:30AM & 3:30PM
Thursday 6:30AM, 2:30PM, 10:30PM
Friday 6:30AM, 2:30PM, 10:30PM
Saturday 7:30AM & 3:30PM
Sunday 7:30AM & 3:30PM

(all times are Pacific Standard)

register (no cost) and watch it here:

http://TheManifest-Station.com

See you on TV. Meanwhile --

QoD: What are YOU visualizing?

Go for it!

It's a Lifestyle Thing

I made a bold decision today. Well, at least I think it was bold.

Tonight I was filming my next installment of Be-Do-Have It All (which airs on The Manifest Station) and I decided to film it "as is."

What do I mean by that?

I mean I spent the day out on a boat on the lake today, and then I came home and filmed the next episode.

No shower, no makeup, no clothing change. I'm wearing a tank top and a "Life Is Good" baseball cap. Good thing there's no such thing as "smellivision" yet because if there was, I probably would have lost some viewers today.

Here's my thinking -

1 - People are more interested in the message than the appearance of the messenger. How do I know this? Because I typically sell out my teleclasses (where no one can see me anyways) and I get rave reviews (and it's all 'message' -- there's nothign to 'see.')

2 - Most of the time, when I'm working, I'm wearing a tank top and shorts or jeans. Or my jammies. It somehow seems inauthentic to dress up, fix my hair and put on lots of makeup, when that's not how I appear in "ordinary" life. I'm more of a "eyeliner and lip gloss" kind of girl. What you see is what you get. (did you know that's what WYSIWYG, or "wizzy-wigg," means?)

3 - I put the focus on my message, not on my appearance. You have no idea how big of a breakthrough this is for me. Once I put the appearances thing aside, I could feel the message flow from me -- I was just speaking from teh heart, not worrying about how I look.

Besides, I'm all about living the lifestyle. The whole reason I do what I do is so that I don't have to report to a boss, get dressed up for work, or punch a clock. I live life on my own terms, and I wouldn't give that up for anything.

It's interesting to notice how much time we spend worrying about appearances. Saying the right things, wearing what's in style, "looking the part." Really, it's so exhausting. And it's such a waste of time, because while we're so worried about what other people think of us, you know what THEY are really thinking?

Why, they're barely noticing you because they're wondering what YOU think of them, of course!


Here's your QoD:

What would you do if you didn't care how you looked? Would yuo feel freer? Would you contribute more? How would your life change?

Now go for it. You look smashing, anyways. Mah-velous dahling, just maaaaaah-vah-luss.

The Manifest Station

In case you haven't heard, there is a new kind of TV in town -- it's called The Manifest Station and it's not on your boob tube, it's on your computer.

My buddy Len Wright and his business partners have put together an online TV station that is running 24/7 programming about the Law of Attraction and conscious creation.

I say, it's ABOUT TIME!

The best part is, it won't cost you a dime -- it's completely free.

You can also catch my new show called "Be-Do-Have It All" -- a half hour of sage wisdom and sassyness that will run weekly.

If you missed me earlier in the week, you can catch "Be-Do-Have It All" It's running this Friday and Saturday at 2:30AM, 10:30AM and 6:30PM (all are Pacific time).

I'll be putting together a new show each and every week.

Now, because The Manifest Station is just like live TV (only it's on your computer, and minus all the mind-numbing conflict and lack-focused programming), there's no way to see my show except to catch it "live."

Well, there's no other way for NOW.

Soon, I'll be launching my new prosperity mindset membership site -- the Road Trip to Riches.

If that name sounds familiar, it's because I recently conducted a course by the same name. A lot of folks could not afford the $1500 price tag of that course, but there's good news now -- the Road Trip to Riches membership site gives you access to all the recordings, supplemental training, PLUS 1 live call per month -- for just $34.95 a month.

Imagine -- for just $34.95 a month, you can learn everything you need to know to eliminate your money problems -- FOREVER.

Sounds like a helluva opportunity to me.

What's more-- I'll also post the archived videos of my Be-Do-Have It All show on the Road Trip to Riches site.

so how can you get access and join the Road Trip?

Stay tuned...we are working out the final details this week and beta testing. As soon as we're sure everything is functioning perfectly, you will be among the first to know.

Meanwhile, go check out The Manifest Station

Oh, and here is your QoD:

Do you have a coach? If you can't afford private coaching, do you at least have access to a person or persons who provide valuable info to assist you on teh journey? There are many teachers out there -- pick one who is successful, who you connect with -- and get their stuff. Newsletters, ebooks, courses, audios, etc.

But once you get the stuff -- be sure to USE IT and take action!

Remember, Einstein said - "Nothing happens until something moves."

that 'something' is YOU! so get moving!!

Go for it!

Who Attracts the Weather?

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, people in my life started talking about weather and the Law of Attraction.

I was thinking about it again today, because -- ready for this?? It SNOWED yesterday!

Yes, I know it's practically JUNE, and we've been having 70+ degree days, but it actually snowed last night.

So do we attract the weather or not?

Some folks say that weather is a function of the collective consciousness. Other folks say it's out of our hands.

But how can we truly embrace the idea of total personal responsibility unless we accept that we are creating ALL OF IT -- every last detail?

Hmmm...

Want to know what I think? (I'm guessing you do, or else you wouldn't bother reading this blog).

I think it's an intellectual discussion that has no bearing on how I live my life and the choices I make.

Truth is, we could probably go back and forth all day about how the weather works and whether or not we are attracting "good" or "bad" weather.

I have better things to turn my attention to. And as we know, energy flows where attention goes.

If you ask me, I probably COULD control the weather, but do I really want to put all my time and energy into releasing beliefs or doubts about whether or not I can do that?

Nah, I think I'll just keep that umbrella in my car, thank you very much.

I think when you're out living your life, enjoying a rich and abundant lifestyle, you don't really give a crap whether or not it rains.

So it snowed last night, so what? I have no job to drive home from. Working for myself, working from home (if you even want to call it "work," which seems to have such a sordid feel to it) means I have no place to be.

In fact -- guess what occurred to me yesterday?

About a year ago, I set the intention that I would become a highly paid professional speaker.

Yesterday, it occurred to me that THAT is EXACTLY what I do.

I make a very comfortable living, and I SPEAK.

I blog, I write, I create teleclasses. I mastermind. I speak on my own TV show called "Be-Do-Have It All" (which you can catch on The Manifest Station this week: Friday and Saturday at 2:30AM, 10:30AM and 6:30PM, all those are Pacific times).

Do I stand on stage wearing a suit, full makeup and a little clip-on microphone?

Nope.

I sit at my desk or in my giant suede bean bag chair and I wear a headset and jeans (or jammies) and I rarely wear makeup.

But I most certainly AM a highly-paid professional speaker nonetheless.

See, that's what we mean by ignoring the cursed "hows."

And like I'm fond of saying, the Universe will NOT give you what you want...it will give you what you ask for -- so you'd better ask for EXACTLY what you want.

Here's your Question of the Day (QoD):

Do you tend to spend a lot of time trying to figure things out, instead of just trusting the process and getting into action? What would happen if you were willing to let go of some of the control you seem to crave?

Go for it!

Are You Ready To Be A RockStar (Really?)

Today I had an interesting expeirence.

My 3 year old has a shirt (thank you Old Navy) that says "My mom is a rockstar."

My husband dressed her in this shirt today, with a pair of jeans. When I drove her to school, I walked in adn was surprised that all the teachers (plus another parents who was dropping off his kid) all commented on the shirt.

I was actually embarrassed.

Which told me that there was something to look at there.

For starters, I actually AM a rockstar.

Oh sure, I can't really play an instrument well, or sing worth a damn, but when it comes to what I do, I absolutely ROCK.

Ask anyone who's taken my classes. Ask anyone who's coached with me. Ask anyone who's spent more than 5 mintutes with me.

But what I realized today was that I have a tendency to "hide" behind hte internet. Doesn't everyone?

It's very easy for me to be a rockstar when I'm hosting a teleclass. Or when I'm coaching someone. Or when I'm speaking, or writing, or doing any of hte work I do.

It's even easy for me to be a rockstar when it comes to my kids -- I am an AWESOME mother, and I'm not afraid to show it. How do I know? Because my kids are happy and thriving, that's how I know.

But in "ordinary" life, I don't feel like a rockstar.

I even spoke at an internet marketnig event recently, and I said, "You know, I'm just a girl. I'm not a guru, I'm not a celebrity, I'm just a girl."

I've never heard a rockstar say that.

This incident this morning -- particularly the other parent, who kind of went on and on about the rockstar shirt ("wow, I've always wanted to meet a rock star. What band are you with? I'll bet you have some outrageous stories" etc etc etc). Really, I do. That guy has no idea.

I just think it's weird sometimes -- those of us who market online kind of feel like we have 2 lives.

We have this one life where we are rockstars -- we completely ROCK at what we do. People know us, we are sort of mini-celebrities. Even though we are really just letting the best part of us shine through -- that's all we're doing. And when we do that, we become rockstars.

But then in our "regular" life, we are just Amy next door, or Bob in my yoga class, or Jerry from the gym.

What's hte point? I'm so glad you asked. Thank you for bringing me back to the point. and your QoD, all rolled into one.

The point is, how would you react if you were wearing a t-shirt that said "rockstar" and people started to comment on it.

Would you explain it away?
"OH, I just liked the shirt. I'm not really a rockstar."

Would you discount it?
"What? This old thing? I didn't even know I was wearing it today."

Would you want to disappear? wishing you hadn't worn the shirt in the first place?

Or would you 'own' it?
"You're damn right I'm a rockstar. And don't you forget it."

Teh fact of the matter is....

YOU ARE A ROCK STAR.

and so am I.

So stop hiding and start living like you ARE a rockstar. Because you are. You are, you are, you are.

That's my new plan. To remember that I AM a rockstar, and to act accordingly (without doing drugs or trashing any hotel rooms, of course. But those are just my preferences -- you're free to be whatever kind of rockstar YOU choose.)

Rock on.

Ahoy, Money!

My buddy Craig Perrine asked me to forward this to you today...believe it or not, I came up with the title for this book during a brainstorming session with Craig.


The Great Money Paradox Revealed...


Money is the number one cause of stress in America... the wealthiest country in the world.

Most people worry about it. No matter how much they have, they are slaves to it.

But the wisest and wealthiest people in history have always known the secret is to learn how let it serve YOU.

The good news is that you don't have to figure it out by yourself, OR shell out hundreds or thousands for a pro to do it for you.

Now you can get a money master with decades of proven experience to help you every step of the way... all for less than a pizza dinner.

That's because today you can get a copy of Paul Lemon's much anticipated new book, Ahoy, Money!

Paul has helped clients for over 30 years and he's one of a handful of people who understand the spiritual connection between money and your life's purpose.

No matter how much you make (or how little), Paul's book will guide you step by step.

Get it today and receive over 20 bonuses... including an hour recorded webinar with Paul showing you exactly what to do (a $97 value).

Get the whole story at --

http://www.ahoymoney.com

With Paul's help you'll discover that financial worries are a lot like being afraid of the dark.

When you turn the light on, you'll see there is nothing to be afraid of and the fear will no longer have any power over you.

It doesn't matter what your situation is today, you can have peace of mind and a solid plan
from now on.

There's never been a book like this that literally reveals the path to where you want to go from a material AND spiritual perspective.

Get the book today and get the help you need.

Remember, many of the bonuses are only available today.

Get the whole story at --

http://www.ahoymoney.com

Craig Perrine

Does the Law of Attraction REALLY Work?

Does the Law of Attraction really work?

I suppose the skeptics would say no. But I've never cared much for skeptics.

Listen to this:

As you may have heard me mention, we are headed to Australia for a month this summer. It's our absolute favorite country and we are excited to be returning again. (Why do you thikn we named our daughter Sydney? It's no coincidence.)

We had secured a nanny to travel with us for the trip, but she had to back out about a week and a half ago.

Now it's time to buy the plane tickets and finalize all the arrangemetns, so I asked the Universe to provide the perfect nanny.

YEsterday, we were driving to our Unity church and Andy said "we gotta get a nanny for this trip. Do you think we know anyone from church who would be a good match?"

I thought for a moment, and nothing came to mind immediatley, so I said "it'll turn out."

We went to church and Sydney managed to stay mostly quiet (Sally was downstairs in the nursery, watching Veggie Tales and having a blast)

AFterwards, we were hanging out chatting with friends, adn our friend Penny asks Andy what we've been up to. He says "well, we are headed to Australia for a month in June/July and we are looking for a nanny to come with us."

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Penny says "Take me, I'll go."

Andy's eyes got big and round. He starts explaining details, but it was easy to see that Penny had already made up her mind. She was going with us.

What I find most interesting is that just one week prior, Penny had made up her mind that she was going to start traveling. She had no plans, and didn't share this intention with us (until after we invited her to come with us to Australia).

After setting her intention, she decided that if she were going to start traveling, she'd better go shopping and buy some traveling clothes, so that's what she did.

The new clothes are hanging in her closet -- they're so new, the tags are still on.

Now I suppose an "ordinary" person would think it was silly to buy clothes for traveling, if they didn't have any set plans to go anywhere.

But Penny doesn't think like an "ordinary" person. She thinks like I do. Penny understands the power of attraction and intention.

Penny decided she would travel. She took guided action -- demonstrating her commitment and expectation to the Universe. She purchased what she would need for her trips. And then the opportunity presented itself.

Fascinating. Sounds a lot like BE-DO-HAVE to me.

To learn more about BE DO HAVE, check out my new online TV show: Be-Do-Have It All
The show will air on The Manifest Station -- more details will be posted here.

So what does that tell you? Does the Law of Attraction REALLY Work?

I supposed the skeptics would call it coincidence.

But then again, I don't know ANY skeptics who are going on an all-expense paid trip to Australia for a month.

Your QoD:

When you set an intention, are you taking guided action? Or are you just waiting and watching the clock, wonderingt when your manifestation is going to show up?

Go for it. Penny did.

Does Exceptional Service Build Loyalty?

You be the judge.

I had an extraordinary experience lately, and I wanted to share it with you because I feel it is very relevant to success.

We bought some edemame (soybeans) in teh grocery. My husband and daughter and I love edemame...now I personally prefer to eat them steamed in the pod, with a little sea salt sprinkled. But for some reason we were inclined to get the kind that's already shelled (husked? whatever you call it, it is ready to eat!) I found a package by Melissa's in the organic section of produce at my local grocery.

When we were ready to heat and eat the edemame, we put some into a small pyrex dish adn put them in the microwave (yes, I know all the "bad" stuff about microwaves, but sometimes I am just downright lazy. If you've seen The Success Method website, you already know that.)

Well, after about 10 seconds, the soybeans start popping and sparking.

Huh?

I take them out and inspect them, stir them up a little, make sure there's no metal in there (it's in a glass dish, i'm thinking maybe a staple or something from packaging? nothing) and put them back in adn press start.

This time, after about 5 seconds, the beans start popping, sparking and SMOKING.

Yikes.

I take them out and call my huisband over to see.

Now, you have to understand -- Andy is an extremely analytical person. In his mind, beans just don't catch fire in the microwave, so he has to do his own experiment to see for himself. Yes, I know. Welcome to my world.

So after Andy conducts his own experiment, he declares what I've already decided: We're not eating these beans. Soemthing is wrong iwth them.

Duh.

Now MY tendency is to return teh beans to teh store, tell them they are bad, adn either exchange them or get a refund.

Taht's not satisfactory to Andy.

He gets on the phone with the people at Melissa. He explains everything to them. They ask us to FedEx teh remaining beans to them, at their expense, and they arrange a FedEx pickup for the next day (it was already around 5pm at this point). The people at Melissa tell us they will send it to their labs, and call us back with what they find out

I'm thinking....yeah, I won't hold my breath on hearing back from them.

They say for the inconvenience, they are also sending us coupons that we can use on other Melissa products.

FedEx comes the next day, and in my mind, it's all a done deal.

But then soemthing extraordinary happens. About a week later, we get a phone call. From the Melissa people.

Apparently, their soybeans have a very high iron content (5 times that of other soybeans). They are now calling for the make and model of our microwave, because they were conducting their testing on a 2 year old microwave, but we have a brand-spanking new one (when we built hte new home) that is far more powerful.

Check this out -- not only were they doign additional testing, they were pulling together a meeting to discuss how to change teh packaging on their edemame, so that other people didn't have the same problem.

Wow. I am impressed.

Talk about your personal responsibility!

I was blown away. What kind of company is this? Where a single call, by a single customer can prompt action from a whole team of decision makers???

I don't know about you, but when I worked in the corporate world, there was nothing like this going on. Complaints were mollified (or ignored) at lower levels, until escalated to higher levels, and if the complainer wasn't extremely persistent, they pretty much just got a pile of excuses with a hefty side dose of "the runaround."

When I was in the corporate world, I can remember attmepting to personally resolve complaints, and hearing my boss (and boss' boss) say that there was really nothing we could do, our hands are tied because of...blah, blah, blah, blah.

But then again, maybe that's why I left the corporate world. Things sure are different now.

If one of my customers gets a hold of me, I'm taking care of them ASAP. There ISN'T anyone else to blame or pawn things off on. The buck stops here.

Seems like that same philosophy rings true at Melissa's.

So here's the success lesson --- would I buy from Melissa's again?

Hell yeah.

Would I buy those same edemame again?

Hell yeah.

Will I microwave them again?

Hell no.

For me, I think the lesson was threefold:

1 - Not all corporations suck. Some of them actually give a darn what their customers have to say.

2 - It pays to speak up. Think about this: how many people before us probably saw the sparks and threw out hte package, vowing never again to buy that brand of edemame. Or worse yet, vowing never to buy from Melissa's. Or maybe they even didn't hear or see hte sparks, tasted the food and threw it out, thinking it was bad. One phone call can solve problems. FAscinating.

3 - Microwaves are NOT good. I've heard it before, but I'm seeing more nad more evidence, and it's becomign clear to me that the convenience is not worth the reduction in health.

What did you learn from this story? here are some possible lessons:

- don't microwave edemame
- don't microwave anything
- go the extra mile
- take customer comments seriously -- someone's safety could be at stake
- speak up
- people in corporations actually care about you AND will listen to what you have to say

Choose as many of the above as you like,and feel free to post a comment with your own.

Your QoD:

Where in your life (or business) are you passing the buck? What would happen if you stepped up your level of personal responsibility?

The Conclusion of the TimeShare Sales Saga

The actual timeshare presentation and tour was well, pathetic. And that's being nice.

First off, no one even offered us a glass of water, much less a soda or anything else. Our sales person vaguely pointed toward the babysitting room, not bothering to introduce me to the person in whose hands I'd be leaving my daughter (by the way, I think the girl was about 15 years old). When we shared our disappiontmetn in the accomodations for the weekend, we were told that we could have upgraded to stay at the actual resort for less than a hundred bucks.

Us: Why didn't anyone tell us that????

Them: Well, uh, we have field agents, we can't really control what they say/do, blah blah blah.

Us: And the hotel that you put us up at was extremely crappy.

Them: Yeah, we're aware of that problem (but we are making no effort to rectify it, or even offer you anything for your trouble). In other words, we don't do "personal responsibility."

The tour itself was lame, too. Most of the resort was closed (the spa was closed, several pools were undergoing maintenance, the restaurant was closed, the club room was closed, etc etc etc. And the girl kept trying to sell us on shoulder season time (???)

Basically, any time we asked a question or raised an objection, our sales person's response was "That's why a Spring/Fall week would be perfect for you."

Yikes. The other sales guy told us his last client showed up stinking drunk. Hmmm, sounds like we're in good company here. As if the whole experience didn't already make me feel special enough.

The sales girl actually told us that she had a client who bought a winter week for $72,000.

Maybe THAT person was drunk. Or they know absolutely nothing about a little concept called ROI. Because it would take them about 30 years to recoup their investment.

Anyway, the weekend wasn't a complete bust because I learned a valuable lesson or two (See yesterday's post). And obviously, my sales resistance is increasing, which is a good thing.

And on the plus side, we did get to do a tiny bit of shopping, during whihc I did find the Coach wallet I had been looking for, plus a leather wristlet for my digital camera.

By the way, if you have the most unfortunate circumstances of BEING a timeshare sales person, you deserve to take a look at a more lucrative career that requires you to do absolutely none of the embarrassing things that sales lady had to do yesterday. (And no selling, either.)

Your QoD?

What's the most recent colossal mistake you've made? What lesson did you take away from the exerpeince? Can you see that you attracted the experience in order to learn the lesson?

Rocky Mountain High? Not This Time

What is our obsession with getting something for nothing?

I have yet to meet a person who didn't like getting a bargain, or getting something for free. I happen to know extremely wealthy people like Joe Vitale even like getting a "deal."

I'm not immune from it either.

My husband had been seeing ads around town for a $49 weekend in Breckenridge. Of course, it was one of those deals where you had to attend a timeshare presentation in order to get the deal.

Now we've gotten suckered into buying timeshare not once, but THREE TIMES, so I was not too excited when he mentioned it. We finally sold off our last week of timeshare (Hawaii), so I am not inclined to get any new ones.

I suppose timeshare makes sense for some people, but not for us. We rarely stay a whole week in 1 spot (unless it's a condo on the beach). We're more inclined to spend a few days here, a few days there, adn we've also been known to change (extend) our trip once we get there. Timeshares are not really conducive to that kind of freedom.

And of course we got totally screwed on the resale. I think we lost something like $15,000 on the whole deal. Not to mention the several thousand we paid in annual maintenance fees.

But I digress.

Anyway, I was sort of noncommittal every time he brought up the subject of one of these weekend in Breckenridge deals. My response was typically something to the effect of, "Hmmm. Maybe."

But a couple of weeks ago, we were at the Front Range Showcase in Castle Rock (remember, I told you that's where I met my new massage therapist?) and there was a booth with this timeshare deal and it was FREE.

That's right, FREE. You got an entire weekend in Breckenridge, just for attending a 90-minute, no-pressure pitch.

Like I said, everybody loves a deal. So we signed up, and here we are this weekend.

Free is NOT always a good thing.

For starters, I am not impressed with the place where they put us up. It's new, so everything is clean and fresh, but the rooms are small and the decor is boring (beige on brown). So if you make it out to Breckenridge, I would SKIP the Breck Inn. I will say, the hot tub was nice, large and covered, so we brought the baby in her carrier while the 3 of us enjoyed a nice soak.

The other factor is that this weekend's weather sucks, which really put a damper on our intention to do lots of shopping (no indoor malls here -- everything is strip-style). Hubby went skiing on Friday and only lasted an hour, because the slopes went from ice to slush. Yikes!

What's worse is that our baby is not sleeping much at night -- she is waking every 1 1/2 to 2 hours to feed, which is really cramping our style. Fortuantely, we're starting rice cereal as soon as we get back home, so that should definitely help. I am just totally unprepared for this, as she is now five months old, and our older daughter was sleeping through the night starting at 9 weeks. Anyway, back to the trip.

For some reason, my 3 year old decided to be a pill on Saturday morning, so we were pretty stressed by the time we all got out of the hotel. But things picked up after that.

The highlights? He did take our 3 year old sledding, and I got some quiet time to think while baby was sleeping. Somehow it is easier to "think" in a hotel room, where no phone is ringing and no errands are waiting. I created a couple of significant breakthroughs, and also got clear on what there is to work on next.

Yesterday we did find a darling Children's 'Museum' in Breckenridge. I use the word "museum" loosely because it was more like a slightly educational play house. Let's just say their website does a great job of sellingn it. But our 3 year old had a blast, we met some nice folks (including one couple who wants more info on Andy's home-based business) and even the baby found some interesting stuff to play with.

Last night, we had a very good meal at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co (go figure). All those shrimp provided a much-needed taste of home.

Today I'm off to the Coach store to find a wallet to match my new handbag (and I'm also in search of a laptop case. Does Coach make those?? We'll find out today.) and hit a couple of other shops in the area, then we'll find some lunch and head over to attend hte timeshare presentation. We met a couple lats night who said it was OK, not high pressure, so we'll see.

do me a favor though -- if I write tomorrow and tell you that I got suckered into buying, SHOOT ME. Seriously.

Hmmm, so what does any of this have to do with Success? I'm so glad you asked.

Here are the lessons as I see them:

1 - Demand the best. Deepak Chopra talks about this -- prosperous people demand the best. If I had followed that advice, I would hvae told my hubby "screw the freebie, let's just go stay in Breckenridge at someplace nice for the weekend."

2 - Don't do something just because it's free. It's one thing to get a deal or a freebie on something you were planning to get anyway, but when you get or do something JUST because it's free, well, then you never know what you'll get. Wealthy people are willing to exchange value for value -- WILLING is the key word. I had no plans to go to Breck until I heard about teh deal. I was not WILLING to exchange for it. Get the difference?

3 - Don't take your own lifestyle for granted. Working for yourself affords you a certain level of freedom that other people simply can't get. As we met people adn chatted, I heard all sorts of stories from people who say they can't afford this or that, would love to go to Australia "someday," and can't imagine what it would be like if BOTH parents could work from home. It made me appreciate what I have, and I was reminded not to take my lifestyle for granted.

I'm sure there are otehr lessons, but that is what comes to mind at the moment.

Your QoD:

What are YOU taking for granted in your own life? How can you reconnect with all the blessings you have, and appreciate all that is yours and all that is coming? Until you can accept and be grateful for what is so RIGHT NOW, you can't create anything differently for what's next.

Go for it!

What Are You Pretending?

When I told my sister that I had started a blog, and I told her how often I planned to write, she was immediately skeptical.

"Really?" she asked. "Won't you run out of things to write about?"

Hmmm, I hadn't thought of that. But I persisted, and I found theopposite to be true.

Like the springs of Manitou, the more I write, the more I find to write about. The constant practice sharpens my skills.

If I attempted to shut the valve, my writing skills would wither and die, and I would surely run out of topics because I would see only a limited list.

In truth, the number of potential blog posts is infinite -- just look at how many good blogs are out there, posting excellent info every day. Then look at how much crap is out there, too.

There is an infinite number of ways for self-expression to manifest. Are you pretending that there aren't?

There are reasons to pretend that there is lack where there is plenty. Good reasons, right? fOR starters, it lifts responsibility. It keeps us safe, not taking risks. We don't have to risk failure if we don't DO anything worthwhile.

Are you playing it safe?

Your QoD:

Where are you pretending to be limited when, in truth, you have an inexhaustible supply? Where are you playing it safe, when your heart is telling you to take a chance?

Go for it.