The Secret to Creating Wealth
Mood:  sharp
Topic: Life Lessons
There has been a great deal of discussion recently in regards to “The Secret”. Everyone is buzzing about the secret. What is the secret? Why the secret? How can I use the secret? Just what is all this fuss about the secret?

The secret is the laws of attraction. These laws, simply stated, mean if you ask, you shall receive it. This rule is probably not new to you and in fact, the secret is as old as the history of the earth. Almost every major religion possesses some element of the secret and uses its teachings to encourage and spiritually enlighten its followers. Unfortunately, because of the hustle and bustle of our world today, people have forgotten the secret which is why it is now being referred to as a secret. We have neglected our purpose in favor of complacency to what the world throws at us. By recommitting to the secret, you will get back in touch with your purpose and become empowered to demand that the world give you what you desire instead of what it chooses for you. In all actuality, the universe does not make any decisions for you. The choices have been yours to make all along. What makes us different from all of the other animals on earth is that we do not live by instinct alone. People have been given the gift of free will. The secret to living your best life is to make conscious choices that redirect the energy that you both give and receive. When you become a master of the secret, you will begin to invite health, wealth and prosperity. It would be wise to keep a journal as you begin your journey to creating wealth using the secret.

People often tell us when we share our dreams, “stop lying to yourself, that’s never going to happen.” I invite you to L.I.E. like you’ve never lied before. You see, the word L.I.E. is an acronym for “living in expectation”. You have to start off by setting the B.A.R. high for yourself. That is, you must follow the three rules to lying. These are:
1. believe
2. achieve
3. receive

You have to believe the L.I.E. you are telling. The Bible states that if you ask you shall receive it and then to count those things as though they already are. So in order to truly L.I.E., or to live in expectation, you must combine your desire with FAITH. Faith is to believe in the unseen or unknown without any physical or visible evidence to its existence. So at this point, you do not worry about HOW you will accomplish your dreams, you just must have FAITH that you will.

Something I like to do is to create a dream collage. You will need to take a large sheet of cardboard or construction paper and use it to assemble pictures or words that symbolize what your life will look and feel like once you have accomplished your dream. You can cut out pictures from magazines or travel brochures or use your own memorabilia to create your collage. Once it is completed, hang it in a place where it will be highly visible so that you can be reminded of your dream as often as possible. You should take at least 60 seconds each day to actually meditate on your dream collage. Imagine what you will do, who you will be with and how you will fully live your dream. You will find that eventually, you will start to think like you are living your dream which ultimately manifests into you acting as though you were living your dream. This process makes it easier to begin truly living your dream.

The second rule is to achieve. This means that you will need to take action in order to move toward your dream. How do you do this? When we conjure a dream, at first the very notion can seem monumentous. The very bigness of the dream can be quite overwhelming and, therefore, impossible to achieve. So we typically, through our doubts, and fears of inadequacy or failure, discount our dreams and become immobilized by that bigness. The way to overcome the enormity and impossibility is to create a plan that breaks the dream down into smaller, more manageable steps. In a sense, you are developing SMART goals. That is goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-constrained. Marcia Wieder, America’s Dream Coach, says that you should create W.O.W.s, things you can do within one week, to serve as a basis to construct your timeline to attain your dream. These should be written down or better yet, typed. When you can clearly see an outline to achieve your dream, it begins to shrink into something that looks much more accomplishable. This will also help you to increase your FAITH because your written plan becomes the visual evidence you need in order to believe in your dream. I suggest that you even go a step further by using this list of goals as the centerpiece in which your entire dream collage is built around.

The last rule to living in expectation is to receive. You must open yourself to the possibility of success. We have all heard the term, “you’re going to miss out on your blessing if you fill-in-the-blank”. The truth is that if you are inviting negative energy into your life you are in a sense, cutting yourself off from the positivity that could come. Positive thoughts and actions are much more powerful than negative thoughts and actions; however, we allow those that are negative to occur much more frequently and to control our lives.

The song, “Ironic”, by Alanis Morrisette, I think is a perfect example of how the laws of attraction can work in our lives. How many of us have experienced “a traffic jam when you’re already late for work” or a “free ride when you’ve already paid”? Irony can often be traced back to your thought pattern throughout the day. If you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you then develop a headache, you have run out of toothpaste and you waste coffee on your fresh pressed white shirt during your mad dash between the Starbuck’s and your office only to find out that you have left that very important client brief on your kitchen table at home. By allowing yourself to be consumed by negative thoughts and reactions, this domino effect can and often does occur. Since we get back, exactly what we put out, it is important to begin to shift, not only your thoughts, but also your actions and reactions toward more positive things. Your heart and spirit will be made available to receive more blessings.

Set your B.A.R. high enough to be a challenge but not so high that it becomes unrealistic and unattainable. This is the difference between a dream and a fantasy. A dream is something that you can define goals around and develop a plan to achieve. You can not do this with a fantasy. Winning the lottery is a fantasy because you have no control over the outcome. There are not deliberate actions you can take to achieve it. Winning the lottery does not include all three rules of the L.I.E. In order for your L.I.E. or your dream to be realized, it must follow the three rules completely. Believe, achieve and receive so that you can live in expectation of those things yet to come. LIE, LIE, LIE!

Now let’s turn our discussion towards success. What does it mean to be successful? My definition of success is being fully appreciative of where you are in life right now and having the courage, strength and faith to continue the journey. I am a long-time strong believer and subscriber in the laws of attraction which have received much attention in the media lately due to the revision of the old movie, "The Secret". I believe that if you are conscious of your thoughts, actions and reactions today then you have complete control over where you will be tomorrow. Essentially, your mastery of "the secret” puts you into the driver seat to determine how fast and which successes you achieve.

The problem is that we typically do not live our lives according to our own success definition. Instead we are governed by environmental influences that include family, especially parents and spouses, friends, culture and society. We make decisions based more upon what we believe is expected of us then what we truly want and desire. This brings upon stress and imbalance because when we live in other’s expectations rather than our own, we begin to move outside of our purpose. Without purpose, we can not feel passionate or fully committed to the journey.

To really be successful, you must first define what success means to you. Everyone has a very different definition of success. To some, success may mean a six-figure income. Others are simply fulfilled by living the American dream of the home, a white picket fence, a spouse, 2.5 kids and a dog. Still others feel successful even in the midst of daily financial trials and tribulations. The secret to success is determining what your purpose is and then to make every decision based upon this purpose. Success really equates to what makes you happy and fulfilled, your purpose.

After you have completed some much needed soul-searching to determine your purpose and unique definition of success, you can then use this information to map out the next phase of your journey. Take the time to dream and then create a plan to achieve it. Set up your goals using the W.O.W. system mentioned earlier and then L.I.E. your way to the top. Believe the dream, achieve the dream and receive all the blessings associated with it. Take action to move your dream forward.

The final phase in achieving wealth is simple. Enroll others into your dream. You have developed a great plan and are armed with the knowledge of who you are. Since no man is truly an island, you need to build a wealth-generating team. I’m sure you have heard that if you want to get anywhere in life, you need to surround yourself with those who are already where you want to be. There are so many cliches supporting this statement: birds of a feather flock together, you are the company you keep, etc. This is uncannily true. So if you want to join the ranks of the wealthy, immerse yourself in their ranks. Go where they go, sleep where they sleep and eat what they eat. You want to put yourself in a position to build a network of like-minded wealth-oriented people. These are people who feel that they are successful and also have evidence of their success in their wallets.

Explain to your newfound wealthy friends exactly what you are trying to do. Ask them to share their knowledge and experiences with you and determine in what other ways they can help. People are generally helpful if you ask the right questions. So be very specific in every request. The main reason people say no is because either they weren’t clear about what you were asking or you were asking too much. Clarify your requests or ask what part of the request they can help with. You will be pleasantly surprised from where your help comes. Connect with these people and tap into their resources. Also, always offer your assistance in return. Be as helpful and considerate as possible because this will invite reciprocity.

The secret to creating wealth is really no secret at all. It just takes time, commitment and knowledge of self. Tap into your unique talents, strengths and abilities and use them to define your purpose. Determine what success means to you and embrace your dreams. Create a plan with time-constrained goals by setting your B.A.R. high and then L.I.E. your way to the top. You will invite wealth and success into your life like never before.

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? 2007 by Niquenya D. Fulbright-All Rights Reserved.

About the Author:
Niquenya D. Fulbright is a Chicago area executive life coach, professional speaker and corporate trainer with over 10 years experience specializing in business, career, life and relationship coaching. Niquenya helps her clients to improve the quality of their personal and business relationships through positive goal-setting, self-assessment, business plan/proposal writing, management consulting, resume writing/review and a number of other career and consulting services. For more information or to schedule a complimentary coaching session, visit http://www.niquenyafulbright.com, send inquiry to contactme@niquenyafulbright.com or call 773-368-3575. All coaching sessions are performed via telephone.