I will be on a tightrope for this one, because there are some fine lines here.
I once went to an investment seminar that cost about a thousand dollars. Using the tools I was taught at that seminar, and believing that I was a pro because of attending that seminar, I proceeded to lose several thousand dollars in the stock market. I do not play the market anymore. I learned one thing for my thousands of dollars lost and spent: The market is controlled by fear and greed. The truth of the matter is that no one knows which way the market will go tomorrow, but everyone can tell you why it did what it did today.
You know what? People who were friends of mine had tried to tell me that, but I did not believe them. That unbelief cost me thousands of dollars. I would have to say that the one thousand dollar seminar was not a good value.
There was one thing said at the seminar that did impress me however. One of the presenters asked the crowd if they were suddenly given $20,000.00 to invest, how much of that would they spend on their financial education, and how much would they invest directly?
The presenter said that he would spend 15 of 20 thousand on his financial education, and I remember being impressed by that.
So here is something I found that was a great value . . . The DVD movie The Secret. For just over $30.00 (shipping included) one can have this DVD that presents the Law of Attraction, and does a great job explaining it! The book The Secret, at a similar price, is also a great value.
There are many other books that talk about these topics, several by the teachers in the movie. These are all fairly inexpensive, and the several I have read have all been very good.
Even I got into the act! I wrote a 30 page eBook around The Secret DVD that goes more in depth into the history, some of the subliminal things in the movie, trivia pieces, and a whole lot more. All of that can be had for less than the cost of the movie as well. Do you know which teacher got the most time in each edition? Read my eBook and find out!
But what about the two thousand dollar seminar that purports to reveal all of the "secrets that were left out of the secret" ??
You will undoubtedly get some great information out of such a seminar, but at that price point, it is pretty difficult to see the value it would provide, because your earning power would have to change fairly drastically and quickly to make up for that much money out the door. One would really need to compare and see if they would not make more money by placing that 2000 dollars in a safe investment that returned money to them.
There is the aspect that someone will take it more seriously if they spend so much money on it. Everyone has to decide for themself if this is true for them. I say: Would it not be easier to train ourself to take something seriously without having to put that much money down?
My concern is mostly for those who are new to all of the ideas in The Secret, and who will plop down a large amount of money in the hopes that this will save them from having to do their own research and come to their own understanding.
So I offer a humble suggestion. Set a percentage of your income that you will spend on your own personal development. There is not a better thing in the world to spend money on, except for buying assets that put money in your pocket every month. If you can, start a business in a area where you have talent and enjoying doing it and set aside a percentage of those profits as well for your personal development.
In the beginning with this plan you would have to start out small. Buy a couple of books, or get them at the library. Put what you learn into production and see if it brings you increased income or increased enjoyment which will lead to increased income. Use the books to grow your business. Do not forget the books on Sales and Marketing.
As your business grows, or you income increases as a result of doing this, you will have more to spend and will graduate to buying more expensive things.
But here is a critical point . . . .
If you business does not grow, and your income or your enjoyment have not increased, then it means that there are some basic elements of The Secret which you have not understood yet in their entirety. If you have not yet fully understood and proven the basics, then spending more money will not typically help you. It would be like taking calculus before understanding algebra. You will learn some neat things, but it will not help you.
Is this a failure if we go this way? Only in the sense that everyone's ultimate path to success is built on what they have learned from previous failures. Avoiding failure is a 100% known way to never reach a big success.
So stick to the plan. There is enough in the initial book or DVD to get someone started in the right direction. There is enough additional information for free on the Internet to keep us busy at first. Let's make sure we understand the basics via proving it with increased income and increased enjoyment. It is a staircase to success, not a high jump.
Joseph
Showing posts with label Prosperity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prosperity. Show all posts
Friday, October 5, 2007
Sunday, September 9, 2007
To Earn, or Not to Spend! That is the Question.
If you are like me, in your past you were taught the following:
You must spend less than you earn.
This statement is of course 100% correct! It is also the worst kind of *lack* thinking. Did you notice that they did not say this once in the movie The Secret ??
Whoa! You say, I learned that from the financial books that I read! --- I know. So did I.
Let me be clear that it is not a sin to think this way. Also 99% of the world thinks this way.
. . . but . . .
God does not think this way. And believing this, we find we now need to pay attention.
Lack thinking will prevent us from living in the magic of life; but we are not required to live in the magic of life, it's only if we want to!
Lack thinking will encourage the Universe to manifest financial issues for us; but we are not required to have financial issues, it's only if we *want* them.
And for those of you who say "but I have financial issues and I do NOT want them!" ----- There you go again, focusing on what you do not want. You are attracting it.
OK, you say, if "spend less than you earn" is lack thinking, what should you say instead?
I am sooooooo glad that you asked!
Are you ready ???
Make more than you spend.
It's really just that simple. Think about it. Focus of statement one is "spend less". Focus of statement two is "make more". Notice the implicit statements as well . . .
1. Spend less than you earn (Your income is limited so you must be sure to not test it).
2. Make more than you spend (Your income is unlimited, you can decide how much you want).
I must thank Robert Kiyosaki for the following, which is further proof of this:
Poor Dad Always Said: I cannot afford it. (Shuts the brain down)
Rich Dad Always Said: How can I afford it? (Gives the brain some creating to do)
Neither had the money to afford it at the beginning. Its not even about whether we have the money at the beginning . . . it's about whether we think lack, or think abundance.
And while that is easy to write, it is a little tougher to do if we have not practiced. The following should help.
We must listen to ourselves. What we speak is powerful. Are we speaking lack? We must stop immediately!
An experiment. Think of a money amount right now that if you had that much in the bank you would be set for life. How does that feel? Now compare: Multiply that amount that you just thought about by 1000, and get a new amount. Now how does it feel having this new amount? If it feels worse, or if you are now in any way afraid, then you have some issues with money that need to be cleared up.
Do not forget yourself! If there was fear in your experiment, was that possibly because you know that having money of that magnitude really enhances who and what you already are, and you are just not 100% sure that who and what you are is where it should be yet?
Now for the kicker . . . . .
When you think of "money", do you respond with A. Love? or B. Fear?
Maybe you are thinking of the scripture that says "for the love of money is the root of all evil". And because of that, you now have a fear of loving money. Is it any wonder we are all messed up on this one?
May I suggest that having feelings of love around money, and "loving money", are two completely different things? Being evil is the root of all evil. Having money only determines how widespread that evil would be. "Loving money" means not loving people, and THAT is the problem the scripture seeks to address, and it gets progressively worse the more money there is. Sometimes this problem is called "pride". One slays it with Gratitude.
But we must seek to have feelings of love around money; like we feel like we trust it, we can count on it to be there for us, it won't let us down. We can count on it to grow for us and manifest more than we need.
Your bills? All opportunities to express appreciation in the form of money. The balance on your last bank statement? The Past. Put the feelings of love around money, and it will start to show respect to you.
Money loves to come where it is welcomed, and it is welcomed by value. Find a way to provide more.
Joseph
You must spend less than you earn.
This statement is of course 100% correct! It is also the worst kind of *lack* thinking. Did you notice that they did not say this once in the movie The Secret ??
Whoa! You say, I learned that from the financial books that I read! --- I know. So did I.
Let me be clear that it is not a sin to think this way. Also 99% of the world thinks this way.
. . . but . . .
God does not think this way. And believing this, we find we now need to pay attention.
Lack thinking will prevent us from living in the magic of life; but we are not required to live in the magic of life, it's only if we want to!
Lack thinking will encourage the Universe to manifest financial issues for us; but we are not required to have financial issues, it's only if we *want* them.
And for those of you who say "but I have financial issues and I do NOT want them!" ----- There you go again, focusing on what you do not want. You are attracting it.
OK, you say, if "spend less than you earn" is lack thinking, what should you say instead?
I am sooooooo glad that you asked!
Are you ready ???
Make more than you spend.
It's really just that simple. Think about it. Focus of statement one is "spend less". Focus of statement two is "make more". Notice the implicit statements as well . . .
1. Spend less than you earn (Your income is limited so you must be sure to not test it).
2. Make more than you spend (Your income is unlimited, you can decide how much you want).
I must thank Robert Kiyosaki for the following, which is further proof of this:
Poor Dad Always Said: I cannot afford it. (Shuts the brain down)
Rich Dad Always Said: How can I afford it? (Gives the brain some creating to do)
Neither had the money to afford it at the beginning. Its not even about whether we have the money at the beginning . . . it's about whether we think lack, or think abundance.
And while that is easy to write, it is a little tougher to do if we have not practiced. The following should help.
We must listen to ourselves. What we speak is powerful. Are we speaking lack? We must stop immediately!
An experiment. Think of a money amount right now that if you had that much in the bank you would be set for life. How does that feel? Now compare: Multiply that amount that you just thought about by 1000, and get a new amount. Now how does it feel having this new amount? If it feels worse, or if you are now in any way afraid, then you have some issues with money that need to be cleared up.
Do not forget yourself! If there was fear in your experiment, was that possibly because you know that having money of that magnitude really enhances who and what you already are, and you are just not 100% sure that who and what you are is where it should be yet?
Now for the kicker . . . . .
When you think of "money", do you respond with A. Love? or B. Fear?
Maybe you are thinking of the scripture that says "for the love of money is the root of all evil". And because of that, you now have a fear of loving money. Is it any wonder we are all messed up on this one?
May I suggest that having feelings of love around money, and "loving money", are two completely different things? Being evil is the root of all evil. Having money only determines how widespread that evil would be. "Loving money" means not loving people, and THAT is the problem the scripture seeks to address, and it gets progressively worse the more money there is. Sometimes this problem is called "pride". One slays it with Gratitude.
But we must seek to have feelings of love around money; like we feel like we trust it, we can count on it to be there for us, it won't let us down. We can count on it to grow for us and manifest more than we need.
Your bills? All opportunities to express appreciation in the form of money. The balance on your last bank statement? The Past. Put the feelings of love around money, and it will start to show respect to you.
Money loves to come where it is welcomed, and it is welcomed by value. Find a way to provide more.
Joseph
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Success as a Second Language
Its either Esther Hicks, or Bob Proctor, or both in the original movie The Secret who talk about the words that we speak, but other than their short phrases, the story goes back to what we are visulaizing, feeling, and thinking.
"We see that those who speak most of prosperity have it". "We see that those who speak most of disease have it".
So the question becomes, how does one "speak" of prosperity?
If we were not brought up in a home where parents spoke of prosperity, and if we have not been in another group where they speak of prosperity, then the words may be foreign to us, and learning to speak them might be something like learning to speak a different language.
As a second language.
I will outline a phased approach. In Phase One, we identify the words that we speak which are anti-prosperity and we eliminate them as possible. We pay very close attention to the words "I Am . . . ", and we are very careful to never let ourselves utter those words followed by anything negative! We begin to understand the power of the words: Are you living well? Yes, I Am.
Phase Two. We have all had multiple success events in our lives. How do we speak when we speak of these? We will learn to speak positively of these if we do not do so already. Our past success is NEVER the result of luck. In phase two we can listen to ourselves as we speak about our own past successes. Why were we successful? What made us stick to it? How did we overcome the odds? How did we manifest that awesome thing? How did we win? Are you remembering well? Yes, I Am.
Phase Three. Given that we are the exact same person who just spoke about all those wonderful success stories, we begin to know that the thoughts we thought, and the feelings we felt, and the talents we used, and the actions we took, brought us to those past success stories; and will lead us to the future ones, which can be awesomely bigger. Are you Believing Well? Yes, I Am.
Now we will remember the same language we used to describe our past success, and use it again to describe our future success. Eventually we will be able to talk of our future success as if it had already happened in a way that makes sense. Our speech will become inspiring to us and perhaps also to others. Are you speaking well? Yes, I Am.
Now we have learned the language, so we will know all the passwords.
Speak and Grow Rich
Joseph
"We see that those who speak most of prosperity have it". "We see that those who speak most of disease have it".
So the question becomes, how does one "speak" of prosperity?
If we were not brought up in a home where parents spoke of prosperity, and if we have not been in another group where they speak of prosperity, then the words may be foreign to us, and learning to speak them might be something like learning to speak a different language.
As a second language.
I will outline a phased approach. In Phase One, we identify the words that we speak which are anti-prosperity and we eliminate them as possible. We pay very close attention to the words "I Am . . . ", and we are very careful to never let ourselves utter those words followed by anything negative! We begin to understand the power of the words: Are you living well? Yes, I Am.
Phase Two. We have all had multiple success events in our lives. How do we speak when we speak of these? We will learn to speak positively of these if we do not do so already. Our past success is NEVER the result of luck. In phase two we can listen to ourselves as we speak about our own past successes. Why were we successful? What made us stick to it? How did we overcome the odds? How did we manifest that awesome thing? How did we win? Are you remembering well? Yes, I Am.
Phase Three. Given that we are the exact same person who just spoke about all those wonderful success stories, we begin to know that the thoughts we thought, and the feelings we felt, and the talents we used, and the actions we took, brought us to those past success stories; and will lead us to the future ones, which can be awesomely bigger. Are you Believing Well? Yes, I Am.
Now we will remember the same language we used to describe our past success, and use it again to describe our future success. Eventually we will be able to talk of our future success as if it had already happened in a way that makes sense. Our speech will become inspiring to us and perhaps also to others. Are you speaking well? Yes, I Am.
Now we have learned the language, so we will know all the passwords.
Speak and Grow Rich
Joseph
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The Best Measure of Success
Ask someone what they think the best measure of success would be for a new business venture, and they will likely reply with an answer centered around money; as in: has the venture made any money, or how much money has the venture made?
And while the money is certainly a critical componant, the movie The Secret is trying to teach us something a little bit different than that. So what is the best measure of success?
The answer to the question flys by so quickly in the movie that you probably missed it. The answer is on a card taped to John Asseref's vision board. No one in the movie actually says these words, but the card says "Joy is the best measure of success". Profound!
Now the business venture must ultimately be profitable; because joy will not last if the venture that is what we want to do is not able to surplant the current income we have, which is earned from what we may like to do and what we are doing currently.
Joy comes from using our talents to serve others. Some believe that serving others is designed to be a non-profit business. Many churches teach that service does not count if you are actually paid for it; then it's not service, its a business.
I would agree with that sentiment except for one small problem, that problem being that we were placed here on Earth (generally) without an endless supply of cash already given. As a result, we have to do something that earns us money. I think that some of these churches would say that we earn a living with drudgery, and then find joy in the volunteer service of others.
Why do they have to be separate? If we can arrange a way to be paid for the service that we render that gives us joy, then is that not what we should do? It does not mean that we cannot contribute time to volunteer causes (or money), but it gives us permission to make money doing what we love to do.
The joy and the magic of life will not be fully realized until we are able to spend all of our time doing what brings us joy, and being paid enough doing it to provide financial freedom, however we may define that.
Joseph
And while the money is certainly a critical componant, the movie The Secret is trying to teach us something a little bit different than that. So what is the best measure of success?
The answer to the question flys by so quickly in the movie that you probably missed it. The answer is on a card taped to John Asseref's vision board. No one in the movie actually says these words, but the card says "Joy is the best measure of success". Profound!
Now the business venture must ultimately be profitable; because joy will not last if the venture that is what we want to do is not able to surplant the current income we have, which is earned from what we may like to do and what we are doing currently.
Joy comes from using our talents to serve others. Some believe that serving others is designed to be a non-profit business. Many churches teach that service does not count if you are actually paid for it; then it's not service, its a business.
I would agree with that sentiment except for one small problem, that problem being that we were placed here on Earth (generally) without an endless supply of cash already given. As a result, we have to do something that earns us money. I think that some of these churches would say that we earn a living with drudgery, and then find joy in the volunteer service of others.
Why do they have to be separate? If we can arrange a way to be paid for the service that we render that gives us joy, then is that not what we should do? It does not mean that we cannot contribute time to volunteer causes (or money), but it gives us permission to make money doing what we love to do.
The joy and the magic of life will not be fully realized until we are able to spend all of our time doing what brings us joy, and being paid enough doing it to provide financial freedom, however we may define that.
Joseph
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