THETYPE-Z

GUIDETOSUCCESS

AlsoByMarcAllen

BooksTheMillionaireCourse:

AVisionaryPlanforCreatingtheLifeofYourDreamsVisionaryBusiness:AnEntrepreneur’sGuidetoSuccessTheTenPercentSolution:

SimpleStepstoImprovingOurLivesandOurWorldAVisionaryLife:ConversationsonPersonalandPlanetaryEvolutionHowtoThinkLikea

Millionaire(withMarkFisher)ATwo-SecondLoveAffair

(poetry)Audio

TheMillionaireCourseSeminar(3CDs)StressReductionandCreativeMeditations(1CD)VisionaryBusiness:AnEntrepreneur’sGuidetoSuccess

(completebookon2audiocassettes)E-bookTheType-ZGuidetoSuccesswithEaseMusic

AwakeningSoloFlight

QuietMomentsBreathePetals

THETYPE-Z

GUIDETOSUCCESS

ALazyPerson’sManifestoforWealthandFulfillment

MARCALLEN

NEWWORLDLIBRARYNOVATO,CALIFORNIA

Copyright©2006byMarcAllen

Allrightsreserved.Thisbookmaynotbereproducedinwholeorinpart,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeanselectronic,mechanical,orotherwithoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewer,whomayquotebriefpassagesinareview.

Editing:SteveAnderson,AlexanderSlaggTextdesignandtypography:TonaPearceMyers

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataAllen,Mark,1946–TheType-Zguidetosuccess:alazyperson’smanifestoforwealthandfulfillment/MarcAllen.p.cm.ISBN-13:978-1-57731-540-7(pbk.:alk.paper)1.Lifeskills—Handbooks,manuals,etc.2.Success—Handbooks,manuals,etc.I.Title.HQ2037.A422006650.1—dc22

2005036826Firstprinting,May2006ISBN-10:1-57731-540-5ISBN-13:978-1-57731-540-7PrintedinCanadaonpartiallyrecycled,acid-freepaper

AproudmemberoftheGreenPressInitiative

DistributedbyPublishersGroupWest

10987654321

Thisbookisdedicatedtoyou,withthehopethatyoucansee

howtocreatethelifeofyourdreams,inaneasyandrelaxedway,

eventhoughyoumaybelazy,disorganized,inexperienced,overwhelmed,orfinanciallychallenged.

Contents

INTRODUCTIONALazyPerson’sGuidetoSuccess

PARTONETheFourSimpleStepstoSuccesswithEase

CHAPTER1TheFirstStep

DREAM

CHAPTER2TheSecondStep

IMAGINE

CHAPTER3TheThirdStep

BELIEVE

CHAPTER4TheFourthStep

CREATE

PARTTWOOngoingCourseCorrection

CHAPTER5CourseCorrection

CHAPTER6TheOngoingJourney

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABOUTTHEAUTHOR

INTRODUCTION

ALAZYPERSON’SGUIDE

TOSUCCESS

Youwillbeasgreatasyourdominantaspiration....Ifyoucherishavision,

aloftyidealinyourheart,youwillrealizeit.

—JAMESALLEN

I’m lazy. I admit it. For years, it was one of the things that kept me fromsucceedinginlife—afterall,you’vegottoworkreallyhardtosucceed,right?That’scertainlywhatIwastold,andcertainlywhatIbelieved.We call it a work ethic: It’s good to work, right? It’s good for the soul. It

buildscharacter.Andhardworkcreatessuccess.ButIhadaproblemwiththat,if Iwasreallyhonestwithmyself,becauseIdidn’twant toworkall thathard.GiventhechoicebetweenadaywhenIhavetoset thealarmclockandgetupearlyandshowerandshaveandgotoworkandadaywhenIcanlazeinbedforas longas Iwantand thendowhatever I feel like, I’ll take thatsecondoptioneverytime.I’ve never been a “morning person.” It takesme three or four hours to get

going,andsomedays,tobereallyhonest,Inevergetgoingatall.SomedaysIdoverylittle.I’vealwaysbeenthatway,sincechildhood.“But look at the books you’ve written,” people have said tome. “And the

musicyou’ve recorded.Andyou runapublishingcompany.Youcan’tbe lazyanddoall that.”Ohyesyoucan, I say.All it takes towrite abook (or recordmusic,orrunapublishingcompany)ispersistence.

Youcanbelazyandstillbepersistent—andonceyoulearnhowtodothat,

youcanaccomplishagreatdeal.

Being lazy doesn’t necessarily mean being unfocused, unmotivated, andunsuccessful.It’squitepossible—it’sfairlyeasy,infact—tobelazyandstillbefocusedonagoal,anddowhateveryouneedtodo,inyourownlazyway,tomovetowardthatgoal,towardtherealizationofyourdream,stepbystep.To many people, the word lazy has all kinds of negative connotations. If

you’relazy,you’reaprocrastinator,oryounevergetstartedinthefirstplace,orifyoudo,you’reaquitter. It’s impossible,mostpeoplebelieve, tobe lazyandstillsucceed.Thereareveryfewrolemodelsforthis,afterall.Mostsuccessfulpeopleseemtohavetremendousenergy;mostofthemareType-Aworkaholics.

“You’vegottoworkhard,allthetime,tosucceed.”Thatisadeep,corebelief

thatispervasiveinoursociety.Idecidedtochallengethatbelief,andseeifitispossibletocreatesuccesswithease.

Idecidedalmostthirtyyearsagototrythisexperiment:Idecidedtotryandbesuccessful—onmyownterms,asIwanttodefinesuccess—andyettodoitinmy own lazyway (whichmeans I takemornings andMondays off and neverneglect timefor longvacations).Myexperimentwas to tryand live the lifeofmydreams,andyetatthesametimehavealifeofease.AssoonasItriedthis,Ifoundsomethingimportant:WhenIallowmyselfto

bereallylazyforagoodlengthoftime,Iinevitablyfindmyselffullofenergy—at least for a while. During these times, it’s surprising how much I canaccomplishinarelativelyshortperiodoftime.Onmostdays, I don’twrite at all.Somedays I’llwrite for fifteenminutes;

somedays I’llactuallywrite fora fewhours. Ifyoucanaverageapageeveryotherday,inoneyearyou’vegota180-pagebook.It took me three years to write my last book, The Millionaire Course: A

VisionaryPlan forCreating theLife ofYourDreams. I put everything Iknowintothatbook,everythingIlearnedalongthewaythatchangedmylifefromoneof poverty to abundance— and even,more importantly, from frustration andstruggle toaprettystartling levelofeaseandenjoyment(somethingIcouldn’tevenimaginewhenIwasyounger).But you probably haven’t read that book, have you? I can’t tell you the

numberofpeoplewhohavecomeuptomeandsaid,“Iboughtyourbook,andit’s sittingbymybed,but . . . I justhaven’tgotten into ityet.” I’veevenhadpeoplesay,“Wow,you’vewrittena300-pagebook!What’sitallabout?”Inotherwords,they’retellingmethey’dneveractuallyreada300-pagebook,

and they want to get the message in a shorter form. Almost all of us wantsuccess,butmostofusdon’twanttoworktoohard,ifwe’rereallyhonestwithourselves.Icanrelatetothat—andso,here’sthebookthat’llshowyouhowtomake some definite, positive changes in your life, in an easy and relaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway.

Ifyouaren’tlazy,youcanstillbenefitagreatdealfromthislittlebook.

Thesesimpletoolsworkforeveryone.

Andifyouarelazy,you’vedefinitelycometotherightplace!I’llmakeitaseasyforyouasIcan.

Ifyou’rereallylazy,justreadthesebold,centeredwords,

andskiptherest.You’llgettheessenceofthebook—

everythingyouneedtocreatethelifeofyourdreams.

I have a friend and colleague named Ruby. She calls herself “a recoveringType-Aworkaholic.”Andshewantedmetoaddthis:Thisbookisnotonlyforlazy people. It’s for anyonewhowants to succeed, and yet do it in their ownuniqueway.Shesaysmyworkappealstotwotypesofpeople:Lazypeople(likeme)and

Type-Apeople(likeher)whohaveworkedhardalltheirlivesandwouldliketorelaxabitmorenowandgetoffthetreadmillofstressandconstantwork.Thesesimpletoolsworkforanyonewhoappliesthem.

HERE’SALITTLETALE—aday-in-thelifestory.Idigressabitintellingit,sofeelfreetoskipthenexttwopagesifyou’rereallylazyorifyou’reaTypeAandinahurryasusualtogettothepoint.NotlongagoIspoketoaloud,enthusiasticgroupofmostlyteenagers.Itwas

a lot of fun. I followed a motivational speaker who had tremendous energy,pacingupanddownashetalked.Whenitwasfinallymyturntospeak,Isaidsomethinglikethis:Ifullyagreewitheverythingourlastspeakersaid,especiallywhen he stressed the importance of goals, andmaking challenging goals, anddoingwhatexcitesyou.Isay“Amen!”toeveryword.AndIhavesomethingtoadd—maybeit’smyoneuniquecontributiontotheworld—butIhavetoaddthis:

Youcansucceedinaneasyandrelaxedmanner.Youdon’thavetobeaType-Aworkaholic

tosucceed.

I’mlazy, infact.NoonehasevercalledmeaTypeA,oraworkaholic.I’mmoreofaTypeZ(asinzzzzzzzzzzz...).Ahandshotup.“Areyoureallylazy?”ayounggirlshoutedout.Yes,Iam,I

said,andI’mproudofit.“Whatdidyoudotoday?”someoneelsecalledout.No one had ever asked that one before. I had to think aboutmy day for a

moment. (Ihavea terriblememory, aswell asbeing lazyanddisorganized—don’teverexpectmetorememberyourname,oranyoneelse’s.Intheevening,itsometimestakesmeawhiletorememberwhatIhavedoneallday.)Well,Isaid,it’saMonday,soItookthedayoff.IalwaystakeMondaysoff;it’smydaytomyself.Sundaysareforfamilyandrest—andIneverdoanykindofworkonSunday.Mondayismydayformyself,my“mini-retreat.”I sleptuntilabout11:00, laid inbedonmyback relaxinguntilabout11:30.

Then I got up and had some coffee and . . . and I really couldn’t rememberexactlywhatIdidforthenextfewhours.Alittlepapershuffling,Ithink.MaybeIcheckedoutmystockportfolioontheInternet.At2:00orsoIwentbacktobedandlaidflatonmybackandwentthroughadeeprelaxationexercise,anditledto either a silent, calmmeditationor sleep, I’mnever surewhich. (My familyclaims theyhearmesnoreduringmyperiodsofmeditation.)Then I showeredandleftearlytodriveuptothistownsoIcouldhangoutinabookstorecoffeeshopforanhourorsoandhavealatteandrelaxabitbeforeIhadtogivethislittletalk.Thatwasmyday.That’safairlytypicalMondayforme,exceptIalmostnever

haveaspeakingengagement.Idon’tdoMondays.Idon’tdomorningseither.Iusuallyworkaboutthirtyhoursaweekinmyoffice(startingsometimeTuesdayafternoon), spend about thirty hours a week with my family, and have aboutthirtyhoursaweekalone,tomyself,everyweek.Thisistheschedulethatworks

forme.The high school kids thought thatwas hilarious—andmaybemore than a

fewofthemwereinspiredjustbytheidea,thepossibility,thatyoudon’thavetoworksixtytoeightyhoursaweekatsomethinginordertobesuccessful.MaybesomeofthemrealizedsomethingIknowistrue:

IfIcangofrompovertytogratifyingsuccessinmyownlazyway,

socanyou,inyourownway.

Idon’thaveanykindofspecialtoolsormagicyoudon’thave.Weallhaveasimilarbrain,weallhavethecapabilitytodreamandimagine,andweallhavedoubtsandfears.There’snophysicaldifferencebetweenasuccessfulpersonandapovertycase.There is amentaldifference,however:Successfulpeoplehavelearnedhowtofocustheircreativemind,theirimagination,onagoal,andthentakethefirstobviousstepsinfrontofthem.Thisisnobigsecret.Therearenosecretsofsuccess.Everysuccessfulperson

Iknowlovestalkingabouttheirsuccesses,andtheirfailuresaswell.Welovetohelp people out. The only problem is thatwhatwe say can sound like a totalmystery,likeaZenkoan.Or,worseyet,itsoundslikesomethingwe’veheardamillion times. It’s a cliché. Or it sounds simplistic. Or it directly contradictssomethingwebelievetobetrue.Worksmarternotharder?Whatacliché.Yetmanyofthoseoldphraseswe’ve

heardover andover containhighlyvaluablekeys to success.Working smarternotharderreallyisagreatkey—evenanessentialkey—tosuccess.We’veallheardit,yethowmanyofusactuallydoit?Mostofusareworkingsohardwedon’ttakethetimetoworksmart.Andyet

itdoesn’ttakeallthatmuchtime!It’sjustamatterofclearlysettinggoals,andthenmakingclearplans. It takesabitof imagination—whichweallhave—andpersistenceaswell,whichweeitherhavealreadyorcandevelop.I’vesaiditbeforeandI’llsayitagain:

Allofushaveallthetoolsweneedtosucceedinlife.

It’sjustamatteroffocusingourcreativemindsintherightdirection.

HowdoIknowthisistrue?Ihavetotellyoualittlestory—thestoryofthedaythatchangedmylife.

HOWALAZY,UNORGANIZEDPOVERTYCASEBECAMEALAZY,UNORGANIZED

MULTIMILLIONAIREItwasthedayofmythirtiethbirthday.Iwokeupinastateofshock,realizingforthefirsttimeIwasn’takidanymore.Iwasthirty.Ispentmuchofthedaypacingback and forth in my cheap little slum apartment, thinking about my life—somethingIhaddoneveryrarelyinthepast.IrealizedevenbackthenthatIhadonegreatstrength,somethingIwasborn

with—now I see that everyone isbornwithauniquegiftof somekind.ThethingIknewinmyheartandsoulthathasservedmesowellovertheyearsissomething a lot of people take years and years to learn, and something somepeopleneverlearn:

IknewhowimportantitwastodowhatIloved.

Iknewthatinsomeway,ifIwentformydreams,

itwouldallworkoutsomehow.

I could never understand why so many of my friends didn’t seem tounderstandthat,andwouldsettleforjobs—andforlives—theydidn’treallyenjoy.Iwantedtobeanactorandamusicianasachild,soIstudiedmusicandgot

into theater inhigh school. Iwas ina rockband inhigh school, too, and thenmajoredintheaterincollege.(Myfatherwantedmetostudybusiness,butIhadzerointerestinbusinessatthetime.)AftercollegeIgotajobactingandwritingmusic for a theater company. It was great work for a year or so until thecompanyfellapart.ThenIfollowedmygirlfriendtoaZencenterinHawaii,andstayedalmostsixmonthsbeforeIwaskickedoutforbreakingtherules.(Oneofthe ruleswas gettingup at 5:30 in themorning.Six days aweekwere highlydisciplined,andIhadaproblemwiththat.It’samazingtomeIlastedaslongasI did.) After that, we tried a back-to-the-land experiment that didn’t last verylong.ThenIwanderedaroundthespiritualsmorgasbordofBerkeley,California,for several years, then ended up in a rock band. After a few years, the band

brokeup,thenmanymonthsflewbyandIcanbarelyremembernowwhatIdidallthattime—andIturnedthirty.IhaddonewhatIloved,butIwasconstantlystrugglingtopaytherent,and

thatwasn’twhereIwantedtobe.Ididn’twantalifeofstruggleandstress.Thatday,IrealizedsomethingIhadneverquiteseenbefore:IrealizedIhad

nodirectionwhatsoever. I hadn’t been setting the course, or even steering theship of my life. I had no goals! No wonder I had gone nowhere. I wasunemployed,Ihadnosavingswhatsoever,nofamilysupport,Iwasscrounging(awordweusedoften) to comeupwith sixty-five dollars amonth rent— inotherwords,Iwasapovertycase(twootherwordsweusedoften).

IaskedmyselfaquestionIhadrarelyaskedbefore,

asimpleandimportantquestion:WhatdoIwanttodowiththerestofmylife?

Ithoughtaboutitforawhile,pacingupanddown.Ididn’tevenknowwhereto begin.Somanypossibilities, somany choices....Then I remembered a littlegameIhadplayedonce inmyearly twentiesduringourbriefback-to-the-landexperiment.Weweresittingaroundafireonenight,andonecouplesaid,“Let’splay a little game we played at church camp. Let’s imagine five years havepassed,andeverythinghasgoneaswellaswecanimagine—whatwouldourliveslooklike?”IhavenoideawhatIsaidwhenIfirstplayedthegame—soobviouslyithad

noimpactonmylife.ButIrememberedthatgamethedayIturnedthirty,anditchangedmylife.

Iplayedasimplegame:Iimaginedmyidealscene,fiveyearsinthefuture.

Thatlittlegametaughtmehowtodream,imagine,andcreate.

That day I set my course in life in a way I never had before. The actualmechanicsofitwerequitesimple:Iwrotedownmyidealsceneonasinglesheetofpaper,thenIlistedallofthegoalsIcouldthinkofonanothersheetofpaper,then I rewrote each of those goals as an affirmation. Over time, over a few

months,plansstartedtoemergeforeachmajorgoal—andthenextstepstotakebecameobvious.Ofcourse,assoonasIdaredthinkofmyidealsceneandwritemyfirstgoal,I

wasfilled—overwhelmed—withdoubtsandfears.DealingwiththosedoubtsandfearsbecamethemostimportantworkIdid.Ittookmeaboutfiveyearsofconstantcoursecorrection to reach the firstofmymajorgoals—asuccessfulcompanysupportingmyselfandothers—andabouttenyearstofullyrealizemyidealscene,whichincludedaspaciousandquiethomeinnorthernCalifornia,inoneofthemostbeautifulplacesIhaveeverseenonearth.I startedmypublishingcompany theday I turned thirty.At thirty-five, Ihit

myfinanciallowpoint:MycompanywasnearlybankruptandIwaspersonallyincredit-carddebttothetuneof$65,000(andthiswasintheearlyeighties,sointoday’sdollarswe’relookingatasubstantialsum).Myroadtosuccesshadbeenabumpy,emotionalroller-coasterride,andIhad

hitthelowestpointofmyso-calledcareer.Thenthreethingshappened,allabout thesametime, thatquicklyturnedthe

companyaround,sowebecameportableandIwas,amazinglyenough,thedebt-freeownerofawell-balancedportfolioofinvestments.1. I found away to dealwith at least someofmydoubts and fears. Iwent

throughseveralsessions,alonewithmyselfandsometimeswithothers,ofwhatwecall“thecorebeliefprocess.”It’s justasimpleseriesofquestions thatyouanswer as honestly as you can. (We’ll go through it in chapter 3.)Doing thisprocess led me to realize I had a deep, core belief that I was out of controlfinancially,afoolwithmoney.Thenitledmetodiscoverapowerfulaffirmation:Iamsensibleandincontrolofmyfinances.Iamcreatingtotalfinancialsuccess,inaneasyand relaxedmanner, inahealthyandpositiveway.I kept repeatingthisaffirmation,andithadapowerfuleffectonmylife.2.Ilearnedaboutfinancialcontrols,andsawtheywereessentialforsuccess.

(We’llgetintothisinchapter5.)Havingfinancialcontrolssimplymeanssettingthingsupsoyoumakemorethanyouspend.(Thiswasanewconceptformeatthetime.)3.Iheardonesinglephrasethatwasthecatalystforgreatchangeinmylife.

Asinglesimplephrasecanturnyourthinkingaround,

andchangethecourseofyourthoughtsandthecourseofyourlife.

WhenIwasatmyfinanciallow,overwhelmedwithproblemsatwork,Iheardsome inspiring words on the radio that filled me with a strange kind ofenthusiasm and, eventually, changed the course of my thoughts. I didn’t hearwhosaidorwrotethosewords—latersomeonetoldmeitwasNapoleonHillinThink and Grow Rich. The phrase is, “Within every adversity is an equal orgreaterbenefit.”Iwrote it down in big letters and put it bymy phone inmy office. Then I

addedtoit,“Withineveryproblemisanopportunity.”AndlaterIaddedaquotefromThe Bhagavad Gita, the five-thousand-year-old spiritual text from India(whichgoestoshowthere’snothingnewinanyofthis):“Evenintheknocksoflife,wecanfindgreatgifts.”AsIwasconfrontedwithproblemafterproblemduringthisperiodofstruggle

and frustration, I started toaskmyself,Whatbenefits can therepossiblybe inthis problem?What opportunities?What gifts? And I discovered an amazingthing:Whenyouasktherightquestions,yougetanswers.Theanswerscomefromwithinyou,notfromanyoneelse.Justbyaskingthe

rightquestions,youopenupacreativepartofyourmindthatlovesfindingthesolutionstopuzzlesandproblems,eventhemostperplexingones.Whenyouaskthe right questions, the answers become simple and obvious — and they’reperfectlyrightforyoubecausethey’recomingfromyourowncreativemind.

Thisisthevisionaryideathatchangedmythinkingandmylife:

Withineveryadversityareequalorgreaterbenefits.

Withineveryproblemisanopportunity.Evenintheknocksoflifewecanfindgreatgifts.

Weacknowledge the problems, of course.We certainly can’t denywe haveproblems.But then it’s alwaysgood to askourselves:Whatbenefits can therepossiblybeforusinthissituation?Whatopportunities?Whatgifts?Canyouseethat, just by asking these questions, you open your mind to new, expansivepossibilities?Assoonasyoubegintolookforopportunities,benefits,andgiftsinanygiven

situation, you start to find them. Opportunities are everywhere, it’s just thatusually(especiallywhenconfrontedwithproblems)wedon’tevenaskourselveswhatopportunitiescouldpossiblyberightinfrontofus.

Opportunitiesareeverywhere.Weseethemassoon

aswestartlookingforthem.

Whatopportunitiesareavailabletoyou,rightatthismoment?Onlyyouknowtheanswertothat,becausetheanswersareinyourheartandmind,waitingtobefound.Allyouneedtodoisask.

THEFOURSIMPLESTEPSTOSUCCESSWITHEASE

CHAPTER1

THEFIRSTSTEP

DREAM

Ofcourseyouneedtobuildyourcastlesintheair.

That’swheretheyshouldbe.—HENRYDAVIDTHOREAU

Theessentialfirststepistodaretodream.Itallbeginswithadream.Ofcourse,howcoulditbeotherwise?Adreamseemssoinsubstantial,yetourlivesandourcareersarebuiltondreams;evenourworldisbuiltondreams.AsJamesAllenwritesinhisgreatlittlebookAsYouThink:

“Thedreamersarethesaviorsoftheworld.”

Not only that, they build it in the first place, for everything that has beencreatedwasfirstadream,anephemeralideainthemindofsomeonewhowasn’tafraidtoconsidernewandmoreexpansivepossibilities.Without even being consciously aware of it, when I wrote down my ideal

scene,Igavemyinnerdreamerpermissiontosoar.

WRITEDOWNYOURIDEALSCENE

The first step is simple. Get a blank sheet of paper or boot up the old wordprocessingprogramandwrite“IdealScene”atthetopofthepage.Imaginefiveyears have passed, and you’ve been so inspired by thesewords— and by somanyotherthingsinyourlife—thateverythinghasmagicallygoneaswellasyou canpossibly imagine, andyouhave created the life of your dreams, youridealscene.Whatdoesyour life look like?Wheredoyou live?Whatdoyoudo?What

haveyouaccomplished?Whatdoesatypicaldaylooklike?Let yourself freely dream. Put all doubts and fears and “realistic” thinking

asideforthemoment—we’lldealwiththoselater.Fornow,letyourspiritsoar.AsStevenCoveywritesinTheSevenHabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople:

“Beginwiththeendinmind.”

C’mon!Itonlytakesafewminutes.

Takeablanksheetofpaperandwrite“IdealScene”atthetop.Imaginefiveyearshavepassed,andeverythinghasgoneaswellasyoucanpossiblyenvision.Whatdoesyourlifelooklike?

Whatdoyoudo?Whatdoyouhave?Whatkindofpersonareyou?When I did this little exercise the day I turned thirty, Iwas stunned by the

visionthatleapttomind—itwascertainlyaquantumleapbeyondmyrealityatthetime!IimaginedIownedapublishingcompanythatwassuccessfulandranvery smoothly, publishing books I had written and music I had recorded. IimaginedIhadabigwhitehouseonahillinabeautiful,quietplace.I had no ideahow to achieve this dream. I had nomoney, and no business

experience.IhadnoideahowIcouldpossiblygetfromhere—poverty—tothere—prosperityandsuccess.Thereweresomevaguethoughtsthatsomekindof plans must be necessary, but at first I had no idea how to even begin toimaginewhatthoseplanswouldbe.

As soon as I dared to imagine this dream, a seemingly endless stream ofdoubts and fears came rushing into mymind. That’s way too much,Marc. Abusiness?You knownothing about business.Andwriting books?You’ve neverdonethat.You’renotsmartenough.Andrecordingmusic?That’ssomuchwork,andexpense.Andbuyingrealestate?Howcanyoudothatwithnomoney?Andyouhavewaytoomanygoals—justpickonething,andfocusonthat.ButIkeptturningmythoughtsbacktomyidealscene.Yes,Iwantedallofit,

a successful business and a lot of time for creative projects and family andfriendsaswell.Notonlythat,whenIreallythoughtaboutmyideal,Iwanteditallinaneasyandrelaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway.Impossible! saidmydoubtsand fears. It’sneverbeendone in the history of

humanity! Iwas stumpedby that for awhile, pacingup anddown,but then Istumbledontoasinglethoughtthatfreedmetofollowmydreams.

LOOKATITALLASANEXPERIMENTMythoughtswandered to something Ihadonceheardabout thevisionaryandfuturistBuckminsterFuller.Ihadbeentoldthathecametoatimeinhislife—somewhereinhistwenties—whenhesaidtohimselfthathewaseithergoingtocommit suicide or look at his life as a completely new kind of experiment.Fortunatelyforallofus,hechosethelatter,andattheendofhislifewasabletolookbackonaprettyamazing(andsuccessful)“fifty-yearexperiment.”I latchedon to thatphrase, andsaid tomydoubtsand fears,Justgivemea

yearortwototrythisexperiment:I’llgoforitall,forthelifeofmydreams,andI’ll go for it in my own unique, lazy Type-Z way, and see what happens.Mydoubtsandfears(whichseemedalotstrongerthanmyhopesanddreamsatthetime)feltitwastotallyhopeless;I’dobviouslyfail.But,Isaidtomydoubtsandfears,justletmetryit,andifIfail,Iwon’tbeanyworseoffthanIamrightnow!Evenmydoubtsandfearscouldn’targuewiththat,soIwasabletoputthem

asideenoughtobeginmyexperiment—tochaseaftermydreams,inmyownlazyway.Withinayear,IhadthestrongsensethatIwasontherightpath.Therewere

little indications at first, small but encouraging developments, like a checkarriving exactlywhen I needed it, and a friend offering to help in someway.Slowly—initsownperfecttime—thecompanymovedforwardandstartedtogrow,andIwrotepartofabookandrecordedsomemusic.Istartedtosee—andthentobelieve—thatnotonlywasitpossibletocreate

successinaneasyandrelaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway,butthatit’s

theverybestwaytodoit.Allourstressdoesn’thelpusonebit;infactitworksagainstus.Themorewerelax,themoreeffectivelywedoanykindoftask.IhadnorolemodelsthatIcouldthinkof.SoI lookedat itasafascinating,

worthwhile experiment.This littlebook is a result of that experiment. I’mnotasking you to believe me, or to believe in anyone or anything; I’m simplyinvitingyoutotrythesefewsimplesteps,purelyasanexperiment,andseewhathappens.

Doesyouridealsceneincludealifeofease?Ifso,makeitapriority,andhold

thisthoughtinmind:Itispossibletosucceed,

inanywayyouchoosetodefinesuccess,andstillhavealifeofease.

Rightnow,beforeyougoon,Iencourageyoutopickupasheetofpaperandwriteyouridealscene.Justletyourselfgo,letyourselfwritewhateverpopsintoyourmind.Youcanalwaysgoback laterandcross thingsout,add things,andrewrite.Fornow,justletyourspiritsoar.

It’saworthwhileexperiment.

CHAPTER2

THESECONDSTEP

IMAGINE

Firstyoubuildyourcastlesintheair,thenyoubuildthefoundationsunderthem.

—HENRYDAVIDTHOREAU

Didyouwriteyouridealscene?Evenifyou’rereallylazy,all it takesisafewminutes.Youcandoitlyingdownifyouwant.Youcandoitinbed.WhenIfirstwroteitdown,thedayIturnedthirty,itprobablytooklessthanfiveminutes.Thenextstepwillonlytakeafewminutesaswell.

TAKETHENEXTSTEP

Itdoesn’ttakemuchtimetoworksmarterinsteadofharder.

Takeanothersheetofpaper,write“Goals”atthetop,andlisteverygoalyoucanthinkofforthenextfewyears.Ifyou’vewrittenyouridealscene,yourgoalswillberightthere,inyouridealscene.You’vegotapictureofwhereyouwanttobeinfiveyears,nowwhatarethegoalsyouneedtoreachtogetthere?Mygoalswere:Startapublishingcompany.Buildasuccessfulcompany.Start

writingabook.Completeasuccessfulbook.Startrecordinganalbum.Recordasuccessful album. Start studying real estate.... (A lot of my goals involvedstartingthings,becauseIhadnothinggoingatthetime.)ThefirsttimeIdidthislittle exercise I had a total of twelve goals. (Now I’m down to six.) Let yourimaginationsoar.You’vedaredtodreamofanideallifeforyourself.Whatgoalsdoyouhave to achieve tomake thishappen?Write themdownnow—everygoalyoucanthinkofatthismoment.

Takeanothersheetofpaper,write“Goals”atthetop,

andlisteverygoalyoucanthinkofforthenextfewyears.

Letyourdoubtsandfearsgoforamoment.(AsIsaidbefore,we’lldealwiththoselater.)

Ifyoucoulddo,be,orhaveanything,whatwoulditbe?

Withoutgoals,ourlifehasnodirection.Withgoals,ourlifehasdirectionandpurpose.Nowthatyou’vemadeyourlistofgoals,here’saverygoodquestiontoaskyourself:HowcanIachievethesegoals?HowdoIgetfromheretothere?AgoodplacetostartistodothenextthingIdidonmythirtiethbirthdayafter

Iwrotemyfirstlistofgoals.Itookanothersheetofpaperandwroteeachgoalasanaffirmation.ThewordaffirmationcomesfromtheLatinrootadfirmae,which

means “tomake firm.”The right affirmation can be very powerful:Whenwefindanaffirmationthatworksforus,itfocusesourcreativemindsonourgoalsin a way that, in itself, overcomes a great many of the doubts and fears thatnaturallyariseassoonaswesetanexpansivegoal.

Writeeachofyourgoalsasanaffirmation.

Phraseyouraffirmationsinthepresenttense,preferablywiththewordnowinit. Don’t affirm I will build a successful business or I will have a rewardingartisticcareer,becausethewordsplaceyoursuccessinthefuture.Putitinthepresent: I am now building a successful business and I am now creating arewarding,fulfillingartisticcareer.

Makeyouraffirmationsinthepresent,asifthey’rehappeningnow:Iamnowcreatingfinancial

andartisticsuccess.

Findthewordsthatworkforyou.Whatworksforonepersonmaynotworkforanother.Wordthempositively.Don’taffirm,forexample,Iamnolongerinpoverty. Affirm instead something like, I am sensible and in control of myfinances.Iamcreatingtotalfinancialsuccess.

Keepworkingandplayingwitheachaffirmationuntilyoufindthewordingthat’sbestforyou.

You’llendupwithalistofyourgoalsasaffirmations,ononeortwopages.(Ialways try to keep it to one page.) There are some extraordinarily powerfulwordsIsuggestaddingtoeachaffirmation.IdiscoveredthesewordsinabooktitledThe Dynamic Laws of Prosperity by Catherine Ponder, a Unity Churchminister.Before or after each affirmation, add the words in an easy and relaxed

manner, in a healthy and positive way.... And sometimes, wherever it feelsappropriate,addthewords,initsownperfecttime,forthehighestgoodofall.Keep repeating those phrases, as part of your affirmations: In an easy and

relaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway,Iamnowcreatingabundanceinmylife.

Beforeoraftereachaffirmation,addthesepowerfulwords:inaneasyandrelaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway....

Iwasn’tawareofitat thetime,butovertheyearsIhaverealizedthat thosewordsovercamealotofthedoubtsandfearsthatinevitablyarisewheneverweaffirmsomethingexpansive. Itwon’tbe easy,whisper our doubts and fears. Itcertainlywon’tberelaxed.Startingyourownbusinessorsucceedingasanartistisstressful!Itmaynotevenbehealthyforyou.Itmaynotbepositive.Thosefourwords— easy, relaxed, healthy, positive— can,when repeated often, have alifechangingeffect.Thesefourlittlewordscanovercometheparalyzingpowerofevenourdeepestandmostpervasivedoubtsandfears.Manypeopleinourculturedon’tbelievethatit’sevenpossibletosucceedand

stillhavea lifeof ease.Or theybelieve theyneed towork reallyhard,maybeevenbeType-Aworkaholics,beforetheycansucceed—andthentheycanrelaxandhavealifeofease.Manypeopleevenequatesuccesswithstress:There’sadeepcorebeliefthat

successhastobestressful,that’sjustthewayitis,youhavetobeaTypeAtosucceed.Iabsolutelydisagreewiththisbelief(andI’mnottheonlyone!).Therearemanypeoplewhobelieveexactlytheopposite:Themorerelaxedyouare,themoreatease,themoreyoucanandwillsucceed.Youmake better decisionswhen you’ve considered everything in a relaxed

state. (Everyone knows the value of “sleeping on” something—what can beperplexingintheafternoonissooftensimpleandclearthenextmorning.)Thedecisionswemakeinstressfulstatessooftenleadtomorestress;it’stheplanswemakeandideaswehavewhenwe’rerelaxedthatcantakeoursuccesstoamuchhigherlevel.Thesefourwords—easy,relaxed,healthy,positive—canhelpyounotonly

achieveyourgoals,butgiveyoua farbetterqualityof lifeasyou’redoing it,startingnow,thismoment.After Ihadrepeated thosewordsa fewthousand times, Icouldseeandfeel

thechangesinmylife.IcamenottojustbelievebuttorealizeinmylifethatIcouldsucceedinaneasyandrelaxedmanner.AndifIcandoit,socanyou.It’snotallthatcomplexordifficult,either.Youtakeahugestepforwardwhenyousimplywritedownyouraffirmationsandrepeatthemoften.

Writealistofgoalsasaffirmations

andcarryitaroundwithyou.Repeatyouraffirmationsoften

toimprintthemonyoursubconsciousmind.

Write or print out a list of your affirmations and carry it aroundwith you.Readthemoften.Everytimeyoureadthemorsaythemorwritethem,youareimprintingthosepowerfulwordsonyourcreativesubconsciousmind.Onceyou’vewrittenyourlistofaffirmations,you’llstartgettingideasabout

the next steps to take thatmove you toward the fulfillment of your goals.Oryou’llhearsomeonetellyouexactlywhatyouneedtoknowatthatmoment.Orsomecoincidencewillhappenthatwillsuddenlypropelyoualotclosertoyourgoal.Soonaplanwillform,sometimesspontaneously,andyou’lldiscoveryoucantakethenextobviousstepsinaneasyandrelaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway.EvenifyoudisagreewithmanythingsIsay,Ichallengeyoutomakealistof

affirmations,repeatthemoftenforafewweeks,andseewhathappens.IbelievetheseprinciplesandpracticesworknotbecauseImadesomeleapof

faithandcametobelievethem,butbecauseItriedthemandsawthemworkinginmylife.IhadahugenumberofdoubtsandfearswhenIstartedtakingthesefewsimplesteps(consistingof justnotesonafewpagesofpaper!),but Isawremarkablechangesinmylifeinashorttime.Doubts and fears continue to come up, of course. But we can learn to

effectivelydealwithourdoubtsandfears.Thisisthenextessentialsteptowardcreatingthelifeofourdreams.

CHAPTER3

THETHIRDSTEP

BELIEVE

Ifyouthinkyoucan,orifyouthinkyoucan’t,

you’reright.—HENRYFORD

We’vetakenthefirstessentialstep.Allitinvolvedwaswritingouridealsceneon a single sheet of paper.The second essential step is towrite your goals asaffirmations.Haveyoudonethatyet?C’mon,allitrequiresisoneortwosheetsofpaper!

Andtheymightjustbethemostvitallyimportant,evenpowerful,pagesyou’veeverwritten.Thewords youwrite on those pages become yourmost important tools for

success.Thosewordsguideyou,overtime,todiscoverthenextstepsyouneedtotake.It’sverymysterioushowitworks.Youcouldcallitmagic,ifyoulike.Youcancallitanythingyouwant;youcanlookatitastuningintoyournatural,innatecreativeenergy. I like to thinkof it asmodern,effectivemagic thathashad a great impact onmy life, in an easy and relaxedmanner, for the highestgoodofall.

Thisisacourseinmagic—modern,effectivemagic.

Itallbeginswithadream.First,wedaretodream,andthenwegiveflighttoour imagination. Let it soar.What kind of life would you like ideally? Whatgoalsarenecessaryforyoutofocusoninordertogetfromheretothere?Weputthesegoalsonpaper,andaffirmtheyarenowcomingintoourlives.

Then what happens? As soon as we allow ourselves to dream, doubts andfearscomeupinalmostallofus.Thebiggerthedream,thegreaterthedoubtsandfears.Theycanseemoverwhelming.Theycauseustodoubtourselves.Theycan make us feel foolish for dreaming in the first place. They can make uscompletelyforgetourdreams,andsettleforlivesofdullnessandstruggle.

THETHIRDESSENTIALSTEP

The next essential step for almost all of us is to learn how to deal effectivelywithourdoubtsandfears.Ourowndoubtsandfearsarethegreateststumblingblocks between where we are right now and our highest dreams and mostexpansivegoals.

Ourdoubtsandfearsareourgreateststumblingblocks.

Almostalltheworktocreatethegreatestsuccesswecanimagineisinnerwork.

EckhartTollesaysitsimplyandclearlyinThePowerofNow:

“Gettheinsideright,andtheoutsidewilltakecareofitself.”

BECOMEMOREAWAREOFYOURTHOUGHTSANDFEELINGS

Howdowedothisinnerwork?First,it’sjustamatterofbecomingmoreawareofourthoughtsandfeelings.

Thisisahugesteptowardchangingourdoubtsandfears:justbecomingaware,ateverymoment,ofthethoughtsgoingthroughourmind.Wedon’thavetobehopelessvictimsinanuncaringuniverse,sweptalongby

uncontrollable currents of thoughts and feelings that overwhelm us. We caneasily discover we have the ability to become completely conscious of ourdoubts and fears;we can learn to observe ourmindsmore closely, to becomemoreaware.

Wecanlearntofindthewatcherwithin.

Thisisabigsteptowardchangingourdoubtsandfears,andallitinvolvesisbecomingmoreawareof them.For thenwediscover—not intellectually,but

through our physical, mental, and emotional experiences— that our watcherwithin iscomingfromacompletelydifferentplace thanourswirling thoughts,ourdoubtsandfears.Thewatcheristheobserver,sittinginacalm,clearplace,awareofwhatisgoingon,withoutjudgment.We’renaturallycalmandclearwhenwetrulyobserveanything—asunset,a

work of art, a baby’s brilliantly shining eyes, our own thoughts. If we havethoughtsrunninginourminds,wedon’tevenseewhatisdirectlyinfrontofourfaces.Inordertoseeanything,ourthoughtshavetostopforamoment—andforthatmoment,we’recalmandclear.Inthatmoment,we’rereceptive,andweseewhat’s infrontofourfaceswithnobarrierof thoughtrunningthroughourminds.Inthatmoment,therearenodoubtsandfears.Clearly observe your thoughts and feelings.Watch them,without judgment.

Watch them come, and watch them go. Most thoughts, even those persistentthoughts, can be gently nudged along.All right, you say to yourself, let thatthoughtgo.There’sasimpleexercisethatcanpowerfullyaffectourlives:

Whenyouwanttobemoreateaseinthemoment,

justtakeadeepbreath,andasyouexhale,letallthoughtgo.

Focus on breathing out, if you have to focus on anything, and just for thatmoment, letall thoughtgo.Eveninthemiddleofabusyday,youcanenjoyamomentofstillness.I do that little exercise many times every day. It simplifies my life,

immeasurably.Mostofustendtobelievethattheproblemswefacerequiremorethoughttosolvethem.Yetmoreandmoreofushaverealizedthatwhenweletourthoughtsgo,whenwesimplyrelaxinthefaceofaproblemandquitworkingsohardtosolveit,simplesolutionsoftenemerge,quiteeasilyandnaturally.Bythinkingless,notmore,webecomemoreintuitiveandevenmoreintelligent.There’snoneedtodwellonnegative,limitingthoughts.Whenwerealizethis,

weautomaticallytakeanothergreatleapforwardinlivingthelifeofourdreams:

Wediscoverwhenwelearntowatchourthoughtsthatwecanchooseourthoughts.

Wecanchoose to let those thoughtsgo thatno longer serveus, andwecanchoose to focus on things that can help make our journey one of ease andfulfillment.Thekeyistolearntowatchwhatisgoingonwithinus,acceptitfully,andlet

itgo.Thekeyistoobservethingswithoutresistingthem,andthentolet themgo.EckhartTollesumsitupbeautifully,againinThePowerofNow:

“Tooffernoresistancetolifeistobeinastateofgrace,ease,andlightness.”

LEARNTOCHANGEYOURLIMITINGCOREBELIEFS

Overthirtyyearsagonow,Ilearnedasimplelittlegameorprocess(orwhateveryouwant tocall it) thatchangedmy life.The firstversionof thisprocesswasdeveloped by Ken Keyes Jr., author of Handbook to Higher Consciousness.ThenShaktiGawainrefinedtheprocessoverseveralyearsandwrote it inTheCreativeVisualizationWorkbook.

Wecanchangeourbeliefsthroughasimpleprocess:thecorebeliefprocess.

Allitrequiresisforyoutobehonestwithyourself.

Therearetwoversions:thecompleteprocessandtheshortversion.

TheCompleteCoreBeliefProcessThecompleteprocessworksbestwhenyou’reupsetaboutsomething.Youcandoitatanytime,aroundanyissue,butwhenyou’reupset,agitated,angry,orfearful,itcanbeapowerful,life-altering

experience.

Thestepsaresimple.Justhonestlyanswerthefollowingquestions:

1.Whatistheproblem?

Think of the particular problem, situation, or area of your life youwant toimprove.Describeit—taketwoorthreeminutestothinkaboutitortalkaboutitingeneral.

2.Whatemotionsareyoufeeling?

Name the specific emotions, such as fear, anger, frustration, guilt, sadness.Don’tget intoanyparticular thoughtsyou’rehavingat thispoint, justpinpointthesinglewordthatdescribeseachemotion.

3.Whatphysicalsensationsareyoufeeling?

Exploreyourbody, fromyour toes to the topofyourhead. Is there tensionsomewhere?Whatisyourbreathinglike?What’sgoingoninyourstomach?

4.Whatareyouthinkingabout?

What’sgoing throughyourmind?Whatnegative thoughts, fears,orworriesare you having?What conditioning or programming can you identify?Take afewminutestodescribeyourthoughts.Whenyoudothisstep,youautomaticallysummonthewatcher,andbeginthe

processofdisassociatingyourselffromthethoughtsgoingthroughyourmind.

5.Whatistheworstthingthatcouldhappeninthissituation?

What is your greatest fear in this situation? If your greatest fear came true,thenwhatwouldbe theworst thing thatcouldhappen? If thathappened,whatwouldbetheveryworstthingthatcouldpossiblyhappen?Thesequestionsbringyourdeepestfearstolight.Thisisaverygoodthingto

dobecausewhenyouexpress thosedeepest fears,youcometorealize that thechancesofthosedeepfearsactuallycomingtopassareveryslimindeed.

6.Whatisthebestthingthatcouldhappen?

Whatwouldyouliketohappenideally?Whatisyouridealsceneforthisarea

ofyourlife?Youmay find thisharder to express thanyourworst fears. If so, your fears

may have been dominating and overwhelming your vision of success.Maybeyouhavebeenfocusingmoreonthehalfoftheglassthatisemptythanonthehalfthatisfullinyourlife.Keepthebestthings,thebestpossibilitiesinmind—don’tforgetyourdream!

7.Whatfearorlimitingbeliefiskeepingyoufromcreatingwhatyouwant?

Nowwe’regettingtothecoreoftheproblem:Whatfearorlimitingbeliefcanyou identify? Once you’ve explored this, state your fear or limiting belief assimplyandclearlyasyoucan.Ithelpstowriteitdowntoo.Ifyouhavemorethanone,writethemalldown.

Putthemintheformofabelief:IbelievethatI’minadequate,thatIdon’thavewhat it takes....Ibelieve it’shard tomakemoney....Ibelievemy life is stressfulandunhealthyattimes....Thesimpler thewordsyouuse thebetter. Ifyoupossiblycan, findwordsa

childwouldunderstand.Nowwecometothemostpowerfulstepofall:

8.Createanaffirmationtocounteractandcorrectthenegative,limitingbelief.

Itshouldbeshortandsimpleandmeaningfultoyou,inthepresenttense,asifit’s already happening. I am enough....I am now creating abundance in mylife....Iamnowcreatingfinancialsuccess....Iamnowachievingmygoalsinaneasyandrelaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway....Your affirmation i the opposite of your core belief, turning a negative or

limitingphraseintoapositive,expansiveone.Here’s an example: I did this process when I was at my financial low—

$65,000incredit-carddebtandonthevergeofbankruptcy.IrealizedIhadthesecore beliefs: I am a fool with money. I am out of control. I am heading fortrouble.OnceIclearlyidentifiedthosedeepcorebeliefs,Ifoundanaffirmationthatdirectlycontradictedthosebeliefsandfeltreallygoodtome:Iamsensibleandincontrolofmyfinances.Iamcreatingtotalfinancialsuccess.Iwrotedownthataffirmationseveraltimesinbiglettersandputitindifferent

placessoI’dkeepseeingitandrememberingit—bythephoneintheoffice,on

thedresserinmybedroom,onthemirrorinthebathroom,inmywalletnexttothepatheticamountofcashIcarriedaroundwithme.Wheneverthoseoldfearscameup,I’daffirm,Iamsensibleandincontrolofmyfinances.Iamcreatingtotalfinancialsuccess.AfterIsaiditafewhundred(orafewthousand)times,thataffirmationbegan

tohaveaneffectinmylife.Irealizeditwasnotatalldifficulttobesensibleandincontrolofmyfinancesratherthantobeafool.ItwasachoiceIwasmaking—previously,ithadbeensubconscious,andnowitwasconscious.IkepttellingmyselfIwassensibleandincontrolofmyfinances,andloand

behold,Ibecamesensibleandincontrol.Itwasn’tdifficultatalltodo—infact,managing my money became very simple. The steps I needed to take wereobvious:SpendlessthanImake.Startsaving.Getoutofcredit-carddebt.Startbuildingadiversifiedportfolioofinvestments.Getintorealestatesomehow.Managingmoneyisnotrocketscience.Anyonewhocandosimplemathcan

understandthebasicsofpersonalfinance.WhenIaffirmedenoughtimesthatIam sensible and in control of my finances, it became self-fulfilling in myexperience.There’sagoodlessoninthisformanyofus:

Watchwhatyousay!Thewordswetellourselvesarepowerful.

Everythoughtwehavehasagreatdealofpowertoshapeourentirelifeexperience.

Here are somemore examples of limiting beliefs and affirmations that canovercomethosebeliefs(manyarefromTheCreativeVisualizationWorkbookbyShaktiGawain): LIMITING BELIEF: I don’t have enough time to do the things Iwanttodo.AFFIRMATION:IhaveplentyoftimetodothethingsIwanttodo.

LIMITINGBELIEF:Ihavetostruggletosurvive.AFFIRMATION: Iamcreating total success, inaneasyand relaxedmanner, inahealthyandpositiveway.

LIMITINGBELIEF: I’mundera lotofpressureatwork; itcan’tbeavoided inmyhigh-pressurejob.AFFIRMATION: Inowrelaxandenjoymyselfatworkandaccomplisheverything

easilyandskillfully.

LIMITINGBELIEF:Moneycorrupts.AFFIRMATION:Themoremoneythatcomesintomylife,themorepowerIhavetodogoodformyself,forothers,andfortheworld.

LIMITINGBELIEF:Theworldisadangerousplace.AFFIRMATION:Inowliveinasafe,wonderfulworld.

LIMITINGBELIEF:It’ssohardtohavealoving,ongoingrelationship.AFFIRMATION: I nowhave a loving, ongoing relationship that bringsme grace,ease,andlightness.

LIMITINGBELIEF:Idon’thavewhatittakestosucceed.AFFIRMATION:IhaveeverythingIneed,andI’mnowcreatingmyownsuccessinmyownway. . . .Or: Iamnowcreating the lifeofmydreams, inaneasyandrelaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway.

9.Sayorwriteyouraffirmationrepeatedly,overaperiodofseveraldays.

Write your affirmation down and put itwhere you’ll see it often. Repeat itsilentlytoyourself,whilerelaxing,orwhenevermoredoubtsandfearscomeup.Pictureeverythingworkingoutexactlyasyouwantitto.ShaktiGawainrecommendsthislittleexercise,whichI’mtoolazytodo,but

I’msurewouldbeveryhelpful:Writeyouraffirmationtenortwentytimesaday,if necessary, until you feel you’ve absorbed it as a positive core belief. Ifnegativethoughtscomeup,writethosethoughtsonanothersheetofpaper,andthen keepwriting the affirmations on the other page until it feels free of anyemotional resistance. In the end, throw away your doubts and fears— shredthemandrecyclethem.Onceyoudothecorebeliefprocess,you’llseeforyourself:

Newbeliefscananddoreplaceoldbeliefs,overtime,onceyouhavefoundtheaffirmation

thatworksforyou.

That’stheentirecorebeliefprocess.Ithasworkedmagicinmylifeandinthelivesofmanyothersaswell.Tryityourself—andbepreparedforsometrulymarvelousresults.

TheShortVersionoftheCoreBeliefProcessThere’saneveneasier,simplerway—thoughthelongerversionisreallypowerfulwhenyou’reupset,asyou’ll

discoverifyouactuallygothroughit.The short version is something we can do anywhere, throughout the day:

Anytime you feel doubts and fears arising, try to clearly observe them.Acknowledgethem,andputthemintowords:It’stoohardtosucceed.Thisistoostressful.Oncewecanclearlylookatourdoubtsandfears,wecanclearlyimaginetheir

opposite. Let go of those doubts,with a forceful exhaling breath if necessary,andaffirmthattheexactoppositeofyourdoubtsandfearsisnowcomingintobeing.Iamnowcreatingsuccess, inaneasyandrelaxedmanner, inahealthyandpositiveway,initsownperfecttime,forthehighestgoodofall.

Wheneverdoubtsandfearsarise,putthemintothesimplestwordsyoucan.

Thenfindtheaffirmationthatisthedirectoppositeofyourdoubtsandfears,

andsaythattoyourselfinstead.Repeatasoftenasnecessary.

An affirmation can be very powerful. The right affirmation can overcomeyears and years — even decades — of limited, negative, doubtful, fearfulthinking.Therearemanypeoplewhobelieveaffirmationsdon’twork.HereiswhatI’ve

cometobelieve,basedonmyownexperience:

Affirmationsarepowerful.Everythoughtispowerful.

I’vecometorealizethatitallworks.Affirmationswork.Makinggoalsworks.Writing your ideal scene works. Prayer works. Declarations work. Positivethinkingworks.Auto-suggestionworks.Thoughtsarepowerful things thatenduphavingpowerfulresultsintheworld.

Theproblemisthatnegativeandlimitedthinkingworksaswell.Ourdoubtsand fears can become self-fulfilling, ifwe let them.Our doubts and fears canundoallouraffirmationsandprayersandpositivethinking,ifweletthem.Here’showIseeit(roughlyparaphrasingthewayLenedraCarrollputsit in

her great bookTheArchitectureofAll Abundance): The universe saysYes toevery thoughtwehave.Call itwhatyouwill—theuniverse,oursubconsciousmind, intuition, spirit, presence, God, creative energy, whatever— there is apowerfulforcewearedirectlyconnectedto,andwhenwethinktoourselves,I’mgoingtogoformydream!I’mgoingtodo,be,andhavewhatIwantinlife!theuniversesaysYes!,andimmediatelystartsshowingusexactlywhattodo.Ifournextthought,however,isAh,butit’ssohardtosucceed...sofewpeople

succeed,thentheuniversesays,Yes,it’ssohardtosucceed—foryou,withthosethoughts,andthenproceedstoshowusjusthowharditcanbe.Theuniversegivesusexactlywhatweaskfor,nomore,noless.Soaskaway.

We’vehearditsaidbefore,somanytimes:

Askandyoushallreceive.

Christwasn’tkiddingwhenhesaidthat.Andhedidn’tsay,Askandyoushallreceiveifyoudeserveit.Hesaiditsimplyandclearly,sothatevenachildcanunderstand. And as soon as we understand, deeply, subconsciously, we startreceivingwhatweaskfor.

Hereisapowerfulphrasetoaddtotheendofyouraffirmations:

This,orsomethingbetter,isnowmanifesting

intotallysatisfyingandharmoniousways,forthehighestgoodofall.

Sobeit.Soitis.We’llendthischapterwithwhatisforme,atleastatthismomentofmylife,

thesinglemostpowerfulpoemIhaveeverread.It’sfromalittlebookcalledAsYouThink,writtenin1904inEnglandbyJamesAllen(norelationtome).Ihavememorizedparts of that book, and the quotes spring tomindoften.That littlebookhaschangedmylife.Spend a bit of time reflecting on the poem. In the beginning, he means

contentment when he writes content, and he uses the words environment andcircumstanceverybroadly,tomeananythingatall,withinyouoroutthereintheworld,thatyou’reusingasanexcusetopreventyoufromlivingthelifeofyourdreams.Youwillbewhatyouwilltobe.

Youwillbewhatyouwilltobe.Letfailurefinditsfalsecontent

Inthatpoorword“environment,”Butspiritscornsit,andisfree.

Itmasterstime,itconquersspace,Itcowsthatboastfultrickster,Chance,AndbidsthetyrantCircumstanceUncrown,andtakeaservant’splace.

Thehumanwill,thatforceunseen,Theoffspringofadeathlesssoul,

Canhewawaytoanygoal,Thoughwallsofgraniteintervene.

Benotimpatientindelay,Butwaitasonewhounderstands;Whenspiritrisesandcommands,

Thegodsarereadytoobey.—JAMESALLEN,ASYOUTHINK

When you dream of a goal,when you affirm that goal is now coming intobeing,inaneasyandrelaxedmanner,thecreativeforcesoftheuniverserushintosupportyouinmovingstepbysteptowardtherealizationofthatdream.

CHAPTER4

THEFOURTHSTEP

CREATE

InthebeginningwastheWord.—JOHN1:1

We’vewritten our ideal scenes on paper, we’ve listed our goals and affirmedthem,andwe’vebegunworkingwiththedoubtsandfearsthatariseassoonaswedaretodream.There’sjustonemorestep,thefourthandfinalstep.Thisonedoesn’ttakethat

longtodoeither,andyouknow,whileyou’redoingit,you’reworkingsmarter,notharder.

THEFOURTHESSENTIALSTEP

Writeyourplan,foreverymajorgoal,ononeortwosheetsofpaper,

andtakethenextobviousstepsinfrontofyoutokeepmovingforwardonyourplan.

Two things happened in rapid succession as soon as I started to affirmmygoals:First,doubtsandfearscameupinfullforce,andthen,assoonasIhadamoment’sbreakfromthosedoubtsandfears,plansbegantoemerge.Doing the core belief process repeatedly and continuing to say my

affirmationsregularlyhelpedmedealwithatleastsomeofmydoubts,fears,andlimitingbeliefs.Ievenstartedtofeelonoccasionthat,justpossibly,ImighthaveafargreaterpotentialthanIhadevendaredtodreamof.IhadastrongsensethatIwaslimitedonlybymyfearsandbeliefs,andInowhadsomeverygoodtoolstohelpmedealwiththosefearsandbeliefs.AndIdiscoveredwhattomeisstillanextraordinaryandexcitingfact:

Simplywritingdownyourplansisinitselfapowerfulstep

towardthefulfillmentofthoseplans.

Takeapenandsheetofpaper(orpullupyourwordprocessingprogram),putyourgoalatthetop,andwriteyourplantoreachthatgoal.Thewholeplanmaynotbeclearatall;perhapsjustthefirstfewstepsareobvious.That’scompletelyfine.Veryfewplansemergeatthebeginningfullyformed.Justwriteasmuchasyoucanatthemoment;youcanaddmorelaterastheplannaturallydevelops.Myfirstplans—andmostofmyplanstothisday—hadverylittlestructure

otherthanthegoalatthetopandstepsnecessarytotaketoreachthatgoal.Foryears,myplanswerefree-form,unstructured—andeffective.Over the past ten years or so, I’ve refined the process and sometimeswrite

morestructuredplans.Usethemorestructuredplansifyouwantto,butmaybeyouwon’tneedto.Italldependsonyou.I’vecometoseethatthedetails,thespecificsoftheplan,arenotevenallthat

important: The essential thing is to have a clear goal, inwriting, and to havesomekindofplaninwritingtogetthere,andthentotakethenextobvioussteps

infrontofyou.Thoseactionstepsthatyoutakehaveresultsthataffecttherestofyourplan,

andmayevenchangeyourplansubstantially.Sodon’tworryat thebeginningaboutyourplan,becauseit’sboundtochangeanyway.Juststartwithaplan—anyplan—andkeepchangingitandaddingtoitasyougo.Theoneelementeveryplanneedsisa listofstrategies toreachyourgoal.I

usethepluralstrategiesbecauseeveryplanshouldhaveamultiprongedstrategy.Neverputallyoureggsinonebasket;neverplanononlyonestrategytoreachagoal.Haveseveral.Havebackupstrategiesifyourfirstideasdon’tpanout.

Takeasinglesheetofpaper,putyourgoalatthetop,

andlistyourstrategiestoreachthatgoal.

Keepyourplancurrent;keeptakingwhateverstepsyoucan,andwatchwhathappens. I can almost guarantee you that something will happen that youcouldn’t possibly plan on thatwillmove you closer to your goal.And itwillprobablychangethecourseofyourplanaswell.Updateyourplan,andtakethenextobvioussteps.Theresultsaremagical,inthebestsenseoftheword.Veryfewofmyplanswerefullyformedinthebeginning.Withsome,Icould

just see the next few steps to take. And almost all of my plans changeddramaticallyovertime.Theplanformybusinesstookafewyearstowrite.Atfirst,Icouldonlysee

thefirstfewnecessarysteps,whichweresimplyto(1)readausedBusiness101textbookandtalktopeoplewhoknowmoreaboutbusinessthanIdoandlearnthe basics of business, and (2) get a job, any job, and save 20 percent ofmyincometofinancemyfirstprojects.ThatwasliterallyallIcouldthinkoftodoatfirst.ButafterItookthosesteps,

thenextonesbecameobvious.AfterawhileIdiscoveredthegreatbenefitsofasimple,clear,one-pageplan.

Aone-pageplanispowerful,becauseitsetsyourpowerfulsubconsciousmindinmotion.

Ifyouwantmoreofastructureforyourplan,herearethreemorepossibilities:1.Sometimesmyone-pageplansaresimplya“ToDo”list.Iputmygoalatthe

topandthenlistallthestepsIcanthinkofthatarenecessarytoreachthatgoal.2.Here’sanotherpossibilitywithabitmorestructure.List,inorder:

MAIN GOAL: Your single, overarching goal at the top. Youmight want toincludeyourmission:yourbroadest,highestreasonsfordoingitinthefirstplace.GOALS:Listthemultiplegoalsyouneedtoreachtoachieveyourmaingoal.STRATEGIES:Thestepsyouwilltaketoreachthosegoals.

3.Ifyouwantevenmorestructureanddetail,here’sanotheroption.Fourorfiveyearsago,Icameacrossabook,TheOnePageBusinessPlanbyJimHoran,thatsuggestedthefollowingformat.*Youmighthavetowriteverysmallorusetinytypetogetitononepage—twoorthreepageswouldbefineaswell,becausehesuggestsquiteabitofdetail:

VISION:Howdoyouvisualizeyourcompany,career,or life in the future?What will it look like in five years? Describe your idea in a way thatcapturesthepassionoftheidea.

MISSION:Whydoyouwanttodothis?What’syourpassion?Ifyouhaveacompany,whywillcustomersbuyyourproductorservice?

OBJECTIVES:Whatareyourgoals?Whataccomplishmentsmustyouachieveto be successful? List your goals in specific terms,with targets and timeframes.

STRATEGIES:What hasmade you successful to date?Whatwillmake yousuccessfulovertime?

PLANS:Whatspecificprojectsandactionswillbetakenthisyeartoachievetheobjectives?

Writeabriefplanforeverymajorgoal,andkeepyourplancurrent.

Thestructureofyourplanisn’timportant.Justcreateyourownplan—anyplan—

inwriting.

Onceyouhaveaplan,refertoitoften.Takethenextobvioussteps,andyou

starttofeelyourplangainingmomentum.Thenyoustartseeingresults.

GETORGANIZED

Years ago, I told a friend, “I’m completely disorganized.” “No,” she said,“you’re organized where you need to be.” I realized that was a much morepositivewaytolookatit,andovertheyearswheneverIfindmyselflookingatthechaosonmydeskandthinkI’mdisorganizedIsubstitutetheaffirmation,I’morganizedwhereIneedtobe.I’vecreatedasimplesystemtoorganizemyimportantwrittenmaterial.Ihave

a folder in my briefcase, the kind with flaps inside that easily holds severalsheetsofpaper.ThedayIturnedthirty,Ifoundafolder(withastunningpictureoftheGreatSmokyMountainsonit)andwrotethesewordsinbiglettersonthefront:IamnowcreatingthelifeIwant.YearslaterIusedjustasimplefilefolderlabeledMagician’s Tool Kit. Now I have a folder with pockets again, with apictureoftheearthonthefront.AtthetopIhaveaddedastar,andunderneathitare the words I am guided by Spirit every moment. Put whatever words aremeaningfultoyouonthecoverofyourfolder.In the folder is my ideal scene, my list of goals and affirmations, and

additional notes and other things I’ve added over time.Keeping this folder athand and up to datewill keep you focused on the essentials. It can become aguidinglightinyourlife,oneofyourowncreation.Whataconcept—yousitdownperiodicallyand,inwriting,showyourselfwhereyouwantandneedtogoinyourlife.The only other things I have inmy organized little system are a set of file

folders,oneforeachmajorgoal.Myone-pageplanisonthetopandthenIhaveanyappropriate supportingmaterials, such asmission statements and“ToDo”lists,budgetsforproposedprojects,notes,andwhateverelserelatedtothatgoalIwanttokeepworkingwith.Ikeepthesetoffilefoldersinmybriefcase.That’smyentirelittlesystem.Itprobablytookmeabouttenminutestosetit

uporiginally,afterIhadwrittenmyidealsceneandlistofgoalsasaffirmations.C’mon—evena lazypersoncan find tenminutes.And it’snothardwork. Itinvolvesnoheavylifting.Theonlysuppliesyouneedareafolderofsomekind,apen,andseveralfilefolders.

Createasimplesystemtoorganizethisvitallyimportantmaterial.

Giveeachgoalitsownfilefolder,

containingyourplanandsupportingmaterials.

If you ever feel stuck— if you feel you’re not moving forward toward aparticulargoal,foranyreason—takeoutyourplanandyourcalendarandwritethenextstepor twoyouneed to take inyourcalendar,onaspecificdate.Useyour daily calendar to remindyou to take the action steps necessary to regainyourmomentum.Don’t beat yourself up if youdon’t get around todoingwhatyou’veput in

your daily calendar. Just move it to another date ahead, and affirm all ishappeninginaneasyandrelaxedmanner,initsownperfecttime.

TURNYOURDESIRESINTOINTENTIONS

Onceyouhaveaplaninwritingandtakethenextobviousactionsteps,you’resendingapowerfulmessage

toyoursubconsciousmind:Yourdreamsanddesireshavebecomeintentions.

Once you have awritten planwith your dream at the top, that dream is nolongerinsubstantial.Onceyouhavewrittendownwhatyoudesireandhowyouplantoachieveit,thatdesireisnolongerfleeting.Asyoucontinuetoworkwithyourwrittenplans,afascinatingprocessisset

in motion: Your dreams and desires become intentions. An intention is apowerfulforce;whenyouintendsomething,youwillmakeithappen,onewayoranother.Soonerorlater,yourintentionswillbecomemanifest.Anintentionfullyengagesourconsciousandsubconsciousmind,anddraws

toit—andcreates—supportinallkindsofwayswecan’tpossiblyplanon,orevenimagine.ToparaphraseJamesAllen’sgreatpoemquotedinchapter3:

Youwillbewhatyouintendtobe.Whenyoudaretodream,

andthenmakeawrittenplan,thecreativeforcesoftheuniverserushin

tosupportyouincountless,endlesslycreativeways.

Foursimplestepsareallittakes—soeasytodothatevensomeoneaslazyasIamcandothem.Itdoesn’thavetotakealotoftimeoreffort.It’sjustamatteroffocusingyourcreativemindintherightdirection.It’sworthreviewing—weneedrepetitiontolearnnewwaysofthinkingand

acting.When youmake a plan on paper, you are sending a clear and simplemessagetoyoursubconsciousmind,andtothewholeuniverseandeveryoneinit: You have a dream or desire for something, and it has now become anintention.Youhavethoughtthis through,andput itonpaper.Youareserious;youare

going to make it happen, one way or another, sooner or later. You intend ondoing, being, or having this, in your ownway— and in an easy and relaxedmanner,ahealthyandpositiveway,initsownperfecttime,forthehighestgoodofall.

Clearlystateyourgoalasanaffirmation:Iamnowcreatingasuccessfulcareer.Putyourplaninwriting,andthen

takethenextobviousstepsinfrontofyou.

When you affirm something repeatedly, the universe saysYes. And it startsthrowingideasatyou:Youcouldstarthere;youcouldstartthere.Youcoulddoitthisway,oryoucoulddoitthatway.Manyofyourplansdeveloptheirownmultiprongedstrategies.Firstyou try

this,thenthat,andifthosedon’twork,yougoontoanotherpossibility.Soonerorlater,youreachyourgoal,initsownperfecttime.Whenyouputyourplansinwriting,youunleashorconnectwithapowerful

creative energy, and you start to see opportunitieswhere before you sawonlyproblemsandobstacles.Yourealizethereareopportunitieseverywhere,always,andsometimesyouseethemandsometimesyoudon’t.There’safascinatingprincipleatworkhere:

Whatwethinkaboutexpands.

If our thoughts are focused primarily on our problems and obstacles andshortcomings,thosethingsexpandandbecomeevengreater.Themoreweturnourthoughtstowhatwewanttodo,be,andhaveinourlives,themorewelet

ourselves imagine the lifeofourdreams, themore those things expand inourlives.Keep the end in mind. Once your intention becomes solid, solutions to

problemsbecomeobvious—orelsewhatwereformerlyproblemssimplydon’tmatteranymoreandbecome irrelevant.Obstaclesdissolve,orelseyou findaneasy,simplewayaroundthem.

Inthesimpleactofwritingaone-pageplan,

theblueprintforyoursuccessisrevealedtoyou.

Don’tletyourdoubtsandfearsholdyouback.Youhaveeverythingyouneedwithin you to create the greatest success you can dream of. You have apowerfullycreativemind—justfocusonyourgoal,andtakethenextobviousstepsinfrontofyou.Ifyoucontinuetoworkwiththesesimpletools,you’llfindsomewonderfully

positivechangesinyourlife.It’suptoyou:

Youareyourbestvisionarymentorandyouareyourownworstenemy.

Keepfocusingonyourdreamsandgoals,andyou’llreachtheminspiteofyourdoubtsandfears.

Youhavenowsetyourcourse—therestissimplycoursecorrection.

*Thiswasamusing(atleasttome):IlikedthebooksomuchIcalledJimHoranandsaidI’dlikeNewWorldLibrarytopublishit.Hesaid,“Well,Iprintthosebooksforninetycentsandsellthemfortwentydollars,andI’vesoldover25,000ofthemonmyown—whatdoIneedyoufor?”Itwasagoodquestion.Ifyoucanmake$500,000sellingabookonyourown,youmightaswellcontinuetosellitonyourown!Hegavemepermissiontoexcerptthisbitfromhisbook.Formoreinformation,gotowww.OnePageBusinessPlan.com.

ONGOINGCOURSECORRECTION

CHAPTER5

COURSECORRECTION

Weallhaveaphenomenalmind,anditincludesadirectconnection

toavastsubconsciousandanintuitionthatcanguideuseverymoment.

Nowit’sjustamatterofkeepingourpowerfulcreativemindsfocusedintherightdirection.

An airplane is off course over 90 percent of the time. Yet the pilot keepscorrecting,repeatedly,andtheplanearrivesatitsplanneddestination.By taking four simple steps, we have set our course. Now it’s a matter of

correcting,repeatedly,everytimewewanderoffcourse.Everydoubttakesusoffcoursefromourgoal—therealizationofourdream.

Every argument takes us off course. Every time we’re angry, or fearful, oranxious,wewander off course.Over and over, every day,we forgetwhatweknow in our hearts to be true. We forget who we are; we forget we have apowerfully creative mind; we forget the unique gifts we have to give to theworld.Overandover,wehave to remember to resetourcourse.Whenwedo that,

repeatedly,wewillarriveatourdestination.It isinevitable.Thefirstandmostobviouswaytokeeponcourseistokeeprememberingyourdestination.It’ssoobvious—andyetwesooftenforget,overandover,andneedtoberemindedofwhatweknow,overandover.

KEEPREMEMBERINGYOURDREAMSANDGOALS

Keepremembering:Youareuniqueandcreative.Remembertokeepyourcreativemindfocused

onyourdream,andremembertokeeptakingthestepsnecessarytorealizethatdream.

Don’tforgetthefourstepsinthissimpleprogram.Don’tletdoubtsandfearscauseyoutoprocrastinate,orgiveup,orneverevengetstartedinthefirstplace.SitdowneveryonceinawhileandreadyourIdealScene.Updateitifnecessary.Sitdownatleasttwiceayearandrewriteyourgoalsasaffirmations.Keepthemcurrent,andkeeptheminmind.(Ikeepacopyofmygoalsasaffirmationsinmybackpocket,andpullitoutandreviewitoften.)Foreverymajorgoal,keepyourplanuptodate.(Itdoesn’ttakeallthatmuchtime!)Thenextstepstotakewillbecome obvious, and you’ll find you can take them in an easy and relaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway,ifthatiswhatyou’vebeenaffirming.Rememberyourdreams,always.Remembertohaveacleargoalfortheyear.

Whatdoyouwanttoaccomplishthisyear?Howmuchincomewillthatcreate?DidyourgoalsspringtomindwhenIaskedthatquestion?Ordidyouhavetothinkaboutit?Keepthosegoalsinmind!Whenyouwanderoffcourse,agreatwaytogetbackoncourseissimplyto:

Rememberwhatyouknow,andkeepyoureyeonyourdestination.

There are all kinds of otherways to correct your course.Go through thesefinaltwochaptersandseewhereyouneedtopayattentiontosomethingandtochangesomething,ifnecessary.

REFLECTONYOURVOCATIONANDPURPOSESomanypeoplehavewanderedoffcourseforyears,decades,eventheirentirelifetimebecause thework theyhave chosen is not appropriate or fulfilling forthem.

Howdowefindtherightworkforus?Justaskingthisquestion

isastepintherightdirection.

Asking that question and trying to find the right answer forces us to work

smarter,notharder.Howdowefindtherightwork?Itdefinitelyhelpstofirstgivesomethought

to two important facets of our lives: our vocation and purpose. Once werecognizeourvocationandpurpose, ithelpsus focusourcreativemind in thedirectionthatleadsustothemostsatisfying,fulfillingplaces.VocationcomesfromtheLatinwordfor“calling”;ithasthesamerootasthe

wordvoice.Yourvocation isyour calling in life. If youhaveenvisionedyourideal scene, somewhere in that dream of a fulfilling future your vocation iscallingtoyou.KentNerburnsaiditbeautifullyinLetterstoMySon:

Think of work as vocation. It should be something that calls to you assomethingyouwant todo,and itshouldbesomething thatgivesvoice towho you are and what you want to say to the world. It is, above all,somethingthatletsyoulove.

Takeasheetofpaperandwrite“MyVocationorCalling”atthetop,

thenletyourspiritsoar.

Itis,aboveall,somethingthatletsyoulove.Anotherextraordinarilypowerfulthingtodo—somethingthatcansaveyou

yearsofwanderingoffcourse—isthis:

Takeanothersheetofpaperandwrite“MyPurpose”atthetop.Again,letyourspiritsoar.

Youmayhavedifficultywritingevenasingleparagraph.Ifso,letitrestforawhile,andcomebacktoit.Keepaskingyourselfwhatyourpurposeis.Thisisagreatquestion toask,because it forcesyou todo“bigpicture” thinkingof thehighestorder.Sooner or later, you’ll find an answer that resonates with the truth that is

somewheredeepwithinyou.Youmayormaynotbesurprisedatwhatyoucomeupwith.Yourpurpose,expressedinasingleparagraph,canbecomeapowerfulguiding light for you, helping you make the best decisions, large and small,everydayofyourlife.JamesAllen,inAsYouThink,hadtremendousinsighthere:

“Untilthoughtislinkedwithpurposethereisno

intelligentaccomplishment.”

Youhaveauniquepurposeforliving,andyouhavebeengivenuniquetalentsandabilitiestoaccomplishthatpurpose.Whenyourealizewhatthatpurposeis,itcanhelpyoucreatealifeofmagicandmiracles.

SEETHEFULLHALFOFTHEGLASSANDTHEBENEFITSWITHINADVERSITY

Ihaveafriendwhoissmart,talented,energetic—andalwaysstrugglingtopayhisrent.Onedayheaskedmealong,ramblingquestionthatIsummedupthisway:“Inotherwords,”Isaid,“you’reasking,IfI’msosmartwhyaren’tIrichyet?”“Well,yeah,”hesaid.“That’sagreatquestiontoask,”Isaid.I’ve known himwell for years,well enough to know I could tell it to him

exactlyasIsawit.“Twothingsimmediatelycometomind,”Isaid.“Onsomelevel—maybesubconsciously—it seemsyou thinkyoudon’t reallydeservesuccess,forsomereason,ormaybeyoujustthinkit’stoohard,ortoostressful,tocreatethelifeyouwant.“Dothecorebeliefprocess,reallylookatyourdeepestbeliefs,andcomeup

withanaffirmationlike,Inaneasyandrelaxed,healthyandpositiveway,Iamnowcreating total financialsuccess.Put it inyourownwords. Ifyou find therightaffirmation,itcanovercomeallkindsofdoubtsandfearsandgetyoubackoncourse.

Keeprepeatingsomethinglikethisandseewhathappens:Inaneasyandrelaxed,healthyandpositiveway,

Iamnowcreatingtotalsuccess.

“Whatistotalsuccessforyou?Ofcourse,it’suptoyoutodefineit—andthemoreclearlyyoudefineitforyourself,thesooneryou’llcreateit.“Andhere’stheotherthingthatcomestomind,aslongasyouaskedforit,”I

said. “You tend to focus so often on the problems, not on the solutions. Youspendalotoftimelookingattheemptyhalfoftheglass.Youoftensaythingsareharderthantheyusedtobe—there’smorecompetitionnow,blah,blah,blah

—whichmeansyouthinkthere’slessopportunitynowthanthereusedtobe.

Ourbeliefsarenottrueinthemselves,butbecometrueinourexperience

ifwebelievethey’retrue.

“Youcanturnyourthinkingaround:It’ssimplynottruethatit’smoredifficultthanitusedtobetosucceed.Itonlybecomestrueifyoucontinuetobelieveit—and awhole lot of people, includingme, have a very different set of beliefs.Opportunitiesareeverywhere!They’vealwaysbeeneverywhere;it’sjustthatwehaven’t seen them because we haven’t been preparing ourselves for them byclearlysettingourcourse.”

Youcanturnyourthinkingaroundbyaskingyourself,

Whataretheopportunities,benefits,andgiftsintheproblemsIface?

Hegot it—Icouldtell.Hehadaskedforfeedback,andIgaveit tohimasdirectlyas Icould.Thenext timewe talkedheaddedoneothergood thing—something Imentionedat theverybeginning:“Youknow,”hesaid,“as I lookback, Icanseesomethingelse: I’ve lackedpersistence. Igaveup toosoononsomeverygood ideas, justbecause I ran into someobstacles. I’mgoing tobemorepersistent—andkeeprememberingtofocusmoreonopportunitiesratherthantheproblems.”I’vetalkedtohimseveraltimesrecentlyandsenseadefinitepositiveshiftin

his energy.The affirmationshehas comeupwith arehelping to change thoseold, limiting beliefs. When he catches himself enmeshed in problems, hechallenges himself to find opportunities, benefits, and gifts. And he’s beingpersistent,keepingthesamegoalinsightuntilhereachesit.Ihavenodoubtthat,soonerorlater,hewillrealizehisdreams—aslongas

hekeepscorrectinghiscourse,aslongashekeepsrememberinganddoesn’tfallbackintotheoldmentalhabitsthatweren’tsupportinghisdreams.

LIVEANDWORKINPARTNERSHIPWITHALL

This is a great key to ongoing success, both business and personal. It’ssomethingI’veknownintuitivelyforalongtime,andsomethingI’vedonemybesttoputintopracticefromtheverybeginningofmycareer.

Themoreyouliveandworkinpartnershipwithall,thehappier,

healthier,andmoresuccessfulyouwillbe.

Tothisday itstillsurprisesmehowmanypeopleandhowmanybusinessesandcorporations,largeandsmall,don’tunderstandthissimpleconcept.Ongoingsuccess is built on a series ofwin-win partnerships.Themore effectively youwork in partnership with your family and friends, the greater your personalsuccess will be. The more effectively you work in partnership with yourcustomers,suppliers,and—mostofall—employees,themoresuccessfulyourbusinesswillbeinthelongrun.Notonlythat,whenyouliveandworkinpartnershipwithothers,yourwhole

life experience becomes far more enjoyable and fulfilling. I really don’tunderstandwhymorepeopledon’trealizethis.It’sobvioustome:

Partnershipisthemostpowerfulformofsocialinteractionthatthereis.

If you’re notworking in partnershipwith others, you can getway,way offcourse,anditcanbecomeverydifficulttogetbackoncourse.I don’t understand why more governments haven’t realized this: A

governmenthasapartnershipwitheveryoneof itspeople,andeachnation—whethertheylikeitornot—hastoworkinpartnershipwithothernationsifwearetosurviveandthrive.Idon’tunderstandwhymoreemployersdon’tworkinpartnershipwiththeir

own employees, and don’t realize, to pick one example, themany benefits ofprofit sharing with all employees. I split half my profits withmy employees.Peoplethinkthis isgenerous,andthatmymotivesarepureandadmirable,butI’mquicktotellthemIdoitforpurelyselfishmotives—atleastformyownself-interest — because I know for a fact that when employees receivesubstantial profit sharing, they think and act like owners, and we makesubstantiallymoreprofit.Everyemployeehasthepowertoincreasesalesorcutcosts(orboth!),andthesethingsaddtothebottomline.

Iknowfora fact thatbecause I sharehalfmyprofitswithmyemployees, Imake far more than twice the profits I would have made otherwise. Mostpublishingcompanieshavea5to10percentpretaxprofit(forthetrulycluelesslikeIusedtobe,thismeansthatfivetotencentsforeverydollarinsalesgotothebottomlineontheprofit-and-lossstatement).Ourcompanymakesa20to25percentpretaxprofit.Iknowit’saresultofourprofitsharing;IseetheeffectsofourprofitsharingprogrameverydayI’mattheoffice.The numbers don’t lie: By sharing half the profits withmy employees, we

makefarmorethantwiceasmuchonourbottomline.Bysharinggenerously,Iendupwithmore.Itisoneofthefinestwin-winsituationsIcanimagine.Profitsharingisanobviousexampleofthepowerofworkinginpartnership.I

see the process in action every week of every year:When a company sharesprofits with employees, those employees work harder and smarter, and thoseprofitsexpand.Everybody—owners,employees,andcustomers—winsinthelongrun.Partnershipisbasedonrespect,appreciation,andmutualsupport.Thisisthe

foundationforanysuccessfulrelationship.

Workinpartnershipwithotherstohelpthemrealizetheirdreams.

Thenyouwillhaveallkindsofsupportforrealizingyourdreamsaswell.

Riane Eisler has written masterfully about the effects of working inpartnership in her great book The Power of Partnership. She shows in greatdetailanddepththatoneofthemostpowerfulandrewardingthingswecandoistoconsciouslymovetowardbetterpartnershipsineveryrelationshipinourlives,includingourrelationshipwithourselves,ourfamiliesandintimatefriends,ourworkandcommunity,ournation,ourworld,nature,andspirit.Itisagreatchallengeforallofustoliveandworkinbetterpartnershipwith

all. Eisler calls it the Great Work, and challenges us all with this sweeping,visionarystatement:

“ThisistheGreatWorkaheadofus:thereinvention,therecreationofsociety

soitisbuiltonpartnershipratherthandomination.”

We have our work cut out for us. And we can all contribute to this GreatWork,eachinourownuniqueandpassionateway,bybecomingbetterpartnerswitheveryoneweknowand,indeed,witheveryoneonearth.

DON’TLETFAILURESTOPYOUEverysuccessfulpersonIknow(includingmyself)hashadhisorhershareoffailures.Lookatfailureforwhatitis—atleastforwhatitcanbeifyouhavetherightattitude:

Everyfailureisanessentiallessonyouneedtolearn

alongthewaytoyourinevitablesuccess.

Don’t fear failure— look at it as an essential learning tool. Every failureteachesusagreatdeal;attheveryleast,itteachesuswhatnottodo,andthat’sinvaluable. All the successful people I’ve known love telling stories of theirfailures.Our failuresare thecostofour real-lifeeducation.We learn fromourmistakes.Isawabumperstickerrecentlythatputitverynicely:

Fail‘tilyousucceed.

I have a friendwho createsmagic on a stage, director and playwright JohnClarkeDonahue.HealwayscomesupwithsomethingworthreflectingoneverytimeItalktohim.Herecentlylaunchedintosomethinglikethis:“Whyarewesoafraidoffailure?Weshouldcelebrateit!Whenwecanallowourselvestofail—insmallways,andinhugegloriousflops—we’reguidedontogreatthingsbyourcreativespirit.”Heactuallysaidthesewords:

“Celebrategloriousfailure!”

Ifyoufail,throwyourselfabigpartyandcelebrate!Oratleastbuyyourselfatreat,andgiveyourselfapatontheback—youwentforit,withboldnessanddevotion.Goodforyou!Whoknows?Nexttimeyoumaysucceed—orthetime

afterthat.Don’tletfailurestopyou.Keepgoingforyourdreams.

Theonlyrealfailureisquitting.

Alltheotherfailuresarestepping-stonesonthewaytoreachingyourdreams.

DON’TDREAMTOOSMALLThisisanotherwaypeoplegetoffcourse—orevenfailtosettheircourseinthefirstplace:Theydon’tdaretogoforthatdreamthey’rereallypassionateabout,and settle instead for something far less challenging,more secure, boring, andstifling.Theysettleforajobratherthanavocation.It’s my job — definitely part of my vocation and purpose — to keep

encouraging anyone who will listen to dream the most expansive dreamspossible.Startwithyouridealscene,yourgreatestdream,andworktowarditinanywayyoucan.Manypeoplesimplythinkanddreamtoosmall.Ifyouthinksmall,whatever

youcreatewillremainsmall.

Goforyourhighestdreams!You’llneverregretit.

I’ve never known anyone who has gone for their highest dreams and laterregrettedit.Regardlessofwhathappens,evenif it isaspectacularfailure,youwon’t regret it — because you’ve given your dreams encouragement andsupport.Youhavegivenyourspiritachancetosoar.Youwillfindasatisfaction,afulfillment,beyondanythingyou’veeverexperienced.ThegreatauthorGoethehadbrilliantinsighthere:

“Whateveryoucando,ordreamyoucan,beginit.

Boldnesshasgenius,power,andmagicinit.”

It all startswithyourdream, somake it anexpansiveone.Whenyouallowyourselftodreambig,andgoforitinanywayyoucan,you’lldiscoveryouhaveyourownuniqueabilities—evenyourownuniquegenius,power,andmagic.

MAKEADEALWITHYOURDOUBTSIknowitalltoowellfrompersonalexperience:Thebiggerthedream,themorepowerful and recurrent the doubts and fears, and they can quickly overwhelmthatfragiledream.Howcanweovercomethisveryrealproblem?Ifound,simplybytryingit,thatIwasabletonegotiateadealwithmydoubts

and fears. I said to my stubborn inner critic and all those other fearful innervoices:Givemeayearortwototry,asanexperiment,togoformydreams—inmy own lazy Type-Z style, in an easy and relaxed manner, in a healthy andpositiveway.Tryityourself,asanexperiment.Giveyourselfayearortwo.Takewhatever

stepsyoucaninthattime,inyourownway.Takebreakswhenyoufeellikeit.Allowyourselftobelazyattimes—ifyoudo,you’llfindyouhavealotmoreenergyatothertimes.

Makeadealwithyourdoubtsandfears.Havethembackoffforayearortwo

whileyoutrythisexperiment:You’llgoforyourhighestdreams,inaneasy

andrelaxedmanner,ahealthyandpositiveway.Seewhathappens!

Putyourdoubtsandfearsaside,purelyasanexperiment.Itworkedforme,inspiteofallmydoubtsandfears.

THETHREEESSENTIALSFORSUCCESS

In spite of what our doubts and fears have to tell us, becoming successful inbusiness or as an artist is not all that difficult. It’s not rocket science or brainsurgery.Itrequiresnoadvancedmath,notevenacertainlevelofeducation.Ifyou’reaparent,youcanlookatitthisway:Parentingisfarmoredifficult

and challenging than creating a successful business or career, because inparentingtheruleskeepchanging,andyourchildrenkeepchangingandfindingnewwaystochallengeyou.Youneverknow,asaparent,whetheryou’rebeingtoopermissiveortoostrict.It’sendlesslychallenging.Creating a successful business or artistic career is far simpler because it is

basedonsolidprinciplesthathaven’tchangedinhundredsofyears.Technologykeeps evolving, and the types of problems and opportunities you have keepchanging,butthebasicrulesforsuccessremaineverthesame.Thereareonlythreefundamentalthingsyouneedtohavetogethertocreatea

successful business or career.Each one is essential, however— if you ignoreanyoneofthem,it’sfarmoredifficulttosucceed.

Thereareonlythreeessentialthingsnecessaryforbusinessandartisticsuccess:

1.Findaproductorserviceyoulove.

Thefirstthingyouneedtocreatesuccessisobviouslysomekindofproductorservice. The key for true success and fulfillment in this arena is to findsomethingyoulovetodo.Thisiswhyit’ssogoodtostartwithyouridealscene,yourhighestdream,and

keepitinmindasyoucreateyourproductorservice.Ifyoucoulddoanything,whatwouldyoudo?Ifmoneywerenoobjectatall,whatkindoflifewouldyoucreate?Whatdoyoutrulylovetodo?Startwiththatquestion.Dowhatyoulove,and

themoneywillfollow—andyou’llfindasatisfactionandfulfillmentalongthewaythatisbeyondwords.

2.Developamultiprongedstrategytomarketyourwork.

Onceyou’vecreatedyourproductorservice,youhave to findsomeway tobringittomarketandsellit.Thekeyhereistodevelopamultiprongedstrategythat doesn’t takeno for an answer.Develop a firm intention that, oneway oranother,you’regoingtofindawaytosuccessfullysellyourwork.Here’swhereawrittenplanissovaluable:Listyourstrategiestopromoteand

sellyourworkinwriting.Makesureyouhaveseveralstrategiessoyoualwayshavesomethingelsetofallbackonifyourfirstattemptsaren’tsuccessful.There are countlessdifferentwaysyoucanmarketyourwork.Get creative.

Findoutwhathasworkedinthepastforothers,anddothat.Ifthatdoesn’twork,trysomethingcompletelynew.Ifthatdoesn’twork,gobackandtrysomeothertried-and-true strategy that has worked in the past. If that doesn’t work, trysomethingtotallyoff-the-wall,outsideofthebox.ThecomicactorBurtLahrputitverywell:

“Keeponthemerry-go-roundlongenough,andyou’reboundtocatchthebrassring.”

Soonerorlater,ifyoupersist,you’llfindsomethingthatworks.

3.Establishfinancialcontrols.

Thiswas the last piece of the puzzle forme to figure out and put in place.With good financial controls, you can be successful with even a verymodestlevel of sales. With poor financial controls, you can blow it at any level ofincome— even if you’re a billionaire (like the Bass brothers in Texas) or amultibillion-dollarcorporation(likeEnron,whichwasonce theseventh-largestcorporationintheUnitedStates).WhatdoImeanbyfinancialcontrols?Iwascluelessuntil,fiveyearsafterI

started my company, we hired a woman named Victoria Clarke to be ourbookkeeper. It turned out she brought far more to the business than justbookkeepingskills:Sheshowedmehowtomakeaprofit!Five years after our company was founded, we had a good (and growing)

product lineandwehad somegooddistributors thatwere sellingourproductsacross thecountry, even throughout theworld,butwewere still losingmoneyeverymonth.Victoriawhippedourbooksintoshapeandthenpresentedmewitha single page report I’ll never forget, because that page showed me whatfinancialcontrolswere,andwhatwasnecessarytodotoimplementthem.

Thepagehadtwocolumns.Theleft-handcolumnhadourcompanynameatthetop,andunderitourincomeforthepastyear.Thenunderthatitlistedallourexpenses during the year in four major categories: Editorial (productdevelopment),Manufacturing,Marketing,andG&A(generalandadministrativeexpenses,oroverhead).Undereachmajorcategory,theexpenseswerebrokenoutfurtherintospecific

areas.UnderG&A,forexample,shelistedexpensessuchasrent,utilities,officesupplies,etc.Eachexpensewasfollowedbyapercentagefigure,whichshowedat a glance the percentage of our annual income spent on both the largecategoriesofEditorial,Manufacturing,andsoon,aswellasthepercentagesforspecificexpensessuchasrent,utilities,officesupplies,etc.The right-hand column was the eye-opener for me: Under the heading

“IndustryAverages,”itlistedpercentagefiguresfortheexactsamecategoriesofexpenses. One glance comparing the various categories showed me exactlywhereourexpenseswereoutofcontrol.Under Editorial, we were spending roughly 44 percent of our income to

develop our projects, compared to the industry average of about 25 percent.UnderManufacturing,wewerespending38percentofourincome,comparedtotheindustryaverageof29percent.UnderMarketing,wewerespendingonly2percent of our income, compared to the industry average of 11 percent. ForG&A,wehappenedtobespendingthesamepercentageastheindustryaverage,25percent.Thatsingle-pagewaslikeasnapshotshowingmeourcompanyinawayIhad

neverseenitbefore.Victoriasummeditupbysaying,“Here’syourproblem—you’respendingwaytoomuchoneditorialandmanufacturing,andnotenoughonmarketing.G&Aisrightinline.”Italmostfeltlikealittlelightbulbflippedonabovemyhead.Itwassosimple

and clear. If you totaled the percentages of our expenses for those fourmaincategories(editorial,marketing,manufacturing,andG&A)ourexpensestotaled109percentofourincome,meaningwewerelosing9percent.TheexpensesintheIndustryAveragescolumntotaled90percent,meaningtheaveragecompanyoursizewasmakinga10percentprofit.Overthenextfewmonths,weimplementedfinancialcontrolsbycuttingour

expensesineditorialandmanufacturingandboostingourspendinginmarketing.Itwasn’talotoffuntomakethosecutsinexpenses,butitwasessentialtothesuccess of the company.Within a short timewe became profitable, and havebeen ever since. (I’m eternally grateful to you,Victoria Clarke— thank you,thank you, for showing me what financial controls were all about.)We havefinancial meetings two or three times a year. At the beginning of the year,

Victoria presents us with her projections of income and expenses for theforthcomingyear,brokenoutintodetailedcategories.Attheendofthequarterorsix-monthperiod,wereviewtheactualexpensesforthatperiodagainstwhatwehadprojected.Welookateverylittleexpense,andmakesureitisn’tgettingoutofline.(Victoriawillsaythingslike,“Hmmm...ourpostagecostshavegonefrom1.1percentofourincometo1.3percent—nowwhyisthat?”Andwe’llsitanddiscusspostageexpensesandseeifwe’velet themgetoutofcontrolabittoomuch.)Wearenowoperatingwithsolidfinancialcontrols.Developing your product, marketing it effectively, and controlling your

expenses: Those are the three elements necessary for success. In a largercompany,youhavedifferentpeoplemanaging thosedifferent functions.But ifyou’reasmallstar-tupcompanyoranindividualartist,youmayhavetohandleallthreefunctionsyourself,atleastforawhile.

Ifyouhaveasmallstart-upcompanyorifyou’reanindividualartist,sitdownafewtimesamonth

andputonyour“marketinghat,”andsitdownatleasteverythreemonths

andestablishandreviewyourfinancialcontrols.

Inmylatetwenties,Iwasinarockband.WhenIlookback,Iscratchmyheadinamazementthatwelastedalmosttwoyears,becausewehadnomanagementwhatsoever—nomarketingatall,andnofinancialcontrols.Theonlyreasonwelastedwasbecausewewereusedtolivingonverylittleincome.IfIknewthenwhatIknownow,Iwouldhavesatdownwiththeotherband

membersat leastoneafternoonamonthor soand said, “Look,we’vegotourproduct— we’re making good music— but we have no manager, so we’regoingtohavetomanageourselves,atleastforawhile.Whatdoweneedtodotomanagethisband?”Theanswerwouldhavebeenobvious:Weneededaplanwithamultipronged

strategyforpromotingtheband.Thefirststepwouldbeobviousaswell:Wehadseveral albums worth of original material; we should record an album, get itmanufactured somehow, and have a product to sell whereverwe played.Andthenweshouldexploreotherwaystosellouralbum.Duh....ButIdidn’tknowthenwhatIknownow.Wehadthefirstofthethree

essentials — good product. We were doing what we loved. But we had nomarketingorfinancialcontrols,sowedidn’tlastlong.

There’s a great saying: Fools never learn from theirmistakes, smart peoplelearn from theirmistakes, andwise people learn from themistakes of others.Learnfrommymistakes:Gettherightproductorservice,keepmarketingitwithpersistence,andestablishfinancialcontrols.Thisistheformulaforsuccess.

LEARNANDPRACTICETHEARGUMENT-SETTLINGTECHNIQUE

Ihaveyettomeetanyonewhoseidealsceneincludesargumentsandstrife.Youhave set your course by imagining your ideal life and taking concrete stepstoward the realization of your dreams. Along the way, if you find yourselftrapped in an argument — whether in a personal relationship or a businessendeavor—it’sveryhelpfultorealizethatargumentisgettingyounowhere.As soon as you’re in an argument, you can know for sure that you have

wanderedoffcourse,andneedtotakestepstoresolvetheargumentbeforeyoucangetbackoncourse.Toputitsimply:

Argumentsarejustnotaneffectivewaytocommunicate.

Theydomoreharmthangood.

Nooneinthehistoryofhumanityhaseverstoppedinthemiddleofaheatedargument and said, “Youknow, you’re right about that. I changedmymind. Iagreewithyoufully.”Ithasneverhappened,andneverwillhappen,becauseassoonasanargumentstarts,effectivecommunicationisimpossible.Whathappensduringanargument?Thepeopleonbothsidesfeelangryand

frustratedbecausethey’renotbeingheard,andyetneitherofthemislisteningtotheotherone.Astheargumentescalates,angercompletelytakesoverandpeoplestartsaying things theydon’tevenmean.Theyhaveessentiallyreverted to theemotionalstateofthree-year-oldchildrenwhoyell“Ihateyou!”attheirparentsbecausethey’renotallowedtodosomething.Obviouslytheydon’thatetheirparents—infact,theylovethemdeeply.But

they’reangryandfrustratedandwillscreamouthurtfulwordstheydon’tmeanatall.Argumentscausemoreproblemsthantheyresolve.

Ifyougetintoanargument,youcanresolveitquicklywiththe

argument-settlingtechnique.

Therearetwoformsofthissimpletechnique:thelongformandtheshortform.Let’s go through the longer form first because once you understand the fulltechnique,theshortformcanbequicklyunderstood.

TheLongFormoftheTechniqueIfyoufindyourselfinanargument,gothroughthefollowingsteps:

1.Shutyourmouthandlistentotheotherperson.

When you’re in an argument, remember this:This argument is getting younowhere. Arguing is not going to solve the problem. The first thing to do issimplytocloseyourmouth,lettheotherpersonhavetheirsay,andlisten.Do not interrupt them— you’ll have your chance to speak next. For now,

listen to them without denying what they’re saying, defending yourself, orputtingyourselfortheotherpersondowninanyway—notthroughwords,andnotthroughbodylanguageeither.Just listentowhattheyhavetosay, takeit in,andacceptitasbeingexactly

what theyneed tosay toyouat thatmoment.Formostpeople (includingme),thisisnoteasytodoatfirst,butyou’llfindwhenyoudoitthatit’sagreatskilltomaster, for it not only resolves arguments but greatly empowers you in theprocess.Ifyoutryityou’llquicklyunderstandwhy.I’vedonethisprocessdozensanddozensoftimesoverthepastthirtyyears.

This step has never taken more than two or three minutes. Once someone isbeinglistenedto,eveninthemidstofaheatedargument,theycansaywhattheyneedtosayinjustafewminutes.

2.Nowit’syourturntoexpressyourthoughtsandfeelings.

You’velistenedtothem,withoutinterrupting.Nowaskthemtolistentoyou,withoutinterrupting.Thatisthekey.They’llhaveanotherchancetospeaktheirpiece,butnowit’syourturn.You’llfinditwon’ttakemorethantwoorthreeminutes.

3.Nowit’stheirturntorespond.Listenwithoutinterrupting.

You’ll have more chances to respond; but at this point, just listen withoutinterrupting,asyoudid instep1.Thissteprarely takesmorethanaminuteortwo.

4.Nowit’syourturntorespond.

Nowyourespond.Again,youmayneedtoinsisttheotherpersonnotinterruptyou. (Ifyoudidn’t interrupt them, it’sonly fair that they listen toyouwithoutinterrupting.)Theselasttwostepsmayhavetoberepeatedseveraltimes—letthe other person speak, then you speak, without being interrupted. It’s rarelynecessarytorepeatthesestepsmorethantwoorthreetimes.You’llknowwhenyou’rereadytomoveontothenextstep.

5.Askwhattheotherpersonwantsfromyou.

Listen without interrupting. Every argument is based on the fact that thepeopleinvolvedaren’tgettingwhattheywant.

6.Telltheotherpersonexactlywhatyouwantfromhimorher.

Beashonestanddirectaspossible.Makeitasclearaspossible.Nowyou’rereadyforthefinalstep.

7.Negotiateandmakeclearagreements.

One or both of you may have to compromise in some way, but keepnegotiatinguntilyoureachanagreementyou’rebothsatisfiedwith.Youmighthavetodosomecreativebrainstorminghereandconsiderafewwhat-ifs(Whatifyoutriedthis?Whatifyoutriedthatinstead?),buttherewillbesomecreativesolutionthatworksforbothofyou.Youwillfinditifyoukeepworkingonit.The argument-settling technique is simple to explain, but not easy to do at

first.WhenIfirstdidit,Ireallystrugglednottointerrupt.Inspiteofmyongoing

affirmationthateverythingwasunfoldinginaneasyandrelaxedmanner,itwasnoteasyatfirst.Ievenusedalittlenotebookandmadequicknotesofwhatwassaid so I could remember to respond to every point. After going through theprocessafewtimes,Irealizedtherewasnoneedatalltorespondtoeverything,and notes were completely unnecessary. All that’s necessary is to respond towhatevercomestomind,whateveryouhappentoremember,whenit’syourturntotalk.It’sallrighttomakenotes,ifyouwant,aslongasyoukeeponlisteningand

don’tinterrupt—anddon’tdeny,ordefend,orputyourselforthemdowninanyway,noteventhroughbodylanguage.Theendresultisworthit:Thissimpletechniquecanshowyouhowtolivein

harmonywithotherpeople.

TheShortFormoftheTechniqueThereisanevensimplerwaytousethistechnique:

Ifyougetintoanargument,shutyourmouth,stopinterrupting,andlistentotheotherperson.Whenthey’rethroughtalking,askthemnottointerruptyou,

andspeakyourpiece.Repeatasmanytimesasnecessary,untiltheargumentisresolved.

It soundsalmost toosimple.But try it andyou’ll see foryourself:Not longafter you start listening to the other person, without interrupting, the angerdissipates. As soon as you start listening to the other, the argument becomessomethingcompletelydifferent.TouseRianeEisler’s language,we shift fromtheolddominatormodelofbehaviortotrue,effectivepartnership.Partnership is farmorepowerful thandomination.Discussingproblems ina

forum where everyone is heard without being interrupted results in far moreeffectivecommunicationthanarguments.There’s another way to use this little technique: If two other people are

involvedinanargument,youcanstepinandreferee,insistingonjustonerule:Theytalktoeachotherwithoutinterruptingeachother.Youmayneedtoremindthem of this repeatedly. But it works every time: You simply cannot have an

argumentifyousitandlistentoeachother.Averypowerfulthinghappenswhenyoudiscoverhowtolistentosomeone,

toanyone,withoutrespondingimmediately,especiallywithoutrushingtodenyordefend.Youbecomeachangedperson.Youbecomeempowered—andthosewordsaren’ttoostrongtodescribetheeffectsofthissimpleprocess.

CHAPTER6

THEONGOING

JOURNEY

Theendofallwisdomislove,love,love.—RAMANAMAHARSHI

Maybe this is all too much for you. Maybe you feel overwhelmed at times;there’ssomuchthatneedstobedone,somanydetailstohandle.Thosefeelingsarecommon—andtheytakeyouoffcourse.Maybethisquicksummarycangetyoubackoncourse.It’severythingIhave

tosayinanutshell,writtenforayoungfriendwhoistoolazytoreadanythinglongerthanhalfapageorso:

Thecompletecourseintwosentences:

Makeaplanforhowyoucansucceedbydoingwhatyoulovetodo.

Keepdoingwhatyoulove,andkeeptakingthenextobviousstepsonyourplan;somehow,bysheerdumbluck,

you’llstumbleintosomethingthatworks.

It’s a simple idea anyone canunderstand:Dowhat you’repassionate about.Make a plan — in writing — that outlines how you’re going to be able tosucceeddoingwhatyoulovetodo.Takethefirstobviousstepsinfrontofyou.Thenseewhathappens.

Reviewyourplanonaregularbasis:Updateitifnecessary,andtakethenextobvious steps. Eventually, sooner or later, if you continue trying the nextpossibilityonyourplan,you’llfindsomethingthatworks,throughsheerdumbluck.We call it “luck,” butwe discoverwhenwe do this simple process thatwe

havetheabilitytocreateit.

Wecreateourownluck.Luckissimplypreparednessmeetingopportunity.

Whenweprepareourselves—inwhateverwayswecanatthemoment—webecome the creative forces that create our own luck. The bestway to prepareourselves iswithawrittenplan.Keepworkingwithyourplan,andyou’ll findopportunities you didn’t see before.Eventually, you’ll stumble into somethingthatworks,andyou’ll reachyourgoals,becomingfinanciallysuccessfuldoingwhatyoulovetodo.

PRESCRIPTIONSFORATYPE-ACULTUREWe all need to get away occasionally, take a break, and forget about workcompletely for a while. Get some relaxation and recreation. Relaxation hasrejuvenatingpower.It’sanessentialingredientforgoodhealth.

Goonaretreatforaday,aweek,amonthifyoucan,andrelax.

Donothing.Relax.Belazy.Takeamini-retreatofhalfaday,orevenanhour.Mondays are especially good for retreats— so good that I take almost everyMondayasaretreat,adaytodonothingatall,todowhateverIfeellikeinthemoment.Itakemini-retreatsalmosteverymorningaswell.Thinkofyourhomeasyourretreatcenterandspa.Relaxinyourhot tub, if

youhave one, or take a longhot bath.Relax deeply lyingonyour back for awhile.Getamassageoccasionally.Forgetyourwork,forgetyour troubles.Letgoofall thought, asmuch as possible.Enjoy thewonderful feelingof deeplyrelaxingyourbodyandmind.Especiallyifyou’reaTypeA,it’s importantforyourhealthtobalanceitby

beingaTypeZonoccasion.Ifyou’reaworkaholic,lookatitthisway:Whenwe

relax,whetherforjustbriefmomentsorforlongerperiods,theimportantworkisstillgettingdone.Infact,it’softenthebestway,themostefficientway,todothework,inthelongrun.

Findlittlewaystorelaxthroughouttheday,especiallyifyoursituationisstressful.

Thereisasimplelittleexerciseallofuscangreatlybenefitfrom:Throughoutthe day, especially in the midst of what seems to be a problem or stressfulsituation,learntorelaxforamoment,evenforjustonebreath.

Duringtheday,don’tforgettorelax.Justtakeasingle,deep,healingbreath

andslowlyletitgo.Relax...andletgoofallthought

withyourbreath.

Doitnow.Doitoftenthroughouttheday.Justonebreathisallittakes.Twoorthreebreathsareevenbetter.Justletgoofyourthoughtsforamoment,andfindthatplaceofsilenceandpeacethatiswithinusall thetime,thoughwe’recompletely unaware of it whenwe have a constant stream of thoughts in ourheads.Howcoulditbesimpler?Justtakeadeepbreathwheneveryourememberto,

especiallyinstressfulsituations.Relaxandletyourthoughtgoasyouexhale.Ifyou’re strugglingwithan ideaorproblem, just letgoofall thought fora

moment. When you start thinking again, you just might have a clearerperspectiveontheproblem—itmightbemuchsimplertofindthesolutionthanyou thought it was.You’ve done an important bit of work in that moment ofrelaxation.We all know the value of sleeping on something. So often something that

seemsproblematic in theafternoonismuchlesscomplicated,muchclearer thenextmorning.Thesamethingcanhappeninabreath,ortwoorthreebreaths,forinthatbrieftimeanewsolutionhassomeroomtoemerge.AsEckhartTolleputsitinThePowerofNow:

“Whenyouarefullofproblemsthereisnoroomforanythingnewtoenter,

noroomforasolution.Sowheneveryoucan,

makesomeroom,createsomespace....”

The best thing you can do in the midst of your activity is to relax for amoment and let go of everything, even all thought. Just a single deep breathlowersbloodpressureandrelievesstress.Justasresearchhasshownthatevenaminute or two of vigorous exercise canmake a big difference in your energylevel,evenaminuteofrelaxationcanhaveacalmingeffectthatlastsforhours.Find short times throughout the daywhenyou can relax.Whenyouhave a

bathroombreak,youcanturnitintoarefreshingmomentofquiet,lettinggoofthought.Sometimes during the day I just lie down on my back and deeply relax.

Resting for any lengthof time is rejuvenating,whether it’s for aminuteor anhouroranywhereinbetween.Relaxmoreandyou’llstayhealthier.*WeusedtohaveatraditionofSundayasadayofrest,butsomehowmanyof

ushavelostthattradition.Let’sbringitback.Afterall:

Weallneedadayofrest.EvenGodneededadayofrest.

Sundayisadayofrest,prayer,andfamilyforme.IneverworkonSunday.AndMondayismydayalone,torestordowhateverIfeellikeinthemoment.Therehavebeendayswhen I’vegottenup, had a strongcupof coffee, and

thengoneback tobed.Myfamily thinks thisbehavior is funny.Tomeit’s themostnaturalthingintheworld.Iencourageeveryonetorelaxandnapasmuchaspossible.Wecanlearnalotfromourcatsanddogs.Acatnapduringthedayishighlyrefreshing.I keep my mornings to myself for sleeping, relaxing on my back, writing,

goofingoff,beinglazy,doingwhateverIfeellikeinthemoment.Idon’tgettotheofficeuntilTuesdayafternoon,butbythenI’mreadytowork,energizedandenthused.Itakeplentyofregularvacations,too—they’reimportant!Don’tevergetso

busyyouforgettotakeavacation.

Takevacations!Yoursoulneedsvacations.

Theyremindusoftheimportantthingsinlife.

Weall needvacations.Ournearly constant activity has to bebalancedwithsome serious laziness every once in awhile.And forGod’s sake, relax whileyou’re on vacation. So many people do so much running around in stressfulactivityontheirvacationsthatthey’reexhaustedwhentheygethome,andneedanothervacationtorecoverfromtheirvacation!When you’re on your vacation, practice the fine art of relaxation, rest, and

rejuvenation.Havelargeblocksoftimewhereyoudonothingbutrelax.Manyofusarehabituallystressed,evenonvacations.Dowhateveryouneedtodotoletgoofthatstressforawhile.Whenwe firstworkwith thismaterial, it involves big-picture thinking and

longrangeplanning.Weputour long-termgoals andplans inwriting, thenwetakethenextobviousstepsinfrontofus.Itisessentialtomakethoselong-termplans and to keep them inmind.Yetwe need to balance all our activitywithsomestillness,somequiet.

Dreamyourdreamsasfullyasyoucan,andthenletthemgo.

Balanceallyouractivitywithsomeseriouslaziness.

Here’s another thought for all youTypeA’sout there:Sometimesvacationsaretheverybestthingswecandoforourbusinessandcareer.Vacationsgiveourheartsandminds timetoreflectonthe longrangethings thataresovital tous.Theycanputourlivesintoclearerperspective;sometimestheycanleadtobolddecisionsandsweepingchanges.Oncewehaveaplanclearlyinmind,importantworkonthatplancontinuesto

be donewhether we’re working away on it at our desk or sitting on a warmbeach—andsometimeswemakequantumleapsduringavacationthatwouldn’thaveoccurredtousatallifwewereworkingasusual.

Youcanhaveaslower-pacedlife,moreeaseandrelaxation,ifyouwish;itisuptoyou.

FromtheveryfirsttimeIimaginedmyidealscene,animportantpartofitallwaslivingalifeofeaseandrelaxation—aslower-pacedlife,withlotsoftime

formyfamilyandformyselfaswell.Whatgoodishavingabeautifulhomeifyou’reworkingconstantlyanddon’thavetimetoenjoyit?Overtheyears,thepersonalpartofmyidealbecamemuchclearertome,and

IrealizedIwantedtobealoneonaretreatagooddealofthetime,roughlyaboutathirdofmywakinghours.Tome,it’saperfectbalance:Ispendaboutathirdofmytimeinatypicalweekretreatingquietly,anotherthirdwithmyfamily,andanother third inaction, reviewingmyplans formyvariousprojectsand takingwhateverstepsIneedtotakenext.Thisgoalhascometrueforme:Ihavenowrealizedmydreamofbecominga

part-time hermit. I have plenty of time alone, plenty of time for meditation,relaxation,sleep,reading,goofingoff,andbeinglazy.

Thisisacalltoaction:Makeyourplans,puttheminwriting,

andtakethenecessarystepsinfrontofyou.Andyetthisisacalltoinactionaswell:Taketimeforrelaxation,goofingoff,

andbeinglazy.

I have a few simple rules formy retreats—aswith everything else in thisbook,youmaywanttocompletelyignoremyrulesandmakeupyourown:Iamalone. I don’t go anywhere. I have no plans. I don’t get on the Internet or doemail.(IkeepmyemailandInternetaccessattheoffice,anddon’tevenhaveitat home.) Imeditate sometime during the day (usually flat onmy back), andsleepwheneverIfeellikeit.Iwritesometimes,andwanderaroundtheyard.IntheeveningIusuallytakeasaunaorhottub.Afterevenjustadayortwoofretreat,I’malwaysrested,energized,andready

to gowherever I want or need to go— in an easy and relaxedmanner, in ahealthyandpositiveway,initsownperfecttime.

YOUCANLEARNTOMASTERTIMEMostofushaveheard theoldadagethatourworkexpands tofill the timeweallotforit.Mostofushaveseenithappeninourprofessionallives.Wemakeanassumptionabouthowmuchtimeweneedtodevotetoourcareer,andbeforeweknowitourassumptionhascometrue.We rarely stop to ask if perhaps, like all the rest of our core beliefs, that

assumptionhasbecomeaself-fulfillingprophesy.

Ifyoubelieveyouneedtoworksixtytoeightyhours

aweektosucceed,orevensurvive,you’llendupdoingit.

Tome, that’s inhumane. In a typicalweek, I givemycompany about thirtyhoursoffocusedattention,andthat’senough.MyworkshrinkstofillthetimeIgivetoit.Whenweunderstandthisprinciple,wecanmastertime.

Ifyoubelieveyoucandoeverythingnecessarytobuildthesuccessofyourdreams

inthirtyhoursaweek,you’llendupdoingit.

ToparaphraseJamesAllen’sgreatpoemthatwesawearlier:Thehumanwill—thatforceunseen,theoffspringofadeathlesssoul—isabletomastertime,andevenconquer space,chance,andvirtuallyanycircumstances thatconfrontus.It is not impossible tomaster time. It involves looking at our beliefs about

time and being willing to change some of those old beliefs. There are manypeople who have a very different experience of time in their lives, includingmostoftheindigenouspeopleonthisearth.Differentpeoplehavedifferentsetsofbeliefsabouttime,andsoliveinacompletelydifferentreality.Whydopeopleinsomanyothercultureshavesomuchtimetohangoutand

enjoylife?Iftheycandoit,whycan’twe?IhavealotoffreetimebymyselftodowhatIwantinthemoment—usuallymoretimethanIspendatwork,infact—andifIcandoit,whynotyou?Theanswer isyoucan, if you’rewilling to look at yourdeeplyheldbeliefs

abouttime.It’soddwhenyouthinkaboutit:Weallhavealarge,complexsetofbeliefsabouttime,yetwealmostneverthinkaboutthosebeliefs,andrarely—ifever—examine them consciously.Whenwe do give them some thought,wesoon realize that, like all our other beliefs, they are not necessarily true inthemselves,buttheyhaveawayofbecomingtrueinourlivesifwebelievethemtobetrue.Bysimplylookingatourbeliefs,andbydoingthecorebeliefprocesswhen

necessary,wediscoverwecanaffectthosebeliefs.

Wecanchangeourbeliefs—andourrealitychangesasaresult.

Until Iwas thirty-fiveor so, Ibelieved that therewasn’t enough time—ormoney—inmylife.Thetwowererelatedsomehow,andIstruggledwithbothofthem.Forsomereason,Goddidn’tcreateenough.Timewasalwayspassingmeby.TherewasnotenoughtimetodowhatIwantedtodo.Ikeptnoticingthatthings would always take so much more time than I planned on. Time wasflying.Doanyofthesebeliefssoundfamiliar?Thensomethingshiftedinmybeliefsystem.IfoundIcouldmakeaconscious

choicetochangemybeliefsandcreatemoretimeinmylife.TheaffirmationsIkept repeating somehow had the power to become self-fulfilling — my lifeexperiencewasnowbeingaffected,radicallychanged,becausemyaffirmationshad gained more power, more subconscious strength, than my old, limitingbeliefs.I’m almost certain that the single most effective thing I did was to keep

affirming these words with my goals: in an easy and relaxed manner, in ahealthyandpositiveway,initsownperfecttime,forthehighestgoodofall.Overtime,thosewordscanbecomeself-fulfillingifyourepeatthemenough.

Ourentireexperienceoftimeshiftsasourbeliefsthatwehaveenough

becomedominantoverouroldbeliefsofscarcity.

Areyouoftenstressed, runningsomekindofracewith theclock?Whatareyouthinking,whatareyoutellingyourselfatthetime?Doyoubelievethereisashortageoftime?Didtheuniversesomehownotcreateenoughforyou?Takeagoodlookatyourbeliefsabout time,and take thenecessarysteps to

changethem.Here’sthemagicformula:

Affirmsomethinglikethis:Mydreamsandgoalsarebeingrealized

inaneasyandrelaxedway,intheirownperfecttime.

Thesewordsaretruemagic:Theycanhelpyoumastertime.

Weareslavestotheclockonlyaslongaswebelieveweare.Weareperfectlycapableofmasteringtime.It’samatterofexaminingandchangingourbeliefs.There is no universal law that says there is a scarcity of time.We live in anabundant universe, and that includes an abundance of time, money, andeverythingelse.

YOUCANUNDERSTANDANDMASTERMONEY

UntilIturnedthirty-five,therecertainlywasn’tenoughmoneyinmylife.Ihadamassofconfusedbeliefsaboutmoney.Moneywashardtocomeby;moneywasscarce. Money doesn’t grow on trees. I believed it took hard work to makemoney—andwhenIwashonestwithmyself,Ireallydidn’twanttodoalotofhardwork.Ibelievedittookintelligenceandtalenttomakemoney—anddeepdownIwaspainfullyawareofmystupidityandcluelessnessinawholelotofareas.ItwasobvioustomewhenIlookedatmylifethatIdidn’thavewhatittook

tosucceed.Icouldbarelypaytherenteverymonth,soitwasobviousIdidn’thaveenoughintelligenceortalenttogetontopofthingsfinancially.I believed it took money to make money — and since I didn’t have any

money,thecardswerestackedagainstme.Theoddswerecertainlyagainstme.Therichgetricherandthepoorgetpoorer.Afoolandhismoneyaresoonparted—andwhenIlookedatmyhistorywithmoney,Iwasobviouslyafool.It was certainly true inmy experience: Howevermuch Imade disappeared

almostimmediately.Besides,Ialsofeltdeepdownthatmaybemoneyreallyisthe root of all evil.Money corrupts. It is impossible for a rich person to be agoodperson.AsmybrotherWillputitonetime,“Richpeoplearejerks.”Doanyofthesebeliefssoundfamiliartoyou?It’soddwhenwethinkaboutit:

Weallhavealarge,complexsetofbeliefsaboutmoney,yet—justaswithourbeliefs about time—we almost never think about those beliefs. They’re justthere,unexamined.Weveryrarelyaskourselveswhetherthosebeliefsarevalidorreallytrue.

Ourbeliefsaboutmoneyareself-fulfilling,likeallourotherbeliefs.

Theyarenotnecessarilytrueinthemselves—ourthinkingmakesthemso.

Manypeoplethinkdifferently,andhaveverydifferentbeliefsaboutmoney—whichproves thatourbeliefsarenot truein themselves.Thesebeliefscananddochangeovertime.Thathascertainlybeentrueinmyexperience!Doyoubelievethereisashortageofmoney?Didtheuniversesomehownot

createenoughforyou?Doyoubelieveyoudon’thavewhatit takestomakeasubstantial amount ofmoney?Do you believemoney is hard to get?Do youbelieve that if youget it, someone elsewill have to dowithout it, or in someotherwaywillbehurtby it?Doyoubelievemoneywillcorruptyou?Doyoubelieveitwilldistractyoufromtheimportantthingsinlife?

Whatareyouthinking,whatareyoutellingyourselfaboutmoney?

Takeagoodlookatyourbeliefs,andtakethenecessarystepstochangethem.

Thisisthekeytomasteringmoney.

Work with the core belief process. Keep saying your affirmations. After Iworkedwith thismaterial for a while, something shifted inmy belief systemaboutmoneyanditsavailability.Icametoseeandbelievethatmoneycanbeatremendousforceforgoodinmylife,andinthelivesofmanyothers.Icametosee and believe that I had everything I needed to create the success of mydreams;itwasjustamatterofkeepingmycreativemindfocusedonmydreamsbyputtingmyplansinwritingandtakingtheobviousnextsteps.

Youcanmakeaconsciousdecisiontochangeyourbeliefs

andcreatemoremoneyinyourlife.Thechoiceisuptoyou.

I’malmostcertainthatoneofthemosteffectivethingsIdidinthisarenawastoask,topray—whateveryouwanttocallit—foraspecificamountofmoney,onethatwasanexpansiveleapformetoevenimagine.Assoonas I ask foranexpansiveamountofmoney, Ibegin togetcreative

newideas,anddifferentpossibilitiescometomindthatcouldverywellresultinthe kind ofmoney I’m asking for.Different opportunities suddenly appear—anditoftenfeelsasthoughthoseopportunitieshadbeenrightinfrontofmeallalong,butIjusthadn’tseenthembeforebecauseIhadn’tbeenlookingbroadly

enough.SomeofthepossibilitiesleadtopathsIdon’twanttotakeorhavenolasting

interestinorenergyfor;someleadtoprospectsIrejectbecausetheydon’tfeeleasy,relaxed,healthy,orpositive insomeway—butsomeof thepossibilitiesexcitesomethinginme,andtakemeinnewdirectionsthatarechallengingandfulfilling.Whetherweprayforit,affirmit,visualizeit,selfhypnotizeourselves,doauto-

suggestionorpositive thinkingoranynumberofother things,wecancometoseeand,deepdown,believewe live inaworld that is trulyabundant.Wecandiscoverendlesslycreativewaystocreateincomestreamsfromawidevarietyofsources.Wewillreceivewhatweaskfor,nomore,noless.Thatisapowerfulkey:

Askandyoushallreceive.Youreceivewhatyouaskfor,

nomore,noless.

Myentireexperienceofrealityhasshiftedasnewerbeliefsgraduallyreplacedmyearlierbeliefsofscarcity.Idon’tworkhardformoneyanymore.IdowhatIlovetodoandthereisalwaysplentyofmoney.ThisiswhatIbelieve,andthisiswhathascometrueinmylife.Thereisanabundanceofmoneyinmylife,andintheworldaswell.Doyouhave trouble believing this?Maybe it’ll help to look at it thisway:

Moneyislikefoodinsomeways.Infact,thetwoareinterchangeable.Thereisplentyoffoodintheworld—inthiscountry,thegovernmentpaysfarmersnotto grow food. Yet there are peoplewho are starving. There is no shortage offood,butwehaveadistributionproblem.It’s exactly the samewithmoney: There’s no shortage ofmoney; there are

piles of it all over theworld inmany different forms— in cash, stocks, realestate,gold,jewelry,art—yettherearemanymoreextremelypoorpeoplethantherearerichpeople.Whyisthis?Thereisnoshortageofmoney,butwehaveadistributionproblem.Usingthetoolsinthisbook,youcandiscoverhowtocreatefarmoremoney

inyourlife.Andthenyoucandosomethinginaveryrealandsubstantialwaytohelpalleviatesomeoneelse’spovertyaswellasyourown.HenryFordsaiditinwordsthathavesimplicity,depth,andpower:

“Ifyouthinkyoucan,orifyouthinkyoucan’t,you’reright.”

Ifyoucanaffirmitandbelieveit,itcanbecometrueforyou:Youdon’tneedtoworkhardformoneyanymore.Youcandowhatyoulovetodoandtherewillalwaysbeplentyofmoney.It’sallamatterofyourbeliefs.Ifyoubelievemoneyisscarce,itwillbescarceinyourlife.Ifyoubelievethereisanabundantamountofmoneycirculating in theworld (which there is), itwillbecomeabundant inyourlife.Sobeit.Soitis!

BECOMEAMONEYMAGICIAN

If you still have problems with money after you’ve been through this wholebook,afterfollowingthismani-curesinmanifestingwithease,IrecommendyoureadandworkwithMoneyMagic byDeborahL.Price.She is anexperiencedandperceptivefinancialadviser,andherbook’sgreatestvalue,atleastforme,isthe way she indentures the eight possible “money types” (you can probablyidentify yourself just by her labels) and then shows how to move from ourcurrentmoneytypetobecometheideal:amoneymagician.Doyouidentifywithanyofthesetypesofpeople?

THE INNOCENT — we all start here; many stay stuck here. Money is amysterybeyondourunderstanding.Wehaven’tbeentaughteventhebasicsofsavingandinvesting.

THE VICTIM— “It’s notmy fault.” Forces beyondmy control are alwaysmessingmeupfinancially.

THEWARRIOR— fights and conquers the money world. Often successful,rarelycontentedorsatisfiedwiththatsuccess.

THEMARTYR—deniesoneselfforothers’needs.

THEFOOL—gamblersandadventurerswhoaresoonpartedwiththemoneythatcomestheirway.(Thiswasme,foryears.)

THECREATOR/ARTIST—artisticorspiritual,ambivalenttowardmoney,bothattracted to itand repulsedby it. (Thiswasmymoney typeaswell, fromchildhooduntilmid-thirties.)

THETYRANT—usesmoneytodominateandcontrol.Hasa lifeofendlessconflictasaresult.

THEMAGICIAN—theideal—understandshowtocreatemoney,howtoaskforitandreceiveit.

AsDeborahPricesaysinMoneyMagic:

Usinganewandever-changingsetofdynamicsbothinthematerialworldand in the world of the Spirit, Magicians know how to transform andmanifesttheirownfinancialreality.At our best, whenwe are willing to claim our own power, we are all

Magicians.Magiciansarearmedwiththeknowledgeofthepast,havemadepeacewiththeirpersonalhistory,andunderstandthattheirsourceofpowerexistswithintheirabilitytoseeandlivethetruthofwhotheyare.Magiciansknow the sourceofpower tomanifest lies in their ability to

tap into their Higher Power. With faith, love, and patience, Magicianssimplywait incertaintywith theknowledge thatallourneedsaremetallthetime.Magiciansembracetheinnerlifeastheplaceofspiritualwealthandthe

outerlifeastheexpressionofenlightenmentinthematerialworld.Theyareinfinitelyconnected.

“Atourbest,whenwearewillingtoclaimourownpower,weareallMagicians....

Simplywaitincertaintywiththeknowledgethatallourneedsaremetallthetime.”

If that’s toometaphysical for you and you still havemoney problems, readThinkandGrowRichbyNapoleonHill.Itisfilledwithpowerfultoolstomastermoney.There is one place where Hill and I part ways, however. He writes (if my

memoryiscorrect) thatyourdesireforwealthmustbecomea“single,burningobsession.”That sounds tomeabit,well, obsessive. It sounds like somethingthatwouldgetinthewayofabalancedandfulfilledlifethatincludestimeforfamily,friends,personalexpression,andrelaxationaswellasmakingmoney.Ihaveseeninmyownlifethatthefollowingsimplestatementistrue:

Youcancreatemoneyandwhateverelseyouwantinasaneandbalancedway,

inaneasyandrelaxedmanner,forthehighestgoodofall.

Thereisnoneedwhatsoever tohaveburningobsessions—cleargoals,yes,

butnot all-consumingobsessions.Wecanhaveabalanced life,withplentyoftimeforrestandrelaxationandfamily,andstillcreatethelifeofourdreams.

Clearlystatetotheuniverseexactlywhatyoudesire.Thenletitallgo,

andlettheuniverseworkoutthedetails.

Goaboutyourdayinaneasyandrelaxedmanner,takingwhateverstepsareinfrontofyou,intheirownperfecttime,forthehighestgoodofall.Takecareofyourself;takecareofothers.Thesearetheactionsofonewhounderstandswhatisimportantinlife.

THEPURPOSEOFFAMILY

If you’re neglecting family and friends, you’re getting off course as well. Ifyou’renotworkinginpartnershipwithfamilyandfriends,youaredefinitelyoffcourse,andyouwillbecreatingendlessproblemsandconflicts.Ihavethesewordswrittenlargeandpostedonmywall:

WhatIsthePurposeofFamily?

Toprotectandsupporteachoneofus,tobeinpartnershiptogether,

torespectandloveandlistentoeachother,toencourageeachothertobehappyandhealthy,

andtohelpusallfulfillourhighestdreams.

Thisisthepurposeandpoweroffamily.Itdefinitelyhelpsusstayoncoursewhenwerememberweareallmembersofasmall,intimatelyconnectedfamily,andwe’reallpartofthegreatfamilyofhumanityaswell.We’reallstuckhereonearthwitheachother—justaswe’restuckwithourimmediatefamily,andcan’t change them or return them for someone else. We’re one big, global,dysfunctionalfamily,andwe’vegottolearntogetalongwitheachotherwithoutterrorizingeachotherordominatingandexploitingeachother.The answer, of course, is in partnership. Let’s do our best to work in

partnershipwithourfamily,whichincludes thefamilyofhumanityandall lifeonearth.

AVOIDLAWSUITS

Withveryfewexceptions,lawsuitsaddtotheloadofproblemsratherthancreateeffective solutions. Almost all lawsuits take us off course: They are a foolishwaste of time and money, and are completely unnecessary when we work inpartnershipandlearnhowtosettlearguments.Oursystemoflitigationistobeavoidedatallcosts,becauseit’sadominator-

basedsystem.It isafight; it iswar.Theonlyeffectivewaytoresolvefighting(andwar) is throughmediation,findingcreativecompromisesthatworkforallpartiesinvolved.Ifyoueverhaveaconflictyoucan’tresolveonyourown,findagoodmediatorandworkitout.Mediationisbasedonpartnership.Our contracts at New World Library have a clause that says any and all

conflicts will be resolved between the parties in a spirit of respect andcooperation,withawillingnesstocompromise;ifwecan’tworkitout,wewillgo to amediator. If that fails,we agree to go to legal binding arbitration, andresolveitthere.Litigationisnotanoption;hiringlawyersandsuingeachotherisnotallowed,becauseit’sastupidwasteoftimeandresourcesandsimplynotthebestwaytosolvetheproblem.Innearlythirtyyearsofbusiness,I’veneverhadtogotoarbitration.Iwentto

smallclaimscourtonetimeastheverylastresortincollectingfromacompanywhoowedusforthedistributionandsaleofourmusic.Itwasasimpleprocessthat took little time or expense. It involved no lawyers and was a goodexperience.I’veneverbeeninvolvedinanyotherlitigation.Ihaveusedamediatorononeoccasion,anditwasaverypositiveexperience

for all concerned, awonderful example of the partnershipmodel.We found away to get what both of us wanted and yet fully support the other person ingetting what they wanted. We came up with a creative solution that wasdefinitelyawin-winforallinvolved.Livingandworkinginpartnershipleadstoharmonyratherthanconflict,and

the process of mediation resulted in harmony and good feelings — and wecontinuetothisdaytoworktogethercreativelyandenjoyably.

HONESTYANDTRANSPARENCY

For most of you, this section will be obvious. Working in partnership witheveryone requires honesty and transparency; they’re absolutely necessaryingredients in our ongoing course as we build the foundations of our successthroughourwin-winrelationships,whetherbusinessorpersonal.Youknowthat,don’tyou?

Honestyandtransparencyareabsolutelyessentialinworkinginpartnershipwitheveryoneinyourpersonallifeandbusinessaffairs.

MywifeandIhavemonthlybusinessmeetings.Itisjustabouttheonlytimeduringthemonthwetalkaboutmoney.Allourfinancialdealingsarecompletelytransparent:Wehaveourjointaccountweusetopaythebills,andweeachhaveourseparateaccounts,andknowexactlywhattheother’sholdingsare.Weneverargueaboutmoney,becausewebothhaveamonthlyamountallocatedtospendaswewill.Whatmywife spendshermoneyon is up toher, andviceversa.There are

times when she doesn’t agree with some of the ways I choose to spend mymoney—I’mmuchmoreofarisk-takerthansheis—butwedon’targueaboutit because we each have our own separate pile of money to play with as wechoose.At our last meeting, she told me she was helping out one of her relatives

financially.When she explained the situation, I thought I had to include it inhere,becauseitshowsanotherwaymanysuccessfulpeoplegooffcourse,wayoffcourse,andevenself-destruct.Acouple ismarriedwithachild.Theyhaveasuccessfulbusiness theyboth

workin.Agoodportionofthewife’sinheritanceshereceivedfromherfamilywas invested in the business, and it helped their company grow substantially.Theyhaveabighouse,twonicecars,timetotravel,andalltheotheradvantagesofsuccess.Thewife is the bookkeeper and,month aftermonth, substantial amounts of

cashseemtobedisappearing.Thehusbandsaysheknowsnothingaboutit;hisjobiskeepingthecashcomingin,andherjobismanagingit.Thewifefinallyfindsout—aswivesinevitablywill—thehusbandishaving

an affair, and he’s enhancing hismistress’s apartment and other needs.Worse

yet, he’s been preparing for their eventual divorce by siphoning off cash andstashingitinhiddenbankaccountsinSwitzerland.When thedivorcecomes, thehusbandclaimshehasvery fewassets except

thehouse,whichheclaimsishis.Hehashiredanaggressiveattorney,andsothewifehas tohireanattorneyaswell tofight forherrights. It turns intoanastyfight, and soon they aren’t even talking to each other, except through theirlawyers, which are costing them both an exorbitant amount of money everyminute they’re involved. (The lawyers bill by the minute. If they spend oneminuteonatelephonedoingsomething,theybillforaquarterofanhour.)Theattorneys end upmaking a great deal of money, the business suffers, incomedrops,andsoonbothhusbandandwifeareingenuinefinancial trouble.Worseyet,thehusbandiscompletelyalienatedfrombothhissonandhisformerwife.They never see each other. He has forfeited all the joys and tremendouslysatisfyingresponsibilitiesoffatherhood.Whatiswrongwiththispicture?It’salose-losesituation—onlythelawyers

win(andtheywinsubstantially).What if, instead, the couple had worked in partnership, with honesty and

transparency?Thehusbandwouldhavedisclosed to thewifemuchearlier thathewashavinganaffair.Theycouldhavedecided todivorcemuchearlier,andthey could have sat down without lawyers and looked at all their assets andnegotiated a fair split. If that was too emotionally difficult, they could havebroughtinamediatortodothejob.Theycouldhave(andshouldhave)realizedthat,eveniftheydivorce,theyare

stillpartnersintheirbusinessandwillalwaysbepartnersinchildraising.Theycouldhavediscussedalltheoptionsforthemintheirbusinesspartnership:Couldone buy the other out? Could they continue working together in some way?Couldtheysellthewholebusiness?And they could have made sure their child continued to be nurtured and

supported by both of them. It’s the child who usually suffers the most in adivorce and yet, if the parents realize theywill both always have an ongoingresponsibility toward their child, that suffering can be minimized. There’s noneed for children to lose oneof their parents in a divorce.There’s noneed topunish the child because the parents don’t know how to communicateeffectively.Withongoinghonestyandtransparency,eveninahighlyemotionalsituation

ofdivorceandbusinesspartnershipandparenting,theycouldhaveworkedoutawin-winsituation.Butthehusband’slackofhonestyandtransparencydestroyedeverything,includinghimself.Theymadetwolawyersfarwealthier,butitcostthemeverything.

Awisepersonlearnsfromthemistakesofothers.Lookaroundatthepeopleyouknow.Youcan learnagreatdeal fromtheirsuccessesandfailures. In thiscase,wecanlearnthisvaluablelesson:

Successfulbusinessrelationships,likepersonalrelationships,

arebuiltonhonesty,transparency,andrespect.

Isn’t it obvious? I don’t go around promoting the benefits of honesty,compassion,compromise,andgenerositybecauseI’magoodpersonand thesearethequalitiesofunselfishandcaringpeople.Ipromotethesethingsbecausethey are absolutely the best way to run a successful business and to create afulfillinglife.I’mgenerous formyown selfishpurposes. I do it because it helpsme take

careofmyself.It’sokay—infactessential—totakecareofNumberOne,totakecareofyourselffirst.Anditjustsohappensthatthebestwaytodothatisbylovingandservingothersinthebestwaysyoupossiblycan.

PRACTICETHE10PERCENTSOLUTIONFORPERSONALANDGLOBALPROBLEMS

You’veheard thisgreatkey tosuccessbefore—many,manytimes.We’veallheardit.Whydon’tmoreofuspracticeit?

Saveatleast10percentofyourincome.

The average person in America will make over a million dollars in theirworking life.Thinkof it: Ifyouaverageonly$30,000ayearover fortyyears,you have made $1,200,000. If you save just 10 percent of that, you have aprincipalof$120,000—someofitearninginterestanddividendsandbuildingforfortyyears!Saving 20 percent is even better. When I was growing up, our next-door

neighbor was a self-employed house painter. We didn’t know it, but he wassaving20percentoftheincomefromeverycheckhereceived.Heretiredfairlyyoung, bought a mansion with cash, and was set for life from the ongoingpassiveincomehisstocksandbondsgenerated.Make itagoal tosave10 to20percentofyour income.And ifyoureceive

some unexpected income from somewhere — bonuses, royalties, windfalls,prizes,orinheritances—save50percentofthat.Useyoursavingsfirsttopayoff those credit cards, and then to buy your first house, and then to build adiversifiedportfolioofinvestmentsinstocks,bonds,andeventually—ifyou’resoinclined—additionalrealestatethatprovidesyouwithrentalincome.Keepyourinvestmentsgrowingbyaddingtothemregularly.Ifyousaveevenjust10percent,itwillquicklygrowintoasubstantialamount

ofmoney.Thenthemagicofcompoundinteresthappens,andthatmoneybeginstomakesubstantialmoneyonitsown.Younowhaveapassiveincome.Youaremakingmoneywithnoeffort—theverybestkindofincomeforTypeZ’s!Withregularsaving,youbecomeamagicianwithmoney.Thereisonemoreaspectof“The10PercentSolution”toimplementaswell

—it’salsosomethingyou’veheardhundredsoftimes:

Giveawayatleast10percentofyourincome,andyou’llchange

yourlifeandtheworldforthebetter.

Again,Iamgenerousnotoutofthegoodnessofmyheart,butbecauseIknowit’s the bestway to live and to create success.Being generous not only helpsothers,ithelpsusaswelltogrowandbecomeevenmoresuccessful.Generosityhas agenerative power— in fact, the twowordshave the same

root word (genus, in Latin, which means “to grow, to create family”). To begenerousis togenerateendlesscreativeenergy,energythatcomesbacktoyouandsupportsyouandcontributestoyourwell-beingincountlessways.There is a great visionary quote floating around by awriter namedCharles

Colton:

“Ifuniversalcharityprevailed,Earthwouldbeaheaven,

andhellafable.”

Thosearewisewords,aren’tthey?Ifweallpracticedcharity,earthwouldbeaheaven.Asmoreandmoreofussupportworthwhileorganizationsworkingforsomegoodcause,theworldmoreandmorebecomesaworldthatworksforallofitsinhabitants.TheeasiestwayI’vefoundtosaveandtodonateis tosetupthreechecking

accounts: Deposit your income into your general account, then immediatelytransferatleast10percentintoyoursavingsaccountandanother10percentintoyourdonationaccount.Justwatch,assoonasyousetupclearlyinyourmindthatthisisapriorityin

your life (and settingup separate accounts for saving anddonations is a greathelp),you’llfindyou’requitecapableoflivingon80percentofyourincome.Youmight have a few slips until you really get it, deepwithin, but you’ve

clearlytoldyourpowerfullycreativesubconsciousmindthatsavingandgivingarepriorities inyour life.Your subconscious saysYes, and showsyouexactlyhow to do it, easily and effortlessly. It might include finding new streams ofincome; it could involve simplifying your life in some ways and cuttingexpenses.

Save10percentandgiveaway10percent.Youareonyourwaytofinancialindependence—

andyou’rehelpingoutothersalongtheway.

Just imagine:You have consciously becomepart of the solution rather thanunconsciouslybeingpartoftheproblem.Congratulations!

RETIREFROMTHERATRACE

Here’sagreatquestionforyou:Howcanyoukickback,relax,

andyetdowhatyoulovesuccessfully?

Whynotlookatitthisway?Atacertainage,allofuswanttoretirefromtheratrace,getoffthetreadmill,

takeiteasy.TypeZthatIam,I’vewantedtotakeiteasyallmylife.NowthatI’minmy

latefifties,I’matanagewheremostpeoplewouldagreewithmethatit’stimetostartrelaxingmore.Buteventhroughoutmytwentiesandthirties, therewasalwaysavoice inmethatwantedmetorelaxandslowdownandnotworksohardallthetime.Iwantedtodothingswitheaseandlightness—thatbecameobvious tome

theminuteIfirstthoughtofmyidealscene.Andatsomepointalongtheway,Ibegantoseethathavingeaseandlightnessinmylifewasnotdependentinanywayonoutercircumstances—itisaninsidejob.TheeaseIwantedwasuptome to find; itwillneverbesomething that Iwillachieveonce Idosomethingnecessaryoutthereintheworld,likebuildmyincometoacertainlevelorbuymydreamhomeorhavetheperfectwifeand2.5children.

Havingeaseandlightnessinyourlifeisaninsidejob.

Thatsimplifiesthingsimmeasurably,doesn’tit?Wedon’thavetodoanythingelse in the world before we can relax throughout the day. We don’t needanything else at the current moment before we can have a life of ease andlightness.

Theratraceisallinourmind.

Whynotlookatitthisway?Wehavecreatedtheratraceourselves;itisallinourmind.Wecreateourownstress,usuallysubconsciously.Allweneedtodoissomeinnerwork:Let’sdecidetoretirefromtheratrace,andchoosetoliveour

liveswithmoreeaseandrelaxation.Wecandothisatanytime,atanyage.Soyoumightaswelldecidetoretire

from the rat race right now.Why not? Congratulations! You have decided toretirefromalifeofstressandchooseinsteadtokickbackandenjoylife,doingwhatyoulovetodoasmuchaspossible.Wonderful!Giveyourselfapatontheback for retiring at the youthful age of _______ (fill in the blank with yourcurrentage).Just bymaking this internal decision, the external world will follow. Keep

affirmingyourgoalsarebeingmet,inaneasyandrelaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway,andyou’llseegreatchangesinyourworld.Maybe not all of your goals and dreams will come to pass. I’ve affirmed

many,manygoalsanddreamsovertheyearsthathaven’tcomeintobeing.Yetsomeofthemdidanddocomeintobeing.Theperfectones,infact,whenIthinkaboutit.Thisiscertainlyawonderfulkey:

Thegoalsanddreamsthatareperfectforyouaretheonesthatfinallycometrue.

Dream big. Dream in multiple directions if you feel like it. Some of yourdreamswillcometrue—theperfectonesforyou.Sobeit.Soitis!

LOVE,SERVE,ANDREMEMBERIhaveafriendinBoulder,Colorado,whoworksfortwopeoplewhodealwithmoneyandinvestmentsinwaysIcan’tevenunderstand,evenwhenhecarefullytries to explain tomewhat they do all day.But I learned one very importantthing fromhim:He said he lovesworking there because the owners haveonemaingoalintheirwork:Theyjustwanttobe“guidedbySpirit.”Everymorning, I walk outsidemy beautiful home. First I simply quietmy

mind for a fewmoments, then I say a little prayer of thanks. I always try tomention something I haven’t thought of before, because the list of things I’mgrateful for is infinite, including every cloud in the sky, every cricket, everybladeofgrass—theendlessvarietyandevolutionoflifeitself.I ask tobeguidedbySpirit, and then Iquietmymindagain . . . andSpirit

speaks.Thewordsarealmostalwaysthesame:Love,serve,andremember.Rememberwhat?Rememberwhoyouare:aspiritualbeinghavingaphysical

experience.Rememberyourconnection toSpirit,always.Relax!Breathedeep.

YouareguidedbySpirit.Remembertoserve.RememberTagore’sbeautifulpoem:

Isleptanddreamtthatlifewasjoy.Iwokeandfoundthatlifewasservice.Iacted,andbehold!Servicebecamejoy.

Mostofall,remembertolove.Thisisthemostessentialthing,afterall,intheteachingsofJesus.“AnewlawIgiveuntoyou:Loveoneanother.”Loveyourneighbor.Loveevenyourenemies.Loveandforgiveeveryone—theyknownotwhat they do. Above all, love the Creator, in whatever way you choose todescribethegreatmysteriousforcesthatbroughtyouandyourworldintobeing.Ramana Maharshi, one of the world’s greatest guiding lights of the last

century, said what is in my opinion probably the single most profound andimportantsentenceeverexpressedbyahumanbeing:

“Theendofallwisdomislove,love,

love.”

Love and serve everyone, all humanity, including yourself. Love and serveyourMotherEarthandthewildnessofnature.Loveandservethedivinewithinyou.Itisguidingyouinthesamewayitguidesthegalaxies.Whenyouloveandserve,everydecisionyoumakeisforthehighestgoodof

all.Youareguidednotonlytothegreatestsuccessimaginable,buttothemostfulfillingandsatisfyinglifepossible,inaneasyandrelaxedmanner,inahealthyandpositiveway,initsownperfecttime,forthehighestgoodofall.Thegreatestkeysforsuccessinyourcareerandinyourlifecanbesummed

upinthesefewpowerful,life-alteringwords:

Loveandserve.Rememberthesewords,

andyou’llalwaysstayoncourse.

*Iknowit’sself-promoting,butIhighlyrecommendrelaxingbyquietlylisteningtomyStressReductionandCreativeMeditationsCDormyquietermusic,suchasBreatheorQuietMoments.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’d like to thankeveryoneI’veevermetover theyearswhohassogenerouslycontributed their time, their expertise, their dreams, their support.Whenever Ireallyneedadviceorhelp,itappears.Theentirelistwouldturnthisintoaveryboringthousand-pagemonster,but

I’d like to especially thank: Eckhart Tolle, for walking your talk, living withgrace,ease,and lightness,andforwriting thebook that lightenedmylife,ThePower of Now; Shakti Gawain, for our ongoing creative partnership, and forwritingCreative Visualization, the book that launched our company; VictoriaClarke,forhelpingthisdreamergethisfeetontheground,andteachingmehowto run a profitable enterprise;MunroMagruder, who so capably supplied theessential piece of the puzzle of marketing and selling our work, helping thecompanytogrow;RubyYee,forhervisionaryleadershipandenthusiasmaboutmy work; Sky Canyon and Robert Powell, for years of creative partnership,musical and otherwise; The staff of New World Library and everyone atPublishersGroupWest,ourexcellentdistributor:Icouldn’thavedoneitwithoutyou;andfinally,Mywife,Aurilene, forherunwaveringfaithandsupport,andGiselleandKai,forlightingupmylife.

ABOUTTHE

AUTHOR

Marc Allen has been a lazy Type Z all his life. In his twenties, he was afinancially challenged actor and musician. He was fired from several jobs,including busboy and dishwasher (for being too slow) and typesetter (for notshowingupontimeandtakingtoomanybreaks).Thedayheturnedthirty,withnofinancingorbusinessexperience,hestarteda

publishingcompanythathebuilt,inhisownlazyway,intoahighlysuccessfulbusiness. Along the way, he managed to write several books, including TheMillionaireCourse,VisionaryBusiness,AVisionaryLife, andTheTenPercentSolution, and record several albums of his music, including Breathe, Petals,QuietMoments,SoloFlight,andhislatest,Awakening.OriginallyfromMinnesota,heliveswithhisfamilyinnorthernCalifornia.

Formoreinformationabouthisbooks,audioprojects,orseminars,goto

www.MarcAllen.comorwww.SuccessWithEase.net.

Forinformationabouthismusic,andtosampleselectedtracks,

gotowww.WatercourseMedia.com.

Thisbookisnowavailableasaninnovativee-bookcalledTheType-ZGuidetoSuccesswithEase. It features animation, audio segments, and even a relaxingslideshowwithwonderfulmusictogiveyouabreakfromyourbusyday.

Tocheckoutafreesamplechapterortoorder,goto:

www.SuccessWithEase.net/FREEChapter

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TableofContentsCoverTitleCopyrightContentsIntroduction:ALazyPerson’sGuidetoSuccessPartOne:TheFourSimpleStepstoSuccesswithEase

Chapter1:TheFirstStep:DREAMChapter2:TheSecondStep:IMAGINEChapter3:TheThirdStep:BELIEVEChapter4:TheFourthStep:CREATE

PartTwo:OngoingCourseCorrectionChapter5:CourseCorrectionChapter6:TheOngoingJourney

AcknowledgmentsAbouttheAuthor