Planning, Manifesting, and Hard Work

[jacare]

I sat down the other day to speak with my brother, who is a multi-millionaire business owner, and successful invester in M&A, arbitrage, and other types of stock deals. I'm trying to kick my business into a higher gear, and asked his advice. I started to talk about LOA, controlling mind, etc. He holds up his hand and says wait a minute.....that's all nonesense....

Then we talked about my "lifeline" which means, what is my school and job history, how did I arrive at this point. Well, he determined that my lack of planning and focus has limited my business. He says I need to write detailed and precise business plans for each aspect of my business, and then execute those plans. This is what leads to success. And what follows is the money, houses, cars, etc. If the business plan is executed, and sales don't improve, well then it was a lousy business idea, no money, etc.

So, from what I can tell, LOA and manifestation is just the original intent to want something. Then you need to write or create a detailed plan to get it, and you need to do a good job of executing the plan. And it is better if you get lucky somehow along the way. You still manifested it intentionally, and you still had the original intention. But you create it.

And people who argue this have to show me the material manifestations they have done without doing these steps either intuitively or by design, and I'm not talking about manifesting a $100 dollar bill on the ground. I'm talking about at least a $1,000,000 USD per year or more business (which is still actually a very small business.).

[cylon]

So what's the question?

[SarahJaynee]

But a detailed vision board IS like a detailed business plan, just a lot more fun to create AND to read.
Just because your brother did it one way doesn't mean everyone has to do it that way.
Its always been my belief that Life is easy and financial success is easy too. I believe that from my core and thus this has been my reality.
Come up with your own Life plan - don't borrow someone elses.

[AthenaMarina]

Well the two are NOT necessarily exclusive. A great business plan PLUS LOA, IM WOW what a combination! Thanks everyone!

[Life Hacking Pianist]

I've always considered LoA to be mostly for getting into the right attitude for working insanely hard and planning and taking risks. If you tell yourself repeatedly you already have it and the joy it brings you, then you won't be afraid of wasting all your energy in a plan that could fail. And you're also far more open to latching onto opportunities when they present themselves.

[cylon]

Originally Posted by Life Hacking Pianist

I've always considered LoA to be mostly for getting into the right attitude for working insanely hard and planning and taking risks.

That's not LOA. That's using positive thinking to motivate yourself to achieve goals the old fashioned way.

LOA is about how your mind will bring you the people and resources to do what you want, just by thinking of them. Sort of like ESP to the whole universe.

But, those thoughts are actions. So action is still a part of it.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by jacare

And people who argue this have to show me the material manifestations they have done without doing these steps either intuitively or by design, and I'm not talking about manifesting a $100 dollar bill on the ground. I'm talking about at least a $1,000,000 USD per year or more business (which is still actually a very small business.).

LOL ... Don't you know about Andrew Carnegie?

He grew up in a very poor family. His first job was as a messenger boy in a telegraph company earning $2.50 per week.

But by the time Carnegie died in 1919, he owned railroads, steel companies, oil companies, bridges. And he had given away USD $350,695,653 to charity. (By the way, that figure in 2009 terms would equal several billion US dollars).

And don't you know Carnegie's secret?

He tried very hard to teach the world about it. His main strategy was to teach it to a journalist, and inspire the journalist to do his own research and write about Carnegie's secret.

Who was that journalist, what was the book? Napoleon Hill and "Think and Grow Rich", one of the LOA classics.

[cylon]

I need to get the "official" version of that book. I think the one I have has parts taken out by the publisher because it was "too weird".

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by cylon

I need to get the "official" version of that book. I think the one I have has parts taken out by the publisher because it was "too weird".

The really fun part is the chapter entitled "The Sixth Sense".

[newmark]

Originally Posted by cylon

I need to get the "official" version of that book. I think the one I have has parts taken out by the publisher because it was "too weird".

I recommend reading the original. Without the 'weird' bits it doesn't make as much sense.

[Daffy Duck]

jacare, I'd suggest you check out some of Brian Tracy's books. Flight Plan is a good one and a quick read. He discusses the use of LOA in a practical way.

Your brother's suggestion of visualizing and writing a detailed plan is something I've seen mentioned in "LOA books" too. It's good advice.

You mentioned getting "lucky" along the way. This is where LOA would step in. By visualizing success, you are more apt to spot opportunities and "attract" what you need to succeed. Many people go into great detail about how LOA works, but it boils down to this: you become what you think most about. So think good things -- no -- think GREAT things! Think like a great person, be a great person, do what a great person does, and have what a great person has. This is what LOA is about. This is obviously true on a practical "earthly" level and also true on the "LOA We Are All One I Am The Universe All Things Come To Me" perspective.

It's this latter perspective that your brother calls nonsense. Maybe this is what you believe too? That's fine. I'd wager most of the greatest people in history didn't know all the little details or even think of "LOA" but they were still using the principles. It's okay to think LOA is nonsense or "faith-based" rather than "fact-based". This is often why I try to speak of LOA in practical ways, because almost everyone can believe a practical example. Some people become successful "users of LOA" just by focusing on having a positive mental attitude. That attitude alone can generate so many great things in our lives.

Andrew Carnegie made a fortune, due mostly to his work with the steel industry. Fascinating guy. Read more about him here: Andrew Carnegie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

P.S. Do I overuse quotations or what?

[cylon]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

The really fun part is the chapter entitled "The Sixth Sense".

I just checked and I have the "New, Revised Edition". It appears to have been printed in 1966 but looks a bit newer than that. It has that chapter in it but I'm hesitant to read it if it's been tampered with. I'll get the older one somewhere.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

Andrew Carnegie made a fortune, due mostly to his work with the steel industry. Fascinating guy. Read more about him here: Andrew Carnegie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carnegie is a fascinating case study, because he reminds all of us that while the LOA can be used for creating wealth, wealth is certainly not the only thing that the LOA can create.

We know him now only from Wikipedia entries etc etc. But even from that, we can see that that he created much more than just money and a business empire for himself.

He was interested in world peace; helping the poor; building libraries; fostering better relations between the UK and the US; improving political systems; in writing; and in promoting literature.

Taken from Carnegie's private memos to himself (we'd call it a "blog entry" these days):

Man does not live by bread alone. I have known millionaires starving for lack of the nutriment which alone can sustain all that is human in man, and I know workmen, and many so-called poor men, who revel in luxuries beyond the power of those millionaires to reach.

It is the mind that makes the body rich. There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else. Money can only be the useful drudge of things immeasurably higher than itself. Exalted beyond this, as it sometimes is, it remains Caliban still and still plays the beast.

My aspirations take a higher flight. Mine be it to have contributed to the enlightenment and the joys of the mind, to the things of the spirit, to all that tends to bring into the lives of the toilers of Pittsburgh sweetness and light. I hold this the noblest possible use of wealth.

[Acting Like Godot]

Another example I want to mention is the billionaire Franklin Templeton (founder of Templeton funds).

He also wrote books. He had an intense interest in, you know, the usual things we talk about here ... mind; reality; spirit; beliefs shaping reality etc.

If you go through his stuff, you will see some distinct signs, marks and threads of LOA philosophy.

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

He was interested in world peace; helping the poor; building libraries; fostering better relations between the UK and the US; improving political systems; in writing; and in promoting literature.

Great post, ALG. I agree -- I don't think Carnegie was so interested in wealth itself -- he was interested in what it would help him create.

[Acting Like Godot]

A 3rd example I wish to mention is Bill Gates.

There is this old story (alas, we will not know whether it is true, unless we ask Bill directly, however, he is not my personal acquaintance).

The part of the old story that we do know for sure is that he dropped out of Harvard, and set up a silly little two-man company called Microsoft, and became the planet's richest man.

The other part of the story is that he dropped out of Harvard and set up that silly little company, because he was deeply influenced by a certain book that he had read.

"The Master Key System" by Charles Haanel. Another LOA classic.

[Daffy Duck]

This is news to me. Did someone quote Gates as reading it?

[Acting Like Godot]

A 4th example I would like to mention is, well, somebody not so rich, but nevertheless very rich, by most standards, and rather well-known in these forums.

That's Brian Tracy.

Whose early career included jobs as a dishwasher, a construction worker, a sailor and various other jobs involving poor pay; little status and a lot of physical labour.

Somewhere along the way, he grew interested in beliefs, thoughts and the power of his own mind.

For those who like to say that the only way to get rich via the LOA is to write and sell LOA books to the gullible and naive, I would like to point out that Brian Tracy grew quite rich and successful (despite the severe disadvantages of his impoverished, lowly-educated early life) well before he ever started writing books about the LOA or personal development.

(Among other things, he became the Chief Operating Officer of some quite-large company. I forget the figure - it was something like a company with an annual turnover of $350,000,000, way larger than the $1,000,000 figure that Jacare mentioned as his personal standard).

Incidentally, Brian Tracy is definitely an advocate of taking action; writing business plans etc etc. But at the same time, you can see clearly from his books that he also believes in how your thoughts can "magically" summon opportunities, resources, information, contacts etc etc into your reality, quite independently of any action you actually take.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

This is news to me. Did someone quote Gates as reading it?

Google "Haanel" and "Gates" and see how many hits you get.

Of course, as I said, it could be an urban legend. The only way to verify it is to ask Gates himself.

Maybe that could be a task for STEVE PAVLINA.

Actually it would be quite cool if Steve could interview Gates and ask him questions about his views on personal development, success, the meaning of life etc etc

[cylon]

Brian Tracy talks a lot about the "Universal Mind".

He seems to believe in physical action and LOA in equal measures.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by cylon

Brian Tracy talks a lot about the "Universal Mind".

And the "superconscious mind".

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by cylon

He seems to believe in physical action and LOA in equal measures.

Brian seems to observe the same thing I do -- that there aren't many people who achieve anything worthwhile without physical action. Actually, I know he believes this, since he says it on his audio tapes.

He's against the idea that your thoughts alone -- without action -- will usually generate meaningful things. Good action naturally flows from good thoughts. He nicely criticizes The Secret in one of his books. And in his blog: The Secret | Brian Tracy's Blog

Just to clarify, I don't imagine he's against the idea that thoughts CAN produce results on their own. I think it's a possibility, but it's more uncommon and honestly harder to track than physical actions.

ALG, it would be cool if Steve interviewed Gates!

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

He's against the idea that your thoughts alone -- without action -- will usually generate meaningful things.

He advocates action. But he believes in the "paranormal" or "magickal" or "metaphysical" aspects of the LOA as well.

When I get home, I will pull out one of his books and type a few extracts. Then you'll see.

[Acting Like Godot]

Oh never mind. A quick browse through his blog would work too.

For example:

".... you are constantly radiating thought waves, like a radio station radiates sound waves, that are picked up by other people. Your thoughts, intensified by your emotions, as radio waves are intensified by electric impulses, go out from you and are picked up by anyone who is tuned in to a similar wavelength. You then attract into your life people, ideas, opportunities, resources, circumstances and anything else that is consistent with your dominant frame of mind."

Notice that he believes in this idea that a person "radiates" thoughts and thereby "attracts" people, ideas, opportunities, resources etc etc.

Naturally, if you also physically ran around trying to gather people, ideas, opportunities and resources, that could help too. But just radiating thoughts has an effect too. And the better you are at radiating, the stronger the effect, of course.

More from Tracy:

" ..... your thoughts create a force field of energy that radiates out from you and attracts back into your life people and circumstances in harmony with them. Any thought you have, combined with an emotion, positive or negative, radiates out from you and attracts back into your life the people, circumstances, ideas and opportunities consistent with it.

.... The second principle is called the law of correspondence. This mental law is very powerful. It says, "as within, so without." It says that your outer world is like a mirror that reflects back to you what is going on in your inner world. And this law of correspondence says that everything that happens outside of you corresponds to something that’s going on inside of you.

If everything that happens outside of you corresponds to something that's going on inside of you, then it logically must follow that every time you change something that's going on inside you, you must be changing something that's going out outside of you.

Therefore every belief that you change must somehow change something outside of you.

Ahhh, I love my own impeccable logic.

Now, take a look at this excerpt from a Brian Tracy book. See page 33:

Imagine that you get up one morning and talk with your spouse about how nice it would be to take a vacation to Hawaii. But you know you can't afford it and you couldn't get the time off anyway. Nonetheless the idea of going to Hawaii is very attractive to you. It stimulates your mind. Your emotions of desire and interest are aroused by the idea of a Hawaiian vacation.

Any thought you emotionalize, including the idea of going to Hawaii, is passed from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind, the seat of the Law of Attraction. As a result, you begin to send out positive vibrations that start to attract into your life people and circumstances that will make that thought a reality. You begin to activate the principle of synchronicity.

You go to work that day fantasizing about someday taking a trip tp Hawaii with your spouse. Completely unexpectedly, your boss calls you in a couple of hours later and tells you that because you've been doing such a great job, and that because the company is now in the slow season, there would be no problem if you wanted to take a week or two off as your vacation.

At lunchtime, a friend of yours tells you about a new travel agency that puts together Haiwaiian vacation packages, including hotel, airfare and ground transportation, at really great prices. In fact, your friend has a brochure that has a description of exactly the island that you wanted to visit and a hotel that would be ideal for you. And the price is less than $2,000 for both of you for an entire week in Hawaii.

Well, the above passage as told by Brian Tracy has all the marks of a classic, no-action-required manifestation. Sure, you still have to get up in the morning; brush your teeth; put on your clothes; go to work; see your boss; have lunch with a friend; do all the usual things you do. If you were very argumentative, you'd say that that's "action".

But it isn't. You did not take any action to get yourself to Hawaii. You just did whatever you normally do, and none of those deeds were specifically to get yourself to Hawaii. Your biggest relevant "action" was really just thinking about going to Hawaii. The universe arranged the rest.

Some readers will, of course, say that this is just a fictional account. Well, it might be, and perhaps Tracy wrote it merely as an illustration, an hypothetical example, of how the LOA works. But that IS how it works.

I know, of course, from personal experience. From numerous personal experiences. Many of which I have shared on these forums.

There are many things I have attracted with little or no action, but quite intentionally and deliberately, with the power of my own thoughts.

Job offers; salary increases; free holidays on island resorts; a fully-paid week-long writing retreat; an invitation to speak at an international conference; "chance" encounters with long-lost friends; money from unexpected sources; taxis.

And I told you the story of how I recently sold my apartment at a superb price, right?

[Acting Like Godot]

Speaking of moving house, I will relate a conversation I had with my wife last night.

Wife: "Darling, I did something silly with the LOA today. Promise me you won't laugh."

ALG: "Uhhh, ok."

Wife: "You know what I manifested for?"

ALG: "Uhhh, no."

Wife: "Free cardboard boxes."

ALG: "HahahaAa, that IS silly. Uhhh, why didn't you ask for something like financial abundance or good health."

Wife: "Well, you know we're moving house in a few weeks' time. And we can start packing some stuff now, except that we don't have any boxes."

ALG: "Well, did it work."

Wife: "Yeah. I got the boxes."

ALG: "Uhh, how did they come?"

Wife: "Well I manifested for the boxes this morning. Then later I went to the pharmacy to buy vitamins. And the salesgirl there was carrying around empty cardboard boxes, after stocking the shelves with shampoo bottles and other stuff. And she said loudly, "God, I need to get rid of all these stupid boxes!!!"

ALG: "Ah, okay, got it."

Wife: "Yeah. I took three boxes today. And the girl said, she'd keep more boxes for me, if I'd really come back to the store to get them. I said ok, and asked her how many boxes she could give me. She said; "More than enough for you to move house a few times."

ALG: "Well, isn't that nice of her."

[Mr and Mrs ALG fall asleep]

-----------------

Okay. Not a very exciting story. But this is just a typical kind of incident in the LOA-filled daily life of Mr and Mrs ALG. We wish for things, and they just pop up like that. Sometimes they're big things, and sometimes they're, like, well, cardboard boxes and so on.

[Daffy Duck]

Thanks for sharing all those tidbits, ALG, but I hope you see that I was already agreeing with you!

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

He advocates action. But he believes in the "paranormal" or "magickal" or "metaphysical" aspects of the LOA as well.

When I get home, I will pull out one of his books and type a few extracts. Then you'll see.

I know he believes in the "paranormal" too. That's why I said,

Just to clarify, I don't imagine he's against the idea that thoughts CAN produce results on their own.

But my understanding is that he says thoughts don't usually generate meaningful things on their own, without action. I was careful to include that U word and I probably should have emphasized it more before. He's a big advocate of hard work, doing what needs to be done. And I think you would agree too that, at least for most people, that a lot of action is usually required to do amazing things. For example, Steve's web site didn't build itself! It took great thoughts for Steve to do his site, but it also took a lot of hours writing, planning, etc.

This is also from one of Brian Tracy's books:

The bestselling book by Rhonda Byrne, The Secret, talks about the powerful effects of visualizing success and activating the Law of Attraction. But many people are finding out that just thinking about what they want, while it’s a good start, isn’t enough. In Flight Plan, Brian Tracy reveals the real keys to accomplishing any long-term, meaningful success.

[jacare]

[QUOTE=
And I told you the story of how I recently sold my apartment at a superb price, right?[/QUOTE]

First of all, I'd like to hear, because I've had my house on the market for almost 2 years.

Anyways, my point was for business. If you want to make a lot of money in business (I'm saying 1 million right now), you need to either sell "a lot" of stuff or a couple of big ticket sales. We can all agree a sale of 1 million or more is big ticket for anybody, even Bill Gates. Now Bill Gates, Carnegie, and others, certainly did use LOA. But they also started businesses, which requires filing papers, incorporating, etc. But that doesn't mean a thing until you acquire customers. And you need something to sell customers.

**You can't sit in your office radiating waves alone (although you must radiate them). *** I'm sure Carnegie spent a lot of time strategizing and implementing plans.

You need to get a way to attract customers as a repeatable system. Many people start businesses and really want to succeed. They are clear, they are emitting positive vibes, and the rest. But they fail in the EXECUTION of the business, or their offer is not attractive to enough customers. So they do not make a million dollars.

That is my point. You must combine LOA (consciously or not) with an offer and a marketing plan. And you must successfuly execute the plan, and a quantity of people must accept your offer.

[cylon]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

And the salesgirl there was carrying around empty cardboard boxes, after stocking the shelves with shampoo bottles and other stuff. And she said loudly, "God, I need to get rid of all these stupid boxes!!!"

Lol, that was easy. I never manifest for specific things, maybe I should. Usually I manifest for lifestyle changes. I'm going to try something like this though. I have no use for a blue feather but I'm sure I can come up with something else I'd really want.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by jacare

First of all, I'd like to hear, because I've had my house on the market for almost 2 years.

I wrote about it recently, in one of the threads. In fact, I wrote several posts about it, over a few days, as the matter unfolded (real-time). Anyway I never planned to sell my house. It pretty much sold itself.

Anyway, a very short summary of it:

(1) I was not even at home. I was away on a trip. I manifested for big money to come really quick. I had no idea where the money would come from.

(2) Within a day or two, my wife called to tell me that a property agent had come knocking on our door, out of the blue. He said, "I have a few people interested in buying your property. Would you be interested in selling?"

(3) My wife said "No" because we had no plans to sell the property. However the property agent was a smooth talker and managed to persuade my wife to agree to let "a few people" just come and take a look at the property.

(4) The very next day, the property agent brought, like, four or five families, to view our home, all at one go.

(5) I was still away on my trip (so I definitely took no action).

(6) Four or five days passed. I returned home. On one of those days, some of the previous buyers came for a second viewing.

(7) One of them offered.

(8) I said no.

(9) A day passed. They upped their offer.

(10) I said no again.

(11) Another day passed. They upped their offer once again.

(12) I said, "Ok".

So I checked the government land registry records (they have an online database which allows you to check details of property transactions in the past 12 months) and I found that this price was the highest price that an apartment in this size/age category ever sold in my district.

[ssandra]

Originally Posted by jacare

That is my point. You must combine LOA (consciously or not) with an offer and a marketing plan. And you must successfuly execute the plan, and a quantity of people must accept your offer.

LOL... we have a new business here that I feel very strongly and positively about. I have been wanting to have a few clients, and my father in law as well before the end of the year

We have NO marketing plan. Our website isn't build yet. We have no business plan except what is in our head...

Yet 2 clients already called US! One for a price quote and the other for a demonstration....

Ok, no sales yet, and yes I have to go and do the sales speech, but I didn't do antything for those clients to come to us