Back in 2008 I learned about the Law of Attraction for the first time—a universal principle and law of physics (much like gravity) which says you will attract to your life whatever you focus on, think about, believe, feel and act on. Meaning your life as you currently see it is made up of all the things you have previously focused on, thought about, believed, felt and acted on.
I took the law of attraction to heart when I learned about it, and decided that I would learn how to use it to create the life of my dreams. Because if I can have anything and create anything and be anything, so long as I focus on it, think about it, believe it’s possible, feel it as already being true and then taking aligned action… then why not have my dream life?
In late 2008, I was working with a writing coach who was helping hold me accountable to getting the first draft of my first novel written. And around that time I was making my decision for whether I would self-publish or go the traditional route.
And I had an idea one night… what if I wrote about what I wanted to see in my life as if it was already true?
So I grabbed this blue journal I’d been saving for something special, and started writing about my dream life, as if it was already the life I was living. I’d write about my day and how it went. I’d write about my ideal day. I’d write about things, like being on movie sets and having my novel turned into a movie. I’d write that I had a publishing deal and my book was about to come out.
And then one day not long after I started this daily journaling practice, I got a call from my writing coach—her clients who had just started their own small press publishing company heard about my novel and wanted to offer me a publishing deal if I was willing to make changes that fit the message of their company (my first novel was a romance and this publishing house was focusing on love and relationship books). Now the deal didn’t come with any money up front, but it would’ve covered the costs of publishing the actual book and getting it out there.
I hit the panic button!!
The stuff I was writing about in my special blue journal was coming true!! No, it didn’t look quite like what I was expecting, but that’s because I wasn’t being specific enough (something I learned years later was a key to manifestation). But it had shown up. And so fast I couldn’t handle it.
I had somehow intuitively tapped into my power as a writer and creator, by deciding to write about my dream life as if it was already my real life.
And it fucking scared me. So much that I quit. I stopped doing this journaling practice. My special blue journal sat there on my coffee table for months, collecting dust, until I eventually threw it out.
Then in 2016, this journaling practice came back to me full-force through a mentor of mine who had used that exact practice to build a multi-million dollar empire where she gets to do what she loves all day every day and get paid for it.
This isn’t a first occurrence, either.
So many times in my life and in my writing business I’ve second-guessed what I was doing or I’ve told myself that I didn’t know enough yet and needed to learn more. And then I’d spend months wasting time and money on coaches and programs that I really didn’t need and that didn’t really help me, because I didn’t need them.
Don’t get me wrong—I’ve made some seriously awesome investments in myself and in my business, in coaches, mentors, workshops and programs that were amazing and that helped me get where I am today.
But then I’ve also invested in coaches, mentors, workshops and programs that I purchased out of fear, out of lack thinking and out of believing that I wasn’t enough. And it was those investments that ended up being a total waste of my time and money. (Not at all the coach or mentor’s fault, totally my own for not trusting my intuition and believing in myself enough to know that I’ve got this.)
We’re born with this amazing inner guidance system that supports us and gives us hints and messages to point us in the direction we want to go (even when we’re not consciously aware of it). But we’re not taught how to use it or that we should trust it.
We’re told that following your heart is foolish and a waste. We’re told that intuition alone isn’t enough of a reason to do something or not do something, especially when it makes no logical sense whatsoever.
But if you just pay attention to what’s really going on in your inner world and listen for the messages it sends you and then actually act on the stuff that feels aligned for you, you can create the most amazing, incredible, beyond-logic results and life.
I now run my entire business almost 100% on intuition. Yes, I have strategy and I know the principles of how to get the results I’m after. But as far as what to offer to my community and what to create or write always comes 100% as a Divine Download (that’s what I call intuitive ideas).
And over the last year of my life, I have learned how to trust in that guidance and in those Downloads. Anytime I act on those ideas, they always bring me closer to my goals. (Acting on Divine Downloads is now a core value in my business.)
And whenever I ignore them and try to do the logical thing or the thing that seems like the right choice on paper, that’s when things just don’t quite work.
It’s been a hard lesson for me to learn, to discover that I’ve been insanely intuitive my whole life, but there have just been large gaps of time where I told myself the answer was outside me and that I had to go find it. That I had to hire another coach or join another program or look for the answer somewhere other than inside myself.
But the truth is, the answers are already inside you. You just have to know how to access them and then you have to learn to trust them and act on them.
It’s a process. A life-long one. But it starts with acknowledging that you do already know what you need to do and you do already have what it takes. You’re just not acting on it.
You’re doubting and second-guessing. You’re questioning yourself, worried that you aren’t enough or don’t know enough.
But the answers are still there.
They may not have flashing red lights that shout out, “this is the right answer!” because there isn’t ever really one right answer; things shift and change as you continue on your journey. But they will always be there, subtly nudging you and guiding you.
It’s your choice whether you want to listen and act or not.
Now sometimes the answer inside you is… you really don’t know enough and you really do need to learn more. This would be if you’re new to something, just starting out or have never gone all the way and finished anything before. Sometimes we do need outside help and support. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
The way to know whether you need that outside help or not is by asking yourself… am I doing this out of fear or lack thinking? Or am I doing it because I honestly know that there are things I still need help with or need to learn?
If I had asked myself that question throughout my journey so far, I would’ve made a lot of different choices in my life and business.
Again, don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful for my journey. And I don’t believe in regrets.
But I do believe in lessons and always looking for the lesson in the things that I could’ve done different from the beginning. Trusting myself and trusting my intuition (and trusting the Universe) more is absolutely one of the things.
So as I continue to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned over the last 9+ years of blogging and running a business and working full-time for myself (for 5 years), I hope you’ll take away little blips of inspiration for creating your own dream life.
Because that’s what I’ve been doing and what I’m continuing to do. Thanks for being a part of my journey.
Write with a purpose, live with intention,
#DailyThinkDifferent #DreamLifeOrBust
