In 1966 Lou Holtz, the now famous football coach was 28 years old. His wife Beth was eight months pregnant with their third child and he had just lost his job. He described himself at that time as a man totally lacking in motivation. He was so discouraged that Beth gave him a copy of The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz. The book said that you should write down all of the goals that you wanted to achieve before you die. He started writing goals, some personal, some professional but most seemingly impossible to twenty-eight-year old unemployed man. He wrote things like becoming the head coach at Notre Dame, winning a National Championship, having dinner at the White House, appearing on the Tonight Show, meeting the Pope, landing on an aircraft carrier, getting a hole in one and jumping out of an airplane. When he was done he had 107 items on his list. If you go to his website you will see that the number he has achieved is in the 80's. You will see pictures of him at the White House, on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson..
What does your list look like? I wrote mine on March 6th 2000 and it has been amazing to see items on my list become reality. The other amazing thing about the process was that once I got away from the limits of what I believed to be probable and focused on the things that I wanted to have, do, or be, the ideas started to flow from my pen. On that day I wrote 50 things. I revisit and add to the list whenever I am inspired and always on January 1st.
I encourage my clients to do the same and they are constantly reporting on the things on their list that have become a reality. The house on the ocean, becoming a more patient father, traveling to New York, giving their children a dream experience, sitting in the VIP grandstand for a space shuttle launch, being published, spending time with industry leaders, a hot tub, helping other in a way they never had before, multiple income streams, a new body shape, better health..
My clients tell me that many of their goals were attained by developing and following through on action plans. They also have reported that some just seem to arrive.
There truly is a magic that occurs when we define what we want and write it down. I have spoken to people who recount stories of writing down a five year plan who achieve the goals in three years. They have shared that it worked but they haven't done it again since. Maybe it seems too easy if we haven't developed a complex action plan to make it happen. Maybe it is too easy to ask?
This poem is an excerpt from the book Think & Grow Rich by Napolean Hill.
"I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn dismayed,
That any wage I asked of Life
Life would have willingly paid."
In his book Creating Affluence, Deepak Chopra describes a precise mechanism consisting of four steps, through which all desires can be manifested.
Step one: You slip into the gap between thoughts. The gap is the window, the corridor the transformational vortex through which the personal psyche communicates with the cosmic psyche.
Step two: You have a clear intention of a clear goal in the gap.
Step three: You relinquish your attachment to the outcome, because chasing the outcome or getting attached to it entails coming out of the gap.
Step four: You let the universe handle the details.
Again this sounds too easy, but as Chopra says, perhaps you recall an instant when you were trying to remember a name, and you struggled and struggled, but with no success. Finally, you let go of your attachment to the outcome, and then a little while later the name flashed across the screen of your consciousness. This is the mechanics for the fulfillment of any desire.
When you were struggling to recall the name, the mind was very active and turbulent. But ultimately, out of fatigue and frustration, you let go and the mind became quiet and slowly quieterperhaps so quiet that it was almost stilland you slipped into the gap where you released your desire and soon it was handed to you. This is the true meaning of "Ask and you shall receive," or "Knock and the door shall be opened to you"
My clients report that when they wrote down the things that they wanted, many of the things came to them despite the fact that they were not focusing on them. Have they released a clear intention into the gap, relinquished their outcome and let the universe handle the details?
My challenge to you is to create a clear list of what you would like to have, be or do.
I am compiling amazing stories from my clients as they find their desires coming into their lives. If you are interested in sharing your story please contact me.
Kevin MacDonald is a principal of Clarity Success Coaching, a practice based in the Vancouver area. He does one-to-one coaching as well as programs with Management Teams and Employee Groups. He has served as Club Manager at Quilchena Golf and Country Club and Northview Golf and Country Club, both in the Vancouver area.
Telephone: 1-604-507-1288
Fax: 1-604-507-1289
