The Seven Steps to Abundance (from 'Steps to Success, Prosperity and Happiness'
"Do not follow the well-beaten track of others towards
success - like
the rainbow, it is often an illusion always just beyond our reach. Make your own path and let your spirit blaze a brilliant trail towards the pot of gold, the prize for the gift - one that is uniquely you and YOUR magical and successful journey down the river of life."
- Craig Lock
"Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs."
- Maxwell Maltz
Here are some thoughts and steps on how to to "design
a life"...instead of been blown about by the winds of life (like a paper bag), or the currents, like a jelly-fish. Enough similes.
1. Find the VISION, the plan for your life. Unless you know where you're going, you are unlikely to get there. Any place where you are is a good place to start.
Ask yourself:
What activities have you most enjoyed in the last 10
years?
What is fun? What do you treasure?
What do you most want to be doing in the next 10 years?
I'd love to write, help, encourage and hopefully even
inspire others.
2. Which of your strengths and weaknesses are a joy to
you?
What do people say you are good at?
What is special about you?
List ideally what would you be doing? Living at the beach, writing and travelling...and be financially secure, of course!
Ideally what would you want to be? When I started out
writing
seven years ago, a successful author was my original goal.
Now I want to be a "great" writer,
whose words make a difference in the world by encouraging
and hopefully even "inspiring" people around the globe.
What motivates you? What "drives" you? What is your "hot button"?
Ask WHY do you need those things? What are those
status symbols for?
Define your vision. Write it down in less than 10 words.
It took me most of my life to discover what I believee
Does it involve other people?
What do I most want to be doing? Why?
What do I most care about? Why?
What steps can I take to move me closer to doing
what I really want to do with my life?
Find your niche - your unique skills and natural gifts?
Think about WHO will pay you to enjoy yourself. Instead
of worrying about being sacked, think who will pay
you to have fun? How can you best use your gifts and
talents?
Where do you want to work? With whom, in what sort of
company? Look for a picture of your ideal environment:
home, as well as work.
3. PLAN ahead carefully. Doing this reduces false starts
and wrong directions. Most people spend more time
planning their annual holiday than they do their "blueprint
for life".
Put it all down in writing. Doing that focusses your mind,
your
consciousness. My advice: "Think big, but start small".
The prominent American psychologist, Carl Rogers said:
"The only real security is the preparedness to embrace insecurity". Be the YOU you most intend to be? Take stock, review your plan and prioritize your life goals.
4. Make the COMMITMENT. Stop saying you're going
to do it and actually DO IT. Put in the work and write out
the cheques. This involves going past the point of no
return. Make commitments: to yourself, to your loved
ones in terms of time, energy and money. Then stick to
it and take full responsibility for the outcome.
5. Spell out the details of the PLAN. Think it all through
and concentrate hard. What are you going to do? How
are you going to do it, step by step? What needs to be
done and in what order of priority? What resources do you
have at your disposal? What are your expenditure needs? Reaffirm your commitment through a personal budget. Be flexible in your thinking, as circumstances usually change...and we can't foresee the future. And most importantly, THINK BIG.
6. Develop a network of people to help you achieve your
goals (and you can help them achieve their goals at the
same time). First, you must be aware of them. It's a
"win-win" situation. Be enthusiastic at all times, because enthusiasm is catching.
7. Take ACTION, that first step...then the next will follow naturally ...and far more easily. Nothing can stop you now. "Roll up the sleeves" and get down to work. I believe the first prerequisite for success is loving what you do. I love writing, although it's very lonely (and probably the world's most solitary occupation). Always remember, life is not a 100 metres sprint - it's a marathon. So rest when you feel you need to and don't feel guilty about it (something I have to learn!). Have fun along the journey. Perservere and persist in your quest.
Take responsibility for your own abundance and your
learning throughout the 'game of life'. Appreciate your abundance and prosperity daily by giving thanks to God, the Universe for what you do have. Live with "an attitude of gratitude", instead of focussing on what you lack..
Have faith in yourself - believe deeply in yourself, but
even more deeply in Life, The Universe, Supreme Being, a
Power far
Greater than yourself, Infinite Intelligence/Wisdom... who loves you and wants what's best for you. The spiritual journey may take far longer than you thought, so be patient.
NB:
Always remember,
The measure of success is not money, but learning and
growth - just trying to be the best person you can possibly
be each and every day.
Measure success in learning and growth - nothing else is important. Work is a place each of us creates in order to grow. It is the laboratory for experimenting with our potential.
When working for yourself, this is a time of
unprecedented change in your life. Work allows you to put
into place skills and knowledge acquired through
education. It is a time to experiment with our potential
and the various demands made upon us. Initially we learn
to work in teams, working towards a common objective.
Then gradually in our working careers we learn to take on
more and more responsibility.
BELIEVE you DESERVE to be abundant - though not more
than others. It's a matter of finding a balance between
your ambitions and your responsibilities. Be accountable
and socially responsible, by thinking of other people.
"As we know the universe will always provide when we put our positive and unabstructive energy to what we want in life. I believe in life that if we are given access to the knowledge, then we have the choice of being capable of whatever we want to achieve. Anything one does with passion and belief will manifest. We are all energy and that which we put out into the Universe is energy, therefore whatever we believe in comes back to us."
- Kate Conroy (a "cyber-friend" and talented young writer)
You can't force people to change. Listen to your intuition, truth and love. That is the "voice" of God, The Divine, Higher Power, the Higher Self, Spirit, the Ultimate Source speaking to you.
We are all spiritual beings living in the physical world. So wherever you are, what better time to start on your spiritual journey to abundance... than NOW!
Enjoy the journey having "heaps" of fun
Craig Lock
Information and Inspiration distributor" http://www.craiglock.com
"If a man has talent and cannot use it, he has failed. If he has a talent and uses only half of it, he has partly failed. If he has a talent and learns somehow to use the whole of it, he has gloriously succeeded and has a satisfaction and a triumph few men ever know."
- Thomas Wolfe
"The person born with a talent they are meant to use will
find their greatest happiness in using it."
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."
"Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to
follow the talent to the dark place where it leads."
-- Erica Jong
'Without legends, dreams die."
"When dreams die, there is no opportunity for greatness. Greatness is a measure in one's spirit, not in the results of one's rank in human affairs."
"To dream anything that you want to dream, that is the
beauty
of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that
is
the strength of the human will. To trust yourself, to test
your limits,
that is the courage to succeed."
- Bernard Edmonds, American Writer
"Believe in yourself and in your dream,
Though impossible things may seem
Someday, somehow you'll get through
To the goal you have in view.
Mountains fall and seas divide,
Before the one who in his stride
Takes a hard road by day
Sweeping obstacles away
Believe in yourself and in your plan
Say not -I cannot -I can
The prizes of life we fail to win
Because we doubt the power within..."
- ANON
*
P.S: Robert Kiyosak (author of the "Rich Man, Poor Man"
series)
once said that "the definition of success is having the
freedom
to be yourself". I think that pretty much sums up the way I feel about success as well. Thanks for sharing that great thought, Robert.
* "luck", as they say, is where preparedness (is there such
a word?) meets opportunity.
"Let the light of your BEING shine brightly; so revealing Who You Really Are. Be a Bringer of the Light, which emanates from our soul, God, our Creator, the Ultimate Source, the Essence of Life (and Ground of our very Being).
Therefore, it can do more than illuminate
your own path.YOUR spirit will help makes the lives of
others easier by illuminating other's paths. For this light
is our humanity, the spirit of God, truth, wisdom, beauty and especially love...and it lies within each One of us. Through your actions and your being, let your light, YOUR spirit truly shine brightly on the world, like the radiance emitted by a candle at midnight."
- Craig Lock (adapted from Neale Donald Walsh in
'Conversations with God Book 3').
"For me true success may be measured by the fortitude, with which
so many ordinary people around the globe overcome numerous
seemingly insurmountable obstacles through sheer force of
character and indominatable spirit. They rise above the severest
adversity down the often rocky journey of life. Unheralded, yet with
an unquenchable and infinite generosity of human
spirit, these are lives of greatness and souls who are the true
heroes of this world."
- Craig Lock (13th August 2004)
Books that Craig "felt inspired to write" are available at: http://kompuwiz.com/kompustore (click on "SoulfulBooks") and http://soulful-writer.com (click on "Inspirational Books)
"Another good thing about being poor is that, when you are seventy your children will not have declared you legally insane in order to gain control of your estate."
- Woody Allen
