Intentions, Resolutions, And Goals

What are your intentions for 2008? Did you set out your resolutions for the new year or have you set specific goals?

One of the things I've been musing about for a while is the use of language around our desires, especially at the beginning of the year when most of us are inclined to reflect on what we really want.

So often we declare a resolution and within a few days or weeks we've already broken the promise and so we give up. Our "resolve" to change something has dissipated and we feel we've let ourselves down. The term resolution implies an "all or nothing", so to "break" the resolution implies failure.

Setting goals can often have a similar effect. As part of the goal setting process typically taught, the goal should be time bound -- meaning we've set a date. Well for many life goals, that date is arbitrary; it's a best guess based on what we know, believe, or expect.

So what happens if the date comes up and we haven't achieved the goal? We're prone to feel disappointed in ourselves and question what we were thinking. Of course that leads almost immediately into damaging, negative self-talk which automatically lowers our vibration and thus takes us even further away from achieving our goal.

That's why I've come to prefer the term "intention".

Setting an intention rather than a goal or a resolution feels more comfortable. It doesn't set up a negative pressure around slipping on a resolution or missing a deadline. Rather it clearly puts focus on what I want, but in a relaxed matter. There's no "force" in the language.

"It is my intention to __________ in 2008."

You fill in the blank. Then you pay attention signs pointing you to the most direct path to your intention and begin to follow it. If you become wayward, refocus on your intention and find the path again. That's the process -- that's the journey we're all on.

Esther Hicks and Abraham talk about this is in the audio CD that accompanies their book The Astonishing Power of Emotions. They talk about how the use of the term "goal" implies we're looking upstream rather than downstream. They explain this concept beautifully and I highly recommend you get the book and listen to the audio because it is a very powerful explanation of this concept.

And have a wonderful 2008. May all of your intentions come true.

Learn more about how to set intentions by visiting my website at http://www.inspiredabundance.com/. And if you'd like to learn more about a personal development program that teaches you how to get whatever you want, visit http://www.inspiredpersonaldevelopment.com/ today.

Holidays Are A Time Of Giving And Gratitude

We're well into the traditional holiday season, which is a time of giving and gratitude. The joy of giving and the feeling of gratitude are very powerful ways to raise your vibration.

Just look around ... the majority of people are generally happier, friendlier and lovelier at this time of year.

So take the opportunity to raise your vibration this holiday season ... it's possible the easiest time to do so. And discover how much better you feel when you participate in the giving and reflect on your gratitude for this amazing life.

And if you need help, perhaps this video will get your vibration climbing.



Discover more about the astonishing power of gratitude and vibration at http://www.inspiredabundance.com/

Life Can Pass You By Quickly

Are you letting key experiences in your life pass you by?

My kids' Christmas concert was last night at their school.

As I watched my daughter singing in the choir, I was overcome with emotion and pride at what an amazing young lady she is blossoming into.

And yet there was a tinge of sadness at the same time.

It took me a while to understand it, but I believe the sadness came from realizing she is no longer a little girl and there is so much of her growing up that I missed and now it's gone.

And then when I watched my son perform, I couldn't help but notice the joy and excitement he brought with him. He has a natural curiosity and wonder typical of a busy 5 year old.

Our kids are over 7 years apart.

Because I chose to build my own home business, I've had the opportunity to spend the past 20 months watching him grow up and sharing so many neat experiences with him. The contrast in experiences for me between the two is dramatic.

And it's helped me realize that life passes by very quickly.

It seems just like yesterday that my daughter was born, but it was actually over 12 years ago. Where did the time go?

That's part of the reason the past 20 months have been a lot about catching up on lost time. We've packed a lot of travel and family time and experiences into the past 2 years. And we've grown much closer as a family.

I'm so grateful that I have learned this lesson now, while I'm still relatively young (yes ... late 40s is still young!) in my life.

I'm learning that indeed, the things I most regret in life are the things I didn't get to do.

And so my intention for the New Year is to stay fully present in my life and fully experience the experiences. I choose to not allow my life to pass me by.

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To learn more about how to live your life the way you want to, visit my website at http://www.inspiredabundance.com/.

Clean Your Counter Intentions -- Joe Vitale

I received an email today with a video of Joe Vitale, who of course is one of the stars of the film The Secret.

In the video Joe addresses what he calls the "hidden secret" to really getting Law of Attraction to work for you.

Watch the video and then practive this mantra: "I love You. I'm sorry. Forgive me. Thank-you."

This video of Joe Vitale explains it all. Are you ready to clean your counter intentions?



Visit my website at http://www.inspiredabundance.com/ for more information on how to work with the law of attraction. And if you'd like to work with a program that will further help you to learn how to get whatever you want, visit http://www.inspiredpersonaldevelopment.com/.

Experience Life Now. Stop Going Through The Motions.

Are you choosing to experience your life or are you going through the motions?

As I write this, I'm in Wichita, Kansas. I'm on a road trip of sorts that started 2 weeks and one day ago. I loaded my family into our van and we set out from our home just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

So far, we've stayed over in Fargo, North Dakota; Wichita, Kansas; Galveston, Texas; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Weslaco, Texas; Austin, Texas and now back again in Wichita.

Our van has made it to all but 3 of the locations, while we relied on a cruise ship to get us to the remaining ones.

The trip has reminded me of what a wondrous planet we live on. And it's served to cement my resolve that the point of living is to experience the world and enjoy the experience.

I was able to take this trip because I have my own home based business. It gives me the freedom to choose when, where and how I want to experience my life and I don't require permission from any one else to do so.

But it wasn't always this way. For too many years, I lived my life by going through the motions and putting off experiences until some undetermined point down the road.

Finally, I couldn't take it any more, and I made the decision to start living my life now. No more going through the motions for me.

That's the trip I'm on and the ride has been exhilarating. You should try it some time.

Learn more about how to experience prosperity and abundance by visiting my website at http://www.inspiredabundance.com/. And, if you'd like to check out a really cool course that essentiallly teaches you how to get anything you want, visit http://www.inspiredpersonaldevelopment.com/.

Be The Leader And Raise Your Vibration

When you choose to be the leader, you automatically raise your vibration. And by law of attraction, when you raise your vibration, you begin to attract more of what you want.

I realize I keep coming back to this topic of vibration, but I've come to realize it truly is the key to to utilizing law of attraction in a deliberate way.

What does choosing to be the leader mean? Well, in my book, being the leader means doing what you say you intend to do.

Lets look at a really simple example.

If you intend to do 50 pushups in the morning and you actually do them, you have chosen to be the leader in that moment. If you skip them, then you have chosen to be the victim. End of story.

But an interesting thing happens when you follow through with your intention. You begin to feel better about yourself. You are in integrity with who you intended to be. And so your vibration can't help but increase. (Note the opposite happens when you're out of integrity).

Now, because you're in integrity with your intention, you are much more likely to want to follow through with your next intention. Once you do that, you suddenly have momentum. And with momentum, amazing things begin to happen.

This is so deceptively simple, yet it's where I see most people -- including myself -- sof often miss the point.

You can begin being the leader of yourself immediately ... right now ... regardless of where you are, where you've been, or what's going on around you.

Simply set an inention for yourself in the next few minutes, write it down and declare it, and then do it. Then repeat the process.

Do this over and over as many times as you can throughout the day and you will feel like a completely different person by the end of the day.

And the watch what begins to show up in your life. Because now that you've chosen to be the leader and stay in integrity with yourself, you've begun to raise your vibration in a very deliberate, profound fashion -- and so the universe will begin to open up to you.

Thanks for reading.

Learn more about how to be the leader and raise your vibration by visiting my website at http://www.inspiredabundance.com/. And, if you'd like to check out a really cool course that essentiallly teaches you the pinciples of raising your vibration, visit http://www.inspiredpersonaldevelopment.com/.

Is The Secret Really Misleading Us?

If you've seen the film The Secret, you will know that it focuses on Law of Attraction and how to use it deliberately in your day-to-day life. But is its message misleading and ultimately harmful to those viewers who come away from the film inspired to think their way into prosperity?

I read an interesting blog post today by David Askaripour over at MindPetals.com. The article title is The Secret Uncovered And Exposed. In his article, David propsoses this very question and he comes to some stark conclusions.

And he raises some very good points. The theme of David's article is that The Secret seems to be more about creating an ongoing ATM machine through the marketing of the franchise than it is about teaching people how to actually learn to deliberately use the principles of law of attraction in their life.


Now I would suggest every film is ultimately about marketing its franchise, but David rightfully points out that there is no discussion about "doing" anything in the film -- which leaves the impression that all one needs to do is want something badly enough while visualizing having it and, voila, it will appear.

I agree with David that this is a key omission in the film. My own view is that it's one of several key omissions that effectively still leave "the secret" a secret.

One of the key ones for me is the whole notion of vibrational alignment. My ability to receive is directly tied to the quality of the match in the level of my own vibration as compared to whatever it is I want. When the match is high, I can manifest things much more quickly and if the match is absent then I never will.

I believe part of the key to matching the vibrational frequency is that if I'm a good vibrational match, I'm inspired to take the actions that best serve me. The universe literally shows me the way, but I still must pay attention and take the action. I do that by following my inspiration.

So ... yes, action is absolutely a prerequisite to completing the creative process. And it's the level of vibrational alignment between me and my desire that serves as the catalyst to my taking the "right" action.

So, as David points out, it is very fair to say that The Secret is in fact very misleading when it comes to teaching others how to apply the law of attraction.

Discover more about the real secret to law of attraction by visiting my website at http://www.inspiredabundance.com/.