The Key to Living the Life You Want

Does living the life you want seem out of reach?  Here’s a true story about the Law of Attraction and how one simple shift created a chain reaction that completely changed a life…and it’s something you can do, too!

Once upon a time there was a man who had destroyed his life by the age of 32.

On June 10, 1996, he stood motionless in the prison cell that served as his home, devastated over the news that his father had died. He looked deeply into the eyes that glared at him through the stainless-steel mirror in his cell. He saw the reflection of an unemployed high-school dropout and a three-time loser who had spent his entire adult life in a hopeless state of despair. For as long as he could remember, he had known only this life of prison, poverty and struggle. He was the ultimate loser.

He had no money, no hope, and by all accounts, no future. He had never had a steady job. He had abandoned his three-year-old son. He had never owned a home. He had never done an honorable thing in his life.

As he grieved over his dead father, thought about the three-year-old son he’d abandoned, and reflected on his wasted life, he considered the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, which he had just discovered.

We become what we think about all day long.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

He thought about the words intently as he gazed into his own miserable reality. He stared at his reflection and noticed he was getting older. His teens and twenties had raced by at warp speed. He wouldn’t see the streets again until he was nearly 40 years old.

He considered Emerson’s words once more.

He wondered…was there more to life? Was he even remotely capable of altering the course of his seemingly forged destiny? Was it possible to become something different by thinking something different? Despite insurmountable odds, he decided to find out.

He set out on a journey of creating a plan for his life–what he later called his Personal Prosperity Plan. He focused his thinking on a new, productive, meaningful life and taking actions that were consistent with his new thoughts. The prospect of changing his life by changing his thoughts seemed preposterous, but he was desperate to change his life.

He became obsessed with changing the course of his destiny. And he did.

By the time he was released from his third and final trip to the penitentiary in 2003, he had earned a Bachelor’s degree and an MBA. In 2002, just one year before his release, he was credited with saving the life of a prison guard.

After his release he created a new life and raised his son to become a remarkable young man. He started a small company from scratch and grew sales to $20 million in just 60 months, earning a spot in Inc Magazine’s 2009 list of “fastest growing privately held companies in America.” He purchased beautiful homes in the mountains of Colorado and on the beaches of Maui.

This man went on to write a memoir called The Upside of Fear: How One Man Broke the Cycle of Prison, Poverty, and Addiction, which won numerous awards and was endorsed by Stephen R. Covey and Tony Robbins. He started teaching individuals and businesses the process he used to transcend 25 years of poverty and misery and create an exceptional life of wealth, happiness and peace of mind.

After living a desperate life of poverty and struggle, including 13 years behind concrete walls and razor wire, he emerged a transformed man and built the life he once dreamed about in his gray, cold prison cell.

What you just read is the paraphrased story of Weldon Long, shared with his permission.

A few years ago, I attended a personal development seminar presented by Weldon Long. He talked about the power that limiting beliefs—the “junk in your trunk”–can have over your life, and how each of us can alter the course of our future by changing the internal things we consistently say to ourselves.

Your life is a perfect reflection of your thoughts and emotions. Whatever is in your mind–your beliefs, thoughts, expectations, feelings–provide the ingredients for whatever recipe you create. The key to creating a life of abundance, health, happiness, and peace-of-mind is to evaluate the thoughts you focus on and replace the “junk in your trunk” with thoughts that represent and support the life you desire.

When you change your thoughts, you change how you feel.
When you change how you feel, it changes how you act.
When you change how you act, you will get different results.

Changing your thoughts alone will not change your life. Empowering thoughts, combined with the right consistent actions, will create the results you desire.

The Power of I AM

An “I AM” statement is written in the present tense to reflect something you desire to be, do or have in your future. It’s important that you visualize these things in the present tense, as your subconscious mind does not know the difference between fantasy and reality. Your mind will focus on whatever you feed it.

We are bombarded with negativity all day, every day. Although we can choose to limit what we listen to, watch or read (TV, movies, video games, radio, news, social media, etc.), the best way to counteract the negativity is to bathe your mind in positive and affirming thoughts that will keep you focused on what you desire.

I’ll share some of my own I AM statements with you from four important areas of my life: Health, Prosperity, Relationships, and Contribution.

HEALTH:

• I am a healthy, toned, trim and energetic woman. I enjoy an active lifestyle.
• I am making healthy food choices and eat what my body needs to feel satisfied.
• I am taking a 30-minute brisk walk daily to enjoy excellent cardiovascular health.
• I am joyfully experiencing time for self-care, including weekly massages and personal training sessions.

PROSPERITY:

• My abundance is used to bring opportunity to those who are ready to embrace it.
• I am sharing my business offerings globally with passion and purpose, with no attachment to what others decide to do.
• We are joyfully building lasting memories as a couple in our remodeled home.
• I am wisely investing a portion of my monthly income to create even greater leveraged income.

RELATIONSHIPS:

• I am a master of “Right Now” moments, fully present with those I spend time with.
• I am experiencing passion, intimacy, and fulfillment in my marriage. I do something daily to let Doug know that I cherish him.
• I am emotionally deeply connected with my daughter. I am an active listener, suspending judgment and unsolicited advice. I am the mother I wished I had.
• I affirm those I love on a daily basis by expressing gratitude and affection.

CONTRIBUTION:

• I am a messenger of peace, infusing balance and harmony as I coach others to live a purposeful and productive life.
• I am helping people discover what makes their heart sing, see beyond their limiting beliefs, become empowered, dream big, and create the life they choose.
• I am generously giving to organizations that make a huge positive difference in the lives of others through education and creating self-sufficiency.
• I am positively impacting the lives of others with my weekly blogs.

IMPORTANT: Notice that the statements above begin with “I am…” rather than “I am going to…” The most powerful statements are written in the present tense, as if they represent the way things already are. Remember that your subconscious mind does not know the difference between fantasy and reality. Repeating your I AM statements helps you keep focus on what you want and choose.

Once you’ve written your I AM statements, carve out time at the beginning of each day to review them. I mailed my I AM statements to myself in a greeting card that I created (see below). I carry this card with me wherever I go so I can read my statements more than once daily.

Remember that whatever you focus on, you get more of…known as the Law of Attraction. Begin this new habit of reviewing your I AM statements–what you desire in the present tense–at the start of every day and throughout your day.

If living the life you want seems out of reach, let’s schedule a no-cost, no-pressure Discovery Call today.  Together we’ll explore ways you can honor your heart’s desires, open new doors to possibilities, and take the next step toward making it happen.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog post, where you’ll learn about ways to reclaim your power by limiting the time you spend with toxic people.

Check out these additional resources:

• Self-Paced Course: Guide to Getting Motivated & Achieving Your Goals
• Guide: Cultivating Happiness: Living Life on Your Terms
• Guide: Find Your Strengths & Choose Your Success