The following is a quote from The Attractor Factor by Joe Vitale:

“When we dismiss people and ideas because the entire world doesn’t agree with them, we get to be right. But we also get to stay empty inside. By dismissing what could work, we dismiss our own growth. We dismiss what’s possible.

“The truth is, no method works for everyone. No teacher is right for everyone. No book is going to inspire everyone. It all comes from within. You are the first and final authority on your life.

“Rather than dismissing what is possible so that you can be right, what can you accept so that you can grow?”

‘Nuff said.

I was reading Michael Kimble’s (an internet marketer) blog and read an interesting conversation he had with a friend awhile back:

“A year ago, I was working a job, and I got a raise to $60 an hour. I almost couldn’t believe I was making so much money. But I never would have believed I could make $10K a month online, and even once I started doing it, it took me awhile to get comfortable with it.
Now, I think I can do $20K.”

I told her this: “$20K a month is nothing. I have a friend of mine who makes $750K a month, and I’m pissed that I’m not yet doing that.”

When she heard this, her jaw dropped, and she said, “That’s almost unbelievable–I can’t imagine making such a staggering sum.”

“And that,” I said, “is what’s holding you back.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I know people that think making $20K a month is excessive. I even know a few people that can’t even conceive of making that kind of money.

It’s not that what they believe is good or bad. If they’re content and happy making $10K, $0K, or anything in between, then I’m thrilled for them. Their beliefs are working for them quite nicely.

However, a person that desperately wants to be a millionaire but can’t even conceive of making even $40K per month - less than half a million - is shooting themselves in the foot and probably doesn’t even realize it.

Most people are taught beliefs like “money is scarce (it doesn’t grow on trees),” “you have to have money to make money,” “money is evil,” “rich people are greedy and corrupt.”

People with those beliefs ingrained in their subconscious will rarely become millionaires, and even if they do, their subconscious beliefs will cause them to lose it all - or become greedy and corrupt.

And it’s not just about money. Your beliefs dictate every part of your life. What you believe becomes your reality.

We’ve all heard stories about athletes pushing themselves and winning medals and championships; people from poor, uneducated, or other limited backgrounds becoming successful, distinguished, or famous; people overcoming terminal illnesses and living long, healthy lives.

These people acheived their goals and dreams simply because they believed they would. They believed in themselves even when people around them said it couldn’t be done. They let nothing interfere with their beliefs.

We all have exactly that same power, without exception.

The problem is, most people use that power in reverse.

Many people believe they’re poor, underprivileged, or unfortunate because it’s who they are - it’s their lot in life. Or they believe that there’s no way they can achieve their goals or dreams, that “it can’t happen to them.” They listen to other people around them giving such “helpful” advice like “don’t get your hopes up” and other garbage.

Richard Bach, in his book Illusions, has the best response: “Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them.”

If you truly desire to live the life of your dreams, the first step is to believe you can. Get rid of your limiting beliefs and replace them with beliefs that serve you.

You don’t have to try to do that all at once. (Although it’s possible to do so, it’s very difficult and uncomfortable for most people.) Just become aware of your limiting beliefs one by one, replacing each one with a belief that moves you closer to your desires.

As you practice your new beliefs they will become ingrained in you, displacing your old limiting beliefs and bringing you congruent with your desires. Life then picks up on that congruent energy and puts you on the path to realize your dreams.

So… what’s holding you back?

-Chris

Thinking about being in the present moment brought to mind an experience I had a couple of years ago while at breakfast in a diner in Richardson, Texas…

I love toast.

That’s the conclusion I came to after my experience today during my brunch at The Waffle House. It was an ordinary day, a very pleasant but ordinary meal. Even the toast itself was, by all accounts, ordinary.

What was remarkable about the experience was my reaction to the toast. I was already enjoying the meal, but when I took my first bite of the toast, I found myself relishing every bite. Everything about the toast was absolutely divine – the feel, the smell, the texture, the look, the taste – it was all just a great wonder. It was as though this was the first time I had ever seen, smelled or tasted toast before. And I loved it! The waitress must have thought I was a crackpot as I ordered two more servings in succession, as I sat there utterly absorbed in eating toast.

I thought about the movie Meet Joe Black, in which Joe – who happened to be Death on holiday – tasted peanut butter for the very first time and was enthralled by it. That very thing happened to me while eating my Waffle House toast. The only difference was that I had had toast before.

What I realized is that at that moment, savoring my toast, I was more in the present moment than I had perhaps ever been to date. I was acutely aware of everything about my toast. It had captured my complete attention. I found Zen, the Now, in my toast. Every delicious bite is indelibly embedded in my memory forever.

I look forward to more moments like that – where everything is a wonder, no matter how familiar or ordinary it may be.

Today I had an interesting experience while listening to someone talk about someone negative in their lives. Many of us have such a person: they’re ever the victim, everything in their lives are horribly wrong or going wrong, or if it’s good it won’t last.

Even if something good happens, the good news gets overshadowed by doom and gloom. This particular person was complaining that although their cholesterol and blood pressure was down and they had lost a good twenty pounds or so that they couldn’t afford to buy any clothes that fit properly.

The point is that you can choose what you focus on in your experience. Remember that like energy attracts like energy, so if you focus on the negativity in your life you attract more of it into your life. Fortunately, the same holds true when you focus on the positive. And there’s always a positive. One must simply be open to seeing it.

Our minds also tend to associate actions and events with the emotions and thoughts we experience during or as a result of the event. So by associating becoming healthier with thoughts and feelings of negativity like scarcity and lack, what was a positive experience has been given a negative connotation in our subconscious because of the messages we’ve put out. Given enough of this unconscious programming, one will find it more difficult to become healthier because of the association we’ve unintentionally given it.

So the question is: what do you choose to focus on at every moment? What would you rather have more of in your game? Be aware of your thoughts and what thoughts you choose at every moment.

Love and Light,

Chris

This is a quote from Marianne Williamson. It’s one of my favorites, and is a great reminder of who we all are in truth, and that every one of us can choose the games we desire to play in our lives.

Our Deepest Fear
by Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure about you.
We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsiously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

When you think about it, that song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin has some very profound wisdom bottled in a goofy little tune. We should consider ourselves lucky to get this song stuck in our heads as I did earlier today.

These are the official lyrics to the song from Bobby’s website (www.bobbymcferrin.com)

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”

Here’s a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t Worry - Be Happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it Double
Don’t Worry - Be Happy
Ain’t got no place to lay your head,
somebody came and took your bed
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
The landlord say your rent is late,
he may have to litigate
Don’t Worry - Be Happy
Ain’t got not cash, ain’t got no style,
ain’t got no gal to make you smile
Don’t Worry - Be Happy
Cause when you worry your face will frown
and that will bring everybody down
Don’t Worry - Be Happy

Honestly, that’s something that, until a few short years ago, I never imagined I would ever say.

I used to be someone that took the game of Life entirely too seriously. To me, it wasn’t a game. Life was this thing you had to conquer and dominate, otherwise it would dominate you and keep you down. I didn’t smile much, and even to my friends I was a serious, moody brooding person with a bad temper.

The key here is realizing that at the core, we’re all here in this existence playing a huge game with each other. Just like playing cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, we’re all just playing with one another, be our roles knights, princesses, paupers or thieves. All of these roles and situations are just to make the game more interesting as a whole.

Unfortunately for us, most of us have gotten so caught up in the game that we forget that we’re just playing. Suddenly all the monsters and demons become real to us, and we buy into suffering and pain. Suddenly it’s not fun anymore, and we feel we must endure our experiences because the suffering and turmoil is all there is. In effect, we’re blaming the state of our game on the overall game and its rules.

What we have forgotten is that we created the games in the first place. We can always go back and change the game we play. We can choose to play a different game at every moment. We are free to set our rules for how we want to play. Only our belief that our situation is real and unchangeable limits us.

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in my transition from that person I described earlier and where I am now - a state of joy and pure bliss that just keeps getting better every moment - is that by remembering that I’m just playing a game I can release the monsters and suffering I had put myself through in the past.

In doing so, I’ve released literally TONS of stress and negativity from my life, leaving me more open to receive the abundance that is the natural state of our lives. We need only be willing to allow ourselves to receive the gifts that Life wants to provide us. I’m able to play my game better. And I’m grateful to all the people around me playing with me and creating an interesting game for us all to play.

What’s the difference between moving towards the positive instead of away from the negative? Aren’t they the same thing?

No, they’re not.

When you move away from a negative influence, your focus remains on the negative. You’re still giving it energy because you’re still focused on it, even though your intent is to move away from it. What that ultimately means is that no matter what direction you move away from it (and it can be hard to tell what direction you’re going in if you’re not looking where you’re going) or how far away you move from it, that negative influence will remain because you continue to focus on it, using it as a measure of your progress.

On the other hand, when you move towards a positive influence, your focus is on the positive. All your energy is on that positive influence. You’ll move away from any negative influence by default - so you needn’t expend any energy towards the negative whatsoever. Plus, you’ll be moving in a clear direction towards your desired outcome instead of simply moving away from something you no longer desire. And the Universe loves clarity.

I found an interesting article today on MSNBC. Apparently the tsunami earlier this year has uncovered part of a previously buried ancient city in a coastal town in India. The area is visited by thousands of pilgrims and tourists each year. I expect with this discovery that there will be an even greater increase of interest in the area, increasing the long term prosperity of the region.

What’s interesting to me is that even in the face of what some would call a devastating catastrophe is that there is always good that comes from it, and opportunities for prosperity to shine through are always present if one is open to receive them.

I’m excited to announce that the site has officially gone live as of today! Woohoo!

What a great miracle it’s been that he project came together so effortlessly. Granted, it’s kept me busy al weekend tidying the place up a bit, but all told things have gone really well.

If you haven’t stopped by the site yet, here’s what we have in store:

• A limited time Grand Opening Offer - We’ve cut the cost of the teleclass and mentoring program in half until Wednesday, January 26th. Now’s a great time to sign up!
• A Resources page where we’ll post inspiring articles, books, sites and other odds and ends to inspire you to play your game.
• A forum for members to commiserate, and a special public Q&A forum about the program where anyone can get answers to questions about the program before joining. In fact, we’re building our FAQ there to be interactive.

So drop by the site and have a look. If you connect with us, feel free to get in touch with us and talk in more detail.

We’d also love you to help spread the word about us. If you know someone that might connect with us, please feel free to send them to our site.

To Your Prosperity,

Chris