My $100,000 Check - A Promise to Myself

I don't know if I've written about my $100,000 check before.

When I first read Think and Grow Rich last year, the main point was to have a tangible, set goal for what you wanted to achieve. My goal is to be a successful writer earning $100,000 a year by my 45th birthday. That will be July 16, 2016.

(Yes, I will be 41 on Monday. Happy Birthday to me :) )

I found an image of a blank check online. You can actually find these now on The Secret's website or buy some from TUT as well. But I just used Google Image Search, found a blank check photo and used Paint to edit it.

I made it out to myself, dated it July 16, 2016, and then signed it "Law of Attraction."

Here's a picture:

I carry this with me in my purse. Every now and again when I'm looking for something I'll find it in the side pocket. It reminds me that I'm working toward my dreams and they are coming true.

How are you reminding yourself that your dreams are coming true?

My Thankful List From April 2011

The first time I watched The Secret I'd been at my new job less than a month. I was still reeling from a divorce, my son had left for the summer, and I hadn't had a very good week at work. I needed to relax and found The Secret on Netflix.

I was immediately drawn into the stories, drawn into the concepts. It resonated with me so strongly. And when it got to the point where they discussed being thankful for what you already had, that hit me right in the heart and the head. I paused the movie and wrote out this list:

I am thankful for my job.
I am thankful for my car.
I am thankful for the house I rent.
I am thankful for my son and (formerly ex) husband.
I am thankful for a supportive mom.
I am thankful for the luxuries I do have - computer, Internet, smart phone.
I am thankful that I am healthy.
I am thankful for supportive friends.
I am thankful for the church and its members.
I am thankful for my pets.
I am thankful that I have food to eat.
I am thankful that I have clothes to wear.
I am thankful to be alive another day.

What are you thankful for?

Forgetting the Power

As time has gone on and life is moving day by day, I am forgetting the things that I learned this time last year. I am letting events dictate how I react instead of creating my world and dictating the events.

It is very hard to co-create with someone. I want one thing, they want something else, and yet other people want other things. This is one of the most frustrating things about manifesting and LOA for me. When I have to wait on another person and I spend days affirming -- they will call today. The job is his. This will be our house. Then to continue waiting, waiting, waiting and then finally having to let go. That is very hard. But obviously, we are co-creating with other people. Those other people have meetings, they have dreams and goals and things they want to create as well. So they are paying attention to those things right in front of them and apparently by doing so they are creating a more powerful intention than I am. 

But I am only responsible for me. So I think over the next couple of weeks I'm going to revisit some of the books I've read, I'm going to watch The Secret again and remind myself of the power that I do have. I signed up for the 21 day meditation and I've only done one day. I need to take that time for myself, to get myself in alignment, and feel that peace.

Gratitude changes attitude

I remember this very, very well. It was a Thursday night and I'd had a pretty bad day at work. How bad can a day go when you've only had a job for about three weeks? It was pretty bad. I was stressed, I hated that I had to go back the next day. I was alone in my house having a pity party.

That was the day I decided I wanted to read The Secret and see if I could find the DVD on Netflix to rent. I'd finished Think and Grow Rich and another positive thinking book. I was thrilled to find that The Secret movie was streaming on Netflix. So I made supper and sat down to watch while folding laundry.

The movie blew me away, seriously. I started taking notes. Then it got to the part about gratitude. How we needed to have gratitude in our lives, how we needed to be thankful for everything in our lives. And that was a major wake up call to me. I realized the language I'd already started using - Thank God tomorrow is Friday. I wish I didn't have to go back to work. I can't wait for the weekend. All of the negative language was there and it wasn't making my job very pleasant. And I realized - it's not work. It's not the job. It's not the people or the duties. It's me.

So I remembered what it felt like the day I got the job offer. I remembered the feelings I had, happy, excited, scared. I remembered doing the paperwork and I remembered my first day at the office. I thought about how quickly the day went by, how much I had learned. I thought about the money I was being paid, which was more than what I had asked for when I'd prayed about a full time job. And I immediately prayed for forgiveness.

I took a piece of paper and started making a list of everything I was grateful for. My family, my job, my health, a running car, a roof over my head, food to eat, money to pay the bills. Everything I could think of. And I could feel the stress from the day fade away.

When I went in to work the next day, I greeted my supervisor with a "Good morning," grabbed my coffee and got to work. I could feel the shift in energy there. And it was a good day.

Every time I get upset about work now I remember that feeling. While this job is not my end all - be all, something I've always wanted to do, I am thankful to have it. I look at that gratitude list and I remember all the things I do have in my life and how wonderful they all are. I watch my language as well. No more thank God it's Friday or Oh, God it's Monday. Remember that your words are powerful.

So the next time you're in a funk, check your gratitude. Make a list of all the things you're thankful for. And let gratitude shift your attitude.

Selling my first story

I have stated before that being a successful writer is my main purpose. That is how I ultimately want to make my living. I determined on this goal after reading Think and Grow Rich. When I read The Secret, however, I understood that I do not have to be tied to just one goal. Of course not. People want different things at different times. But for my livelihood and income, my goal is to be a successful writer.

After reading Connie Domino's Law of Attraction, I wrote an affirmation (or intention) for this year.

Thank you that I have earned $1,000 in writing income by August 31, 2012.

I started writing articles for Yahoo! Contributor Network (under my real name) and I'd written two stories under my pen name. One story did not sell. Two days after I wrote the other story, there was a call for submissions for a new anthology and I knew my new story would fit. This was in May. So I wrote the story at the end of April by inspiration. The first week of May I saw the call for submission for a theme that my story would fit into. See how Law of Attraction was kicking in even though I didn't really ask?

I did not hear back for months, so I was assuming it was a no. I decided to check my pen name's email one day and found an acceptance for my story - it was a week old. That email had actually been sent the day AFTER I wrote my affirmation in August. I just didn't check my email for almost two weeks.

I'm glad I checked it, because it was accepted if I could change the story somewhat. But she had to know soon. By the time I'd checked my email, I only had five days to respond.

I had no problem with changing the plot. The integrity of the story would be the same. I did the rewrite and sent it in the following day. Since then edits have been done and bios have been sent in. Contracts will be going out soon and the book should be published within the next two months.

Now this is not a big New York publisher. This is a small press that publishes erotic romance, which is what I primarily write under my pen name. The money is not great, but it's a step toward my goal of $1,000 this year and eventually $100,000 a year, with the amount increasing annually after that.

I believe this story sold other than the first one because it was inspired. I sat down to write and the words flew. I finished in less than three hours. In comparison, my first story was written due to seeing a call for submissions on a particular topic. While I still believe the story is good and I may do something with it myself later on, I felt that it was written too much like an assignment. Here's the topic, now turn something in. So my second story was much better to me because of the inspiration behind it. I wrote it just for the joy of writing.



I was recently inspired again the other day by a dream I had. I frequently have "story dreams". They're almost like watching a movie. So that is the inspiration for my next story. And I know that when it's ready there will be a desire for it as well. And so I will continue toward my goal of being a successful writer.

I have decided at this point that I will only write by inspiration. That doesn't mean I won't write daily on my work in progress. It means I won't write based on assignments. I won't write based on calls to submission. I will write what I am inspired to write and I will find a publisher who wants it or I will publish it myself. This feels right to me and I know that by doing this I will succeed.