Book - The Pledge - Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life

As part of a private work project I was able to read The Pledge - Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life, by Michael Masterson, and take some notes on it. At first, reading the title, I thought, Oh, this is going to be a very interesting book to read, can't wait to see his method of using Law of Attraction. I guess I've become so used to LOA being in pretty much anything I read or watch or even do. I've even dreamed of TV shows I watch using intentions and other aspects of the Law of Attraction in their stories.

The book is not even close to being a Law of Attraction book. And that is fine. It doesn't have to be. But it's not the right book for me.

Masterson basically wants you to break your goals into down, starting at a big goal seven years out. Then you break it down into annual goals, monthly objectives and tasks. Basically the tasks you do today will support your monthly objectives which supports your annual goals which support your seven-year goal.

The book recommends writing down your goals and creating a plan. The plan includes getting up early - 4:30 or 5:00 am was highly recommended, eating right, minimizing distractions in your work day, and planning the work you will do and the work you will delegate.

There is nothing wrong with any of that. Think and Grow Rich recommended setting a goal or having a desire you wanted to reach. However, there was a lot in The Pledge that just didn't appeal to me. I guess I should say - the new me.

The old me, prior to learning about the Law of Attraction, would be all over this book. I would have a notebook already filled with my goals and objectives and tasks. But I no longer believe I have to do any of that stuff to make my dreams come true.

Do I believe in taking action? Yes, I do. But I believe more in inspired action.

I know that sounds funny. If my ultimate desire (re: Think and Grow Rich) is to be a writer (specifically a romance writer published with Harlequin), how will I sell anything if all I do is "wait" to be inspired?

Well, when I am inspired I don't wait. I have learned not to question those flashes of inspiration. The first short story I sold was inspired. I wrote it in two hours. Another short story I have finished was inspired by a dream that I had. I wrote it in two hours as well. I have submitted it, but it was rejected. However, that is only the opinion of one publication. There are more out there and there are other options for me. I know it's a good story, I have faith in that, and I am not giving up on it. I fully believe it was inspired.

Masterson states that positive thinking doesn't work for 90 percent of the people who practice it. I would be interested to know how he got that number. I would be interested to know why he believes that.

I believe it's because Masterson is looking for a specific outcome. He wants to help people become rich. That is a worthwhile goal. Napoleon Hill and many other writers wanted the same thing. However, one thing I have learned is that most people who practice positive thinking, affirmations, the Law of Attraction -- it comes to the point where they don't necessarily care about material wealth. That may have been a focus at the beginning of the journey, but not always.

For me, positive thinking was a way to help me feel better, to help me become a better person. I believe that I am doing that, I have done that. So in my case, because I am not wealthy by Masterson's standards, have I failed?

Besides, you could say I've even accomplished my desire - to be a published writer. After all, my story was sold and will be published. So I can say, with all fact and truth, I am a published writer. 

To illustrate this further, think about a competition, like the Olympics. There is one gold medal and many competitors. Only one person can bring home the gold medal. But that may not truly matter to every person in the competition.

One person wants to win the gold.
One person wants to place in the top three.
One person is just thrilled to be in the Olympics.

This is part of the Law of Attraction. In this way, everyone can have their way. We live in an AND world, not an EITHER / OR world.

We can have our cake and eat it too.
We can have chocolate and lose weight.
We can earn money doing something we love.
We can goof off and still make a living.

That is what I believe.

Look at competitions such as American Idol. I have never watched one episode of American Idol, but I am familiar with some of the winners. I am also familiar with some of the losers, such as Kellie Pickler. I had no idea she'd even been a contestant on the show. I believe that for many of the competitors on American Idol their goal was not to win the title but to have a career in music. And that is what happened. They did not fail by losing the competition. They reached their goal in a different way.

And as I neared the end of the book, Masterson says this:

"Every idea, strategy and technique I shared with you has been proven repeatedly through my personal experience. I know it works, because it worked for me."

And that is the clincher. It worked for him because he BELIEVED that it would. Masterson shares how all of this started as he graduated high school and was basically told that he wouldn't amount to anything. He chose at that moment to not believe that assessment of his high school guidance counselor. He took INSPIRED action to turn his life around. In  my opinion, that is LOA in action.

So if Michael Masterson believes that you have to write out seven year goals, annual goals, monthly objectives and daily tasks in order to succeed, then that is what his reality will be -- because he BELIEVES it to be that way. 

Personally, I feel that it's a lot of work. I don't want to do all of that work anymore. I don't want to live by goals and checklists and forms and worry about accomplishing my goals. 

So how am I going to finish a book to submit to Harlequin within the next six months (my New Year's / solstice resolution) without following checklists and goals and daily word counts and worrying if the story is good enough for them to buy?

Well, I may not. By July I may only have 25,000 words instead of 50,000. But that's okay. 

I may end up writing a few more short stories instead, selling them or publishing them on my own. And that's okay. 

I like to keep a word count of 1000 words a day, five days a week. It's doable for me. If I want to do more, I will. If I choose to do less, I will. And it's okay. 

And worry if the story is good? Well, good for whom? Harlequin editors? Romance novel readers? I can't think about them right now. The story's not even written yet, so who cares? Besides, I believe it's a good story. My only job is to get it on paper. That's all. I give myself permission to write poorly. I give myself permission to want to stop and start over. But I will continue and I will press forward until I finish. 

And however it ends up, that's okay. 

Michael Masterson may disagree, but that's okay too.

Positive Thinking and Attitude for LOA success

In a lot of my research and reading about The Law of Attraction it seems that many people immediately latch on to things like what can I get? How much money can I receive? What material goods can I latch onto? Can I win the lottery? Can I win a contest? Can I hit it big in Vegas?

But I never really thought of any of those things. And it seems that now as I'm starting to live the wonderful, beautiful, abundant and creative life that I want the less material things I desire.I believe this is because I studied positive thinking before law of attraction.

I didn't start out to do this on purpose. Reading The Love Dare and drastically changed me. I didn't do it, consciously, from a desire to win my husband back. I wanted to do it because I wanted to obey God. I believe I was told to read the book and I did not. So that was my first step to obedience. And even without my husband at home during that time, I learned a lot about myself and my attitude. I did not like the person I was. So my first step was to confess to God and admit to myself that I was not the kind and generous person I believed myself to be. I accepted my responsibility in how my life had turned out and in doing so found a way to healing. I had to forgive myself and accept, in faith, that I am a person of value. Knowing that God loves me, God is with me and that he loves me unconditionally was a strong part of that process. Knowing that even today is still a big part of me, even after discovering information about the law of attraction. Having material things and wealth just doesn't matter - not without love.

1 Corinthians 13

¹ If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.  ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
 ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

(From Biblegateway.com)

Everything else is going to go away. But love will remain. No one is going to remember how much material things you had. But they will remember your kindness, your graciousness. They will remember what you did with your money. Were you a good steward of all you had been given?

But I would not even have this love, this feeling of peace, without starting my journey with The Love Dare and the positive thinking books I read. I knew that by healing my mind I could begin to heal my life. You cannot manifest change if it feels bad. And if you're coming from a place of greed or hate then you are going to continue manifesting those feelings.

That is why I believe many facets of the law of attraction have come easily. That is why my marriage has been able to heal. It's because all of this has been built on a foundation of positive change, positive love, and most important, faith. I had faith in God that He was there, he is here now, that he loved me and cared for me. Without that foundation I would not be who I am today.

I could have gone another path. I could have chosen to hate. I could have chosen to continue to be a victim. I could have sat at home crying and yelling and cursing my husband and the situation. I could have laid all the blame on him. But I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be a different person. I wanted to learn about myself. I didn't need to know why. I still don't. I just knew there were things to learn. And God is still teaching me those things today.

There are material things I want, things I desire. But more than riches, more than things, more than anything in the world, I want to live a wonderful, happy, abundant and creative life. And I want to live that life with people who are important to me. Thankfully, God has shown me how to do that by using the law of attraction and other universal laws that are in place. And I have been blessed.

Choosing to Love

By now I've been remarried to my sweetheart for a week. And I am reminded daily of how much I am blessed, of how much I came close to losing.

I don't want to focus on the bad. I don't want to focus on who did what to whom or who was hurt more. There is no room in my life for blame anymore. All I can do is accept responsibility for myself. All I can do is keep my ears open for God's words and His leading. All I can do is be a better person, a better wife, a better mother. All I can do is my best.

So once again I will write out a list of things I am thankful for. I will always be thankful for my family. I will never take my husband or son for granted. I am thankful my parents are still living. I am thankful for my grandparents. I am thankful for the people that stood beside us and believed that love could overcome anything. And I am happy. I am very, very happy that God used this time in my life to show me that I don't need to be afraid. There is nothing to be afraid of because he is there, and no matter what happens in my life, he will be there. He will never leave me, he will never let me down. He is there, and no matter what, it will be okay.

Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with course and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: "Is this the condition that I feared?" -- Seneca

I have been through that dark time, when I thought all was lost. When my world crashed, when I felt no one could ever love me, when I couldn't love myself. And God brought me through. And he showed me there was nothing to fear. And as he helped me learn to love myself, as he showed me that He loved me and always would, that was how I was finally able to love another. And that is what I will do.

I choose to love.

Positive Thinking - a process

There is always a process to changing your mindset. Just because I had to go through a divorce and life upheaval doesn't mean that you will. You can start right where you are. I'm just describing my process.

So as I'm grieving the loss of my marriage, my son leaving in April to stay with his grandparents, working essentially two jobs - I worked full time as well as kept the part-time transcription work going - I was reading. It seems as though whenever one book would end I would find another.

Sometimes I would read the book all the way through and it would resonate with me. Sometimes I would only read part of it. But everything made an impact on me and the process I was going through.

My goal was to feel better. My goal was to be successful at my dreams, with or without anyone else. I realized that since I was the only one who could control my actions, I was the only one that could make my
dreams come true. For too long I had depended on my husband to make my dreams come true. I had spent money on one thing after another, trying to be self supporting, but in reality it was money he had earned.
Money he had made working six days a week, working overtime just to keep the bills paid while I was working on my dreams. So I set out to find a way to make those dreams happen on my own.

I started out with Think and Grow Rich. This Napoleon Hill book is a classic by most self improvement gurus today. I obtained a lot of nuggets of wisdom in this book, even though it is outdated in many ways regarding the people discussed. But it did a lot in changing my attitude about things. Not just my attitude toward others, but also myself. I wanted to be more positive about everything.

One thing that is hard to accept in this process is that you cause your circumstances. Yes, you do. It doesn't matter who did what. It doesn't matter who hurt you. I knew that I could play the victim and no one would blame me. Maybe you can too. But it was my attitude that would draw these situtations to me. I could look back and see it happening. I would fight with my husband and threaten divorce. And what happened? We eventually divorced. I would fight with my son and want to be left alone. And he left me alone to stay with his
grandparents. I even had a running joke with my son. I'd call him smartass of the year. I even made him a certificate that said that. But I realized the more I studied LOA that I was causing the behavior. I didn't like his smartass behavior, but by calling attention to it, it would continue. So I no longer do that.

I realized that yes, my attitude was to blame. And no one could change it but me. This was something from Think and Grow Rich that hit me so hard about attitude -

You are who you are today because of your attitude with yourself and others.

And the natural ending to that hit me between the eyes - Who I will be TOMORROW is because of my attitude with myself and others. So if I wanted to be a better person tomorrow, I needed to change my
attitude TODAY.

Wow. That was a wake up call.