Prosper Your Family

What's on YOUR mind about money? Ask anything...

2009-07-02T21:01:00.006-07:00

Watch this short clip from my friend Garrett B. Gunderson:

Garrett is my co-author (for the upcoming sequel of The Jackrabbit Factor) and is the New York Times best-selling author of Killing Sacred Cows, and has taken everything I've ever known about success to the next level.

It's an honor to work with him, and I've learned and grown a LOT during the time we've been collaborating. I'm excited for you to get to know him better.

With a background as a financial advisor, and with tremendous experience with, and a solid understanding of the laws of success, Garrett is uniquely qualified to give a real-world perspective on how to prosper with real money, even in today's economy.

Do you have a burning question about money, finances, prosperity, or just how to navigate the economic uncertainty the world faces today?

Go now to AskToGetRich.com and post YOUR question for Garrett.

On July 16, 2009, I will host a powerful, informative, and enlightening teleclass where Garrett will answer your questions submitted there.

It's easy to get answers. Simply:

1) Submit your question at AskToGetRich.com

2) Take note of the dial-in number displayed on the page after your question is submitted

"See" you there!

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

6 pm Pacific or 9 pm Eastern

...where you'll get FREE answers from one of the most principle-aligned financial advisors I believe you'll find in the world today.

The Jackrabbit Factor Sequel!

2009-06-24T09:07:00.003-07:00

If you've talked with me personally in recent months, you may already know that I managed to get half-way done with the sequel in December, and then hit a brick wall.

Something inside me said that I wouldn't be able to finish the book until I had personally experienced some of the things that Richard and Felicity needed to experience in the story.

Six months later, I can tell you ...I was right.

Life is so FASCINATING!!!!

I can't wait to get this book out now... In fact, I'm up at 4:38 am because my vision for the impact the sequel is going to have FUELS me and keeps me up at odd hours.

Yesterday, the title of the book finally came to mind. I've struggled with the title for more than 6 months, but I have it now. :)

I'm anxious to tell you what it is, but something else inside of me is telling me to wait and reveal it a little later. *sigh*

Anyway, I'll be heading to the mountains for a week at the end of July to finish the manuscript in focused peace and quiet.

But I've learned that I can go stir crazy if I don't have someone with me to be an occasional sounding board for my ideas, and to have some FUN with, too, for when my brain gets tired.

So I've decided to take someone with me.

If YOU are also writing a book and want to join me at the cabin, so I can be YOUR sounding board as well (and help you get YOUR book off the ground), read more about this opportunity and submit your application at:

http://www.jackrabbitfactor.com/retreat

Is There a Book in YOU?

2009-06-24T08:56:00.004-07:00

If you knew that millions of people now face, or will face, the same challenges that you have overcome (or are learning to overcome), and if you knew that you could spare them the heartache and pain you've endured, would you write?

Too many people take their good ideas to the grave with them, and thousands are left to repeat the mistakes that could have been avoided with a simple transference of knowledge.

YOU were given a unique combination of experiences, challenges, talents, abilities, desires, and relationships that are NO accident.

Nobody else can possibly leave YOUR fingerprint on the world.

If you've had even the inkling of a thought that maybe you should write a book one day, stop and pay attention...

Thoughts like that are an indication that there IS a powerful message trying to make its way to the world through YOU.

As you set aside your fears and feelings of inadequacy, and as you treat the idea with respect and honor it with your attention, you'll find that the idea will grow and you'll have strokes of genius that amaze even you.

Have you ever thought:

What if nobody reads it?
What if I mess up the grammar?
What if someone laughs at me?
Who am I to think I can write a book?
What if I can't get a publisher?

STOP! Let's start asking some POWERFUL questions instead:

What if thousands, or millions of people read it?
What if it's amazing?
What if someone expresses tearful gratitude that you had the courage to get it out there?
Who are YOU to reject the good idea that won't leave you alone?
What if you find the PERFECT way to publish it?
What if ALL the resources you need, line up WHILE you write it?

Ideas which have the power to lift humanity come from God. I honor them, and want to help you get your message out.

To be sure, I've learned a few things about writing, publishing, and marketing a book since beginning my professional author's journey in 2001.

Let me help you learn from my many mistakes and immeasurably gratifying successes.

There will be a number of ways to get my help on your book in the future, but THIS is a one-of-a-kind opportunity which could NEVER be duplicated in quite the same way.

I can only offer this exclusive opportunity to ONE aspiring author... so, to see if it's the right experience for YOU, learn more about the Mountain Retreat Workshop

The Soul Purpose Paradox

2009-06-24T08:36:00.005-07:00

There are at least two different kinds of people who pursue a good lifestyle for their family of financial freedom and happiness.

Person #1 is a hard worker. He has a dream and is committed to making it happen. He moves forward with hope and belief that he will find a way, and makes numerous sacrifices in the pursuit.

But in the back of his mind, there is a nagging question that always says, "What if it doesn't work?"

Person #2 is also a hard worker. He also has a dream and is committed to making it happen. He moves forward with hope and belief that he will find a way, and makes numerous sacrifices in the pursuit.

But the difference is that Person #2 is the one who can say with absolute confidence, "I KNOW everything is going to work out, because I know that I'm doing exactly what I should be doing."

The paradox lies in the fact that Person #1 may have a whole lot more going for him, but Person #2 has more happiness and peace of mind on the journey.

What makes the difference?

Person #2 is actively engaged in work that helps him magnify his life's purpose. Not only is he following his dream of a wonderful lifestyle for his family, but he's picked a vehicle that gives him tremendous satisfaction, even if there were no financial compensation.

The paradox also lies in the fact that although Person #2 will likely face tremendous obstacles (perhaps even more so than person #1), HE is the one who will have deeper reservoirs of faith to draw from, and more peace of mind in the face of possible disaster.

That's the benefit of choosing for your life's work, something for which you have a special interest and unique experience or talents.

The fact is, Life has a natural way of encouraging YOU along to discovering and accomplishing your unique contribution to society that only you can do. Something inside beckons you - to cast all fear aside and do the thing that your spirit is compelling you to do.

Reason talks you out of it.

But I can assure you, that when you take even the smallest step in the right direction, you will have an unmistakable feeling deep down of knowing that you're on the right path.

Trust it! Don't let "reason" talk you out of it.

As you do, storms may rage, but you WON'T be troubled by them. That's true financial freedom. Financial freedom is NOT a function of how much money you have in the bank, but actually a function of how true you are living to your life's soul purpose.

For Person #1, there is no guarantee of lasting peace of mind. In the short term, he may reach any goal that he puts his mind to. But if his work brings him NO real joy or satisfaction outside of the financial paycheck, he will always live in uncertainty.

Uncertainty and unrest is Life's way of getting your attention and trying to send you in a better direction.

A natural benefit for those who live their purpose, is that God gives them strength to overcome obstacles, and endurance to weather the inevitable challenges.

No question, each of us has a work to do, different from anyone else. You will be supported best when you let go of your fears and engage in that work, even if it's just in a small and simple way in your spare time.

I promise, your faith will be tested to see how committed you really are, and it could be years or even decades before you are solidly into the "flow" of it, but when you ARE engaged in it, even in just a small way to begin with, you'll find that all you really need comes through, just when you need it (and sometimes not any sooner than that.)

I believe that's God's promise. Follow your heart, and He'll keep you and your family going...

...until His work THROUGH you is complete.

Let me walk you step-by-step through this transition from uncertainty to certainty. I'll help you let go of your fears, so you can proceed with confidence as you discover and then engage in the work you're here to do. When you're truly following your purpose, it hardly feels like work.

Then, abundant financial rewards are a natural by-product...

So let's get going!

The powerful FTMF program is on sale through the month of July - find out more at http://www.prosperyourfamily.com

What you can Learn from a Locksmith

2009-06-24T08:00:00.007-07:00

Perhaps the reason "one book" or "one seminar" or "one program" was a MAJOR turning point for one person, but nothing more than a stepping stone for another, is because...

...Achieving success is like opening a combination lock.

There are a finite number of discs that need to move into place before the lock will open.

Some people are raised in such a way, or have a natural-born inclination to live in harmony with the laws of success.

Sometimes those people have all but ONE of the discs already in place, so just one book or seminar or conversation with a mentor is all they needed to set them free and launch their lifestyle into the stratosphere.

Others have hundreds of discs that need to move into place.

But each time you increase your mental capital by learning more about how success really works, and by trying and failing and learning the lesson the experience contained, you allow yet another disc to rotate into place, and the good news is: that disc can stay in place for good.

One day, with just one more try, one more class, one more book, one more seminar, or one more conversation with a mentor, that FINAL disc will move into its proper position, and the lock WILL finally spring open.

You'll probably tell everyone that that was THE BEST event or book or conversation there ever was... because it facilitated the most tangible results in your life.

The truth is, that each "aha" moment leading up to it was just as important and critical to your success as the last. If just ONE of the previous epiphanies had not happened, then that final event, book, or conversation would probably not have been the final disc.

So keep learning, keep seeking the next epiphany, because you never know... it just might be that final disc for you. If it isn't, at LEAST there's just one less disc to go.

Even if you've experienced a breakthrough before, taking it to the next level will always require the opening of another lock, sometimes just a little more complex than the one before.

But don't worry, you'll open them all, by just rotating one simple disc into place at a time.

Remember:

Your desire is simply a "possibility" seeking expression through you... honor your dream, don't give up on it. One step, one rotated disc at a time and you'll surely get there.

The FTMF program has the power to help you move HUNDREDS of discs into place in just 12 weeks, which is why the participants are experiencing quantum leaps in their lives.

The good news is that you'll save hundreds of dollars if you get started during the month of July - but don't procrastinate because:

The first 20 customers will receive a one-year complimentary basic enrollment in the online School of Life Mastery ($300 value!)

The FTMF Sale begins 7/1/09 at 12:01 am PST. (At the time I posted this article, it was NOT on sale yet)

You're Making it Harder Than it Has to Be

2009-06-16T08:16:00.004-07:00

Goal achievement is like making a phone call. If you dial the numbers right, it works. Children who have never used a phone will probably have trouble making it work right for a while, just as we can have trouble making the laws of success work to achieve our goals.

It takes practice!

When a goal doesn't happen the way you expected, it's easy to get discouraged. Actually, that IS the COMMON thing to do. The uncommon thing to do is brush yourself off and ask the hard question:

"Where did I go wrong? What more do I need to know? In what way am I making this harder than it has to be?"

Common people may ask those questions, rhetorically, but not with a real intent of finding the answers. Actually, sometimes they don't WANT the answer, because it's just easier to say, "That law of attraction thing doesn't work." Truly, it's easier to put the blame for failure on things outside of oneself.

**** OUCH! ****

(Now, if you're offended, you may be surprised at the TURN this article takes next.)

On the other hand, UNCOMMON people ask the hard questions with a firm INTENT to find the answers. They SEEK for the answers, even if it means they have to admit that there may be more to learn.

Uncommon people will get uncommon results. Uncommon people will enjoy an uncommon lifestyle. If they DO ask the hard questions and find the answers, then the next time they pursue a goal, they can apply the new understanding, and can get better results.

Or not...

Here's why: For me, this question / answer /new attempt process happened HUNDREDS of times before I actually saw it really work even ONCE. I know hundreds of ways it DOESN'T work. Each failed attempt showed me something else that I needed to tweak about my approach.

Think about it... The first time a kindergartner tries to use the telephone, chances are good that s/he will dial the number wrong. When that happens, it would be foolish to say, "This phone doesn't work!" The PHONE works fine. The user just needs to be extra careful to dial ALL the right numbers, in the right order, with no extra numbers inserted along the way.

The law of attraction works FINE. You've just got to be careful to dial ALL the right numbers in the right order, and not insert any extra ones along the way. When you do it right, it unfailingly works the way it should.

And the good news is that when you see it work once, you gain confidence, and eventually realize that it can work for you EVERY time. In fact, it can become second-nature, just like using the phone. Then, after experiencing some success, you discover that it can even be easier than THAT... like discovering the redial button.

But I have some BAD NEWS...

The one element that does NOT go away, no matter how slick you are, or how smart you get, is the TEST to exercise faith when all appearances indicate impending disaster. Yes, no matter how good you get at the process, and no matter how much money you make, you'll always get plenty of opportunity to exercise faith, make sacrifices, and stretch yourself OUT of the comfort zone to accomplish the next goal.

You just get to a point where you learn to accept the difficult nature of the process. I'm sorry to burst your bubble.

The knowledge I share here does not avert the challenges, it just gives you the power to overcome them when they show up... the power to achieve the goal in spite of difficulty... the power to have PEACE of MIND through the process.

And yes, you CAN HAVE your victory. You can have the MONEY you need. You can find the job, or succeed in business... You can have the FREEDOM you seek!

Just try again, and learn from your mistakes. That's how you win.

Find out more you may need to know, so that you can achieve that oh-so-elusive goal. I want to help. Read the Jackrabbit Factor story free, so I can reveal the common mistakes people make with the law of attraction; or if you're ready for more advanced answers, start the 8-week Jackrabbit Factor Ecourse. You can succeed!

Creating Money in the Moment

2009-05-20T10:41:00.004-07:00

I've recently been engrossed in learning some NEW (to me) principles that will help YOU learn how to "create money in the moment."

I'm not talking about a money-making scheme, but PRINCIPLES that can be applied to any endeavor... principles I have not fully disclosed in any of my books or programs... yet.

Let me remind you: when you discover, and operate consistently by the right principles, you can be at peace, even in the face of catastrophe, knowing that you WILL ultimately succeed. Do you feel like something is still missing, even after all you've learned so far?

I'm not entirely prepared to release the information, but you can be sure it will be covered in The Jackrabbit Factor sequel (in progress), and it is also explained extensively as a follow-up course for FTMF graduates in the online School of Life Mastery.

It begins with discovering your sole - or soul - purpose, which is the fully expressed application of YOUR unique combination of talents, interests, experiences, and abilities.

Nobody else can quite do what YOU are here on this planet to do. The more you operate in your soul purpose, the more intelligent, the more productive, the more efficient, and the more profitable your labor will be.

As Garrett Gunderson (New York Times best selling author, and co-author of my upcoming Jackrabbit Factor sequel) explains, "Soul purpose is your ultimate tool of production -- your ultimate tool for creating money in the moment."

Imagine how it would feel to have no fear of worldwide or local economic disasters, because you know the value that YOU are perfectly equipped to add in any circumstance, and for which you can always receive compensation. That's the power of finding and developing your Soul Purpose.

Stay tuned, and I'll help you discover yours.

Hope Floats the Financial Boat

2009-05-19T15:12:00.008-07:00

If you're not actively pursuing a dream of your own, you may be a passenger in someone else's boat, going to the destination of their choice.

Now, that can a great place to be, if you believe the captain knows what he's doing, and if you trust that he's taking you and the crew somewhere important and wonderful.

But you might determine that the boat you're on isn't taking you where you want to go financially.

You have options; there are other boats passing by, going to other destinations, but it isn't always easy to find a vessel that has all of the benefits you'd like to enjoy, and which will welcome you aboard.

So, you might vessel-hop for a while, until you find one that seems perfect for you.

Maybe your "perfect" ship travels quickly, provides abundantly for all your wants and needs, and is so big that you can't even feel the waves beating against it.

But there's no guarantee that it won't spring a leak, and that the captain won't send you away in a little dinghy without long-term supplies. It's even possible that you'll just have to abandon ship altogether with not so much as a life vest. Maybe you end up just treading water, hoping for another ship to come along before you go under for good.

Have you ever felt that way?

For the entrepreneur at heart, it doesn't matter how big, fast, and beautiful the boat is; traveling in someone else's vessel will never completely fulfill his/her needs. There's something inside that says, "I may be headed in the right direction on this vessel, but I won't rest until I'm steering my own ship. I need the freedom to change course directions at will."

Whether you leave the ship by choice or not, finding yourself in the water can be terrifying, especially if you never learned how to swim.

Think about it: what is the natural reaction of a non-swimmer who is thrown into deep waters?

They panic, and thrash violently. They become consumed with the fear of, "What if I go under and can't come back up?!" Full of adrenaline and in order to avoid the worst, they claw and pound the water, in a frantic effort to stay afloat.

Eventually, if they don't get some help, they go under out of sheer exhaustion.

If you've had to abandon ship recently, leaving your regular source of income to go out on your own in search of another boat, you may feel like the non-swimmer, fully exposed to choppy waters, surrounded by the mysterious depths, and at risk of drowning in bills and other pressures.

The natural inclination is to panic, and work too hard frantically trying to stay afloat - ultimately wearing yourself out and sinking into despair.

The truth is, that the principles which keep a new swimmer afloat in the water are the same principles that keep you afloat financially... and here they are:

1) Take a deep breath,
2) Relax, and
3) Keep your chin up

That's how you stay afloat in the water, and that's how you stay afloat financially, too.

Financial freedom does not create peace of mind; financial freedom begins with peace of mind.

Only after you discover that you can float, will you be able to learn how to swim efficiently. People who enjoy financial freedom have learned to swim in choppy waters without being overcome by exhaustion.

And it only works when you stay calm. When you are calm, you float; not just in water, but with finances, too.

Discover the truth of this and you may also discover that swimming peacefully allows you to get where you want to go without a boat at all.

(The unseen current can take you farther than you ever thought possible, if you let it... if you don't fight it.)

So, breathe... relax... keep your chin up... and trust the current to take you to the next boat or port on your journey to financial freedom.

Determination

2009-05-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

How committed are you to your dream?

When it looks as though all opposition is stacked against you, do you decide that the dream is just too far out of reach?

One precarious step at a time, the climber who keeps putting one foot in front of the other will, in time, get to the top. It's not a smooth, downhill journey to be sure.

Maybe you feel like it's getting scarier, bumpier, and oftentimes darker than you thought it should be; but in spite of it all, so long as one more step can be taken, you have something to do. The way will be lighted as you keep taking yet another step of faith into the darkness.

I can hear you through cyberspace saying, "But you don't know what I'm up against!"

That may be true. But what I do know is that there are principles of success that apply to everyone, in whatever situation they find themselves. Somewhere in the world is someone who is worse off than you, and still determined to achieve their dream, and still taking one more step no matter how weary they are, so I want you to hang in there, too.

Dreams worth living for are dreams worth fighting for. In fact, if they weren't worth fighting for, they wouldn't be worthy of you.

I received an email I want to share with you. Here is a man who is determined, against the odds.

I believe this man will ultimately succeed, because of the priority he places on gaining knowledge. While a bankruptcy may permanently kill the dreams of the average person, this man has taken the lessons he's learned, is picking up the pieces, and starting the climb again with a deeper commitment to moving forward with more wisdom, more understanding, more maturity, and probably even more compassion for others who face similar difficulties.

See if you would think like this if you were in his shoes:

Hello Leslie & Trevan,

I bought the FTMF course sometime early last year. I had a little resistance to writing stuff down, but wanted to make this a priority… until I had a major setback.

I took care of my elderly parents for 5 years and my mother lived to be 94. For the last 2 years she was alive, she couldn’t get out of bed without my help, so I became a full-time caregiver with no income, taking care of her 24 hours a day, living only on her social security and barely making the bills. At that time, I defaulted on a few credit cards.

In July of 2008, one of my creditors garnished my wages. They were taking 25% of my $10/hr salary, and I live alone. I didn’t want to declare bankruptcy, and I resisted it for 8 months while I was working as much overtime as possible, often working 12/13 hours a day, and barely able to meet my bills. Of course, I had eliminated as many bills as possible by discontinuing services such as television and long distance phone service, and moving out of a storage space. I had already stopped paying for house insurance.

I went without my car for 6 weeks because I didn’t have $300 for a car repair.

But I kept telling myself, there are a lot of people worse off than I am. I should be thankful for what I have. At least I have a job, even though I wasn’t able to take home my full salary.

In March, I was unable to pay my rent at the beginning of the month, in spite of all the overtime I was working. I pawned my mother’s diamond ring and paid a bankruptcy lawyer to put a stop to the garnishment. So by April 15th, I started getting my full salary again. On May 15th, I went to court for the meeting with the Trustee. All my papers were in order. It will be another few months before the bankruptcy is dismissed, but I have done my part.

Now, it’s time to get back to my FTMF course. I did manage to send you the money for the FTMF CD’s in December. There was no way I was going to miss out on that.

I have really been enjoying them, but I have to go back and start from the beginning and write down the things I did not do the first time.

I want to concentrate on this, as I feel it is the key to my future. I still look at all of the opportunities out there, but I am aware that if I try to start or join some business with my previous mindset, I can expect the same results as I was getting before.

There is no need to jump into anything at this point. Except my FTMF manual!

I’m really excited about the School of Life Mastery. This is a way for you to open the FTMF program up to a lot of people who don’t think they can come up with the money for the regular manual (although I’m very glad I did.) There are so many people who need this!

C. J.

Now, did you notice how this reader, in spite of his difficulties, found something to be grateful for? We all have something for which we can be grateful, no matter how bad things may seem to be.

Finding gratitude shifts something in your mind and heart, and opens doors that help you see what your best next step should be.

That's what I call initiating the Jackrabbit Factor in your life: setting a goal properly with the right mindset, and as a result, instinctively knowing what you should do next to achieve it.

Today's economic conditions are causing a real "shake-up". Some people will rise to the top, and some will stay buried. If you work on your mental buoyancy, you'll rise to the top like a ping pong ball in a tumbler of sand. If you let yourself stay discouraged, you'll sink to the bottom like a rock.

What happens to you in this economic shake-up will depend on how you choose to demonstrate your determination today. Keep learning, so that you'll have the mental buoyancy to rise to the top.

Celebrating Agency and Diversity

2009-04-20T18:21:00.002-07:00

If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you’re probably someone who tries to live by faith - believing in something good that you can’t see. To prosper using the law of attraction and six other primary laws of success depends on it.

No matter what your background or religious tradition may be, I celebrate the diversity of all of our readers, and am grateful for the blessing that we all have free agency to believe how we choose.

Thank you - to all who have sent emails that express gratitude for our work, even when our religious beliefs differ. I LOVE that! I love surrounding myself with people who build friendships based on the many things we all have in common.

In celebration of diversity, I want to share a wonderful collection of short videos - from an event at Harvard University. It’s titled: Day of Faith - Personal Quests for a Purpose. It’s a panel of Harvard students representing different backgrounds including Buddhism, Judaism, Mormonism, Christianity, and Islam. The obvious respect that they each have for each other is exemplary. The common pursuit they share for personal, internal spirituality is inspiring.

Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/user481977/videos/

What it means to be “Past Feeling”

2009-04-20T17:54:00.002-07:00

This question just came in from a Jackrabbit Factor Ecourse participant who was having a hard time answering one of the questions about the Law of Rhythm. It’s a great question, so let’s take a look.

What does it mean to be past feeling, and how does it relate to the Law of Rhythm?

To be “past feeling” means to be spiritually numb, and perhaps not even realize it.

To be past feeling means to lose the ability to feel connected to God, sometimes because it has been replaced with louder, more exciting (but temporary) feelings.

In short, to be past feeling means to lose connection with the divine influence that keeps you moving in the right direction.

Okay, so how do you know if you’re already past feeling, or at risk of becoming that way?

If you do not feel inner peace while actively pursuing a worthy goal, you may be at risk of becoming “past feeling”. To keep that hardly noticeable guidance engaged in your life, you must be at least trying to live in harmony with God’s universal law, and have a goal worth actively shooting for.

Joy and progress comes through making positive changes. After shooting for a goal, take notice if you stop feeling the joy that came from the climb. If it’s gone, it’s time to reach a little higher. Stagnation is miserable because of the absence of progression.

We’re all seeking to feel more alive, to feel more peace, and to feel more happiness.

Sometimes people turn to enticing but destructive influences because they cause strong, but deceptive feelings. To surrender to these distractions can generate a powerful, but temporary imitation of true happiness.

Such feelings are counterfeit and can leave a person craving more of the same until they become completely enslaved by the addiction, and completely unable to ‘hear’ or feel the quiet (but perfectly peaceful) influence authored by God.

To experiment with seemingly harmless distractions can be enough to keep a person from having enough patience, diligence, and discipline to ever discover the simple, unglamorous, slow growing processes that lead to true and lasting success.

It’s an act of faith to live by law when the reward isn’t immediate or obvious. The more past feeling we get, the harder it can be to be restored to the dependable influence that quietly shows us the way. Such natural consequences for our departure from the right path can be evidence alone that the thrill that caught our attention at one time was counterfeit to the more satisfying, longer lasting and genuine version God provides for those who pay the price to patiently and faithfully live by law.

Through trial and error, paying close attention to the nature of your feelings along the way (and making course corrections as needed), you’ll find your way. Welcome all the feelings that come... even the sad, angry, and disappointed ones. Know that they’re temporary; the Law of Rhythm guarantees it. Feel them completely, and let the pain they inflict help you make a course correction or change of velocity, so that you can once again feel the joyful, victorious feelings we’d all rather have.

For more on the Universal Laws of success, and for help "waking up" to a more fulfilling life, begin today with the complete 8 week Jackrabbit Factor Ecourse.

It’s not just springtime, it’s SPRING time!

2009-04-20T17:18:00.004-07:00

At least in my corner of the world, we’re experiencing springtime. It’s a season for new beginnings, new growth, and for witnessing the miracle in nature that what once looked dead, is finally reviving again. Sometimes finances, relationships, etc. to go through similar seasons.

For now, let’s talk about finances. Has your money tree seemed kind of dead?

As leafless and as dead as it may seem, it does still has living sap inside, ready to deliver nourishment to the tree limbs so that it will eventually bear fruit.

It’s just been waiting for things to warm up a bit, that’s all.

Well, things ARE warming up all around you, even financially. You can warm up too, bringing your own energized climate to your money tree.

How do you warm your climate? Begin a deeper study of the principles of success, and you’ll have renewed energy. That equals warmth. YOU are the lifeblood inside your money tree. So long as YOU are still alive, there’s still hope for the tree.

(I guess you could say you’re the SAP. Leslie is smiling, amused at the play on words. Tee hee...)

So, not only is it springtime, it’s time to SPRING.

Bounce back; wake up, so that you don’t miss the growing season! Plant the dream seed NOW, so that the harvest season will be abundant for YOU. Wait too long, and the ground may be frozen again. Take action today... do SOMEthing! Don’t wait through another four season cycle; it’s time to plant right now.

Join the conversation, lend and receive encouragement, meet like minded people, get ideas for your next step... at the Prosperity Forums!

Prosperity Tip: Steer into the Swerve

2009-01-27T13:17:00.004-07:00

If you've ever driven in snowy weather, you know that sometimes the car does not respond to the directions you give it through the steering wheel. Achieving a goal can give you a similar experience.

If you've set a goal, and you're doing all you know to steer yourself toward it, then it can be unnerving to find yourself heading instead towards something else. It can be as frightening as driving on the freeway in winter weather at high speeds, and hitting a patch of black ice.

When we lived in Utah, I had that experience more than once. Gratefully, I had been taught that if your car begins to spin out of control, you're supposed to momentarily turn the steering wheel into the direction of the swerve.

In other words, if I want to drive straight, but the back of my car is skidding to the left (causing me to be pointed to the right), that I should turn my steering wheel to the left, just long enough to regain traction with the road, and then I'll be in control again to straighten out. It's not an intuitive thing to do, when you've lost control of your car. The instinctive thing to do is to freeze and slam on your brakes. But doing that actually exacerbates the problem, and can accelerate the spin. Even putting on the gas can accelerate the out-of-control-ness.

You might be feeling like your financial life is spinning out of control, and instinct might tell you to just STOP everything (slam on the brakes). But giving up on your goals and ceasing to do the things that kept you going before will only compound the problem, causing your financial life to spin out of control even faster.

Likewise, you shouldn't just put on the gas, barreling forward, without paying attention to the indicators around you that say "something isn't quite right". A person who is spinning out of control financially has to notice, so that the right response can be taken.

Steer into the swerve.

When your financial vehicle isn't going in the direction you expect it to be going, don't ignore it. Face it. To face it is to steer into it for a period of time, just long enough to regain traction and then you can take it where you want it to go. In real terms, to steer into the swerve means to regroup. Look at your inflows and outflows, and rein it in. Come to terms with your situation, but before you can do that, you have to get perfectly clear on what your situation is.

If things are tough, and your financial picture isn't what you want it to be, you're not alone. Here is an opportunity. Find out where you're at, face it, let yourself feel disappointment, and always have an expectation that you'll find a way to come out on top in the long run. Coming to terms with what is, and then allowing yourself to find gratitude in simple things, is what it means to steer into the swerve, just long enough to regain traction.

Once you have stopped your vehicle from spinning out of control, you can once again point it in the right direction, and press on. Re-establish those goals of yours. Maybe they have evolved over the years a bit. Maybe you've discovered that certain goals don't have the same luster they once had. This is the perfect time to look deeply at the things that bring you the greatest joy and happiness, and set some goals to achieve greater success in those areas.

A patch of black ice can be one of the greatest things that has ever happened to you on your journey IF it helps you get more clear on what you intend to accomplish while you're a resident here on planet Earth.

Why the Law of Attraction "stops working"

2009-01-22T23:00:00.001-07:00

Did you have a breakthrough after applying a new understanding of the law of attraction, only to find out that as time went on, it became more and more difficult to duplicate your amazing results?

Believe me, we experienced the same thing and wondered why things stopped working that had worked before. Eventually it became clear to me... or more accurately, God placed in my path a person who had been there, and who had discovered the answer and could share it with me. Here's what I learned, and I think (with the financial turmoil in the world today) now is a good time to share it with you:

We're here to discover the path to true, lasting, and complete joy. It's the path to God; to a personal, two-way, living relationship with our creator. We find it by discovering and abiding by His laws... the more precepts we learn to live by, the closer we approach that fulness of joy.

It's like the children's game of "hot and cold". One child hides an object and the other goes to find it. When the second child is headed in the right direction, the first child says, "warmer...", but when s/he starts heading in the wrong direction, the first child says, "colder..." until by constant course-correction, the object is found.

In life, when we are headed in the right direction, we feel warmth and enlightenment from God in our spirits. When we are headed in the wrong direction, the enlightenment is replaced with darkness and confusion. It says, "Colder..."

Proximity does not have the same effect on our joy as much as does our direction. Meaning, a person who is nearly right on top of the object might feel "colder" for being faced in the wrong direction, while someone clear across the room from it might feel "warmer" for being faced in the right direction, even though there is a much greater distance involved. That's the paradox.

So here's why our law of attraction experiences can become frustrating:

The law of attraction is a true principle, so the first time we learn about it, it fills our souls with light and understanding, and as we apply it, we're often blessed to see amazing results. Then, after a degree of success, God wants us to know that there is something even better to learn, something even more powerful and wonderful to discover. When our results are not what we think they should be, or when doing the same things do not yield the same results, He is allowing us to grope around a little bit until we face an even better direction toward even greater joy and success than we have perhaps even conceived thus far.

Sometimes we grope until we feel that "warmer" indication that lets us identify a goal that is perhaps more worthy of our energy and commitment. Sometimes we grope until we recognize that something is amiss in our life and needs to be corrected. Sometimes we grope until we discover the blessing in our hardship, and come to peace with it, will a heart full of gratitude.

If we have not accomplished the ultimate goal of perfect oneness with God, then the game isn't over, and we need to pay attention to those "warmer" and "colder" spiritual nudgings. There's something new we're supposed to find... a deeper understanding... a more perfect process of partnering with unseen help to accomplish even greater purposes than we can even comprehend.

It's easy to get off course and not even realize it. When the drive for success begins to eat away at family relationships, for example, it's time to get back to the basics and re-establish one's footing on solid ground. When spending has become a little careless, it's time to demonstrate greater respect for money and show gratitude for simpler things. When we've developed a habit of achieving goals that add to our personal comfort, it may be time to set goals for improving the condition of mankind at large.

Where ever we are, if we don't fine-tune and continually improve our intentions along the way, what once felt warm will ultimately turn cold.

We are meant to learn principle upon principle, so holding tight to just one and never learning any more, will ultimately lead to some serious "coldness".

Consider the following image. I'm grateful to Garrett White for pointing this out:

This illustration shows the path to a perfect fulness of joy, or what you might call a path back to your creator. When you do things that are within the influence of His power, you enjoy the warmth of his Spirit, enlightenment, and true success.

To begin with, at the left, our behaviors can be in the red zone, and as long as we're within the range, we will experience these spiritual benefits. As time proceeds, and we move toward the right, our underdeveloped red-zone behaviors will not yield the same results. We must fine-tune our understanding and behave accordingly in order to remain within the influence of His power. We must eventually learn to live within the yellow zone to find our way to perfect happiness.

Outside of the dotted lines we feel "colder," while inside the dotted lines we feel "warmer." This is how we are led to all truth.

So don't be discouraged if you have fallen out of the joy you once felt. It's still there for you, and as you search for it by getting back to the basics, you will find it. It only takes a step in the right direction for you to finally feel that assurance that you're getting "warmer".

Even when we feel very far away, the assurance, joy, and newfound hope is ours the moment we discover the right direction. Need some financial peace of mind? Seek first to find joy in simply being headed in the right direction. With a resolved intention to find the right direction, you will be led to it. From there, the joy and peace of mind you seek will certainly follow.

Householder Family Christmas Update 2008

2009-01-21T22:37:00.007-07:00

Lest you think I'm always so on top of things... here is our annual family Christmas update - a month late. I finally got a "round tuit." Ever feel like you just can't manage to do all that is expected of you? Yeah, me too. It's called being a part of the "I'm doing the best I can" club. Welcome!

Jacob, age 16 - completed his Eagle Project at Camp Hinckley in Southern California, blazing trails after the devastating forest fires. He made 1st chair trumpet in band at his high school and enjoyed a week with the marching band in Florida, including a performance at the Gator Bowl halftime show. While in Florida, he asked one of the girls at the New Year's Eve band festivities to dance, and was then interrupted by a man who announced that he was her husband. Oops! He didn't realize she was one of the leaders. He discovered that she was a 28 year old instructor from Salt Lake City, helping with the Gator Bowl performances. This probably qualifies as one of his most embarrassing moments so far. Jacob also taught himself to play piano in 2008 thanks in part to a few instructional videos on YouTube. Some of the favorites include: "Take a Bow", "Apologize", and "Armies of Helaman Medley". He started dating this last year, too: a few of his first group dating activities included watching "What about Bob" at the park - taking a generator and projecting the movie onto the side of a facilities shed, while roasting marshmallows from camp chairs perched around a Coleman's Lantern. Making castles out of ice cream blocks. Attending a Jon Schmidt piano concert. In short, loving life!

Nathan, age 13 - has taken a new interest in amateur video editing and production, after being required to create one for science on the laws of Newton (see sample above). He made 1st chair clarinet in band at junior high, still loves tennis and doesn't get to play it as often as he'd like. Loves social studies and is brilliant at understanding and remembering what he learns on the topic. He has also taken an interest in the piano and keeps the home full of music when Jacob isn't already on it. Favorite songs to play: "Bad Day", and "Everything". Also completed his Eagle Project at Camp Hinckley at the same time. (He and Jacob took different ends of the trail and met in the middle.) It was a dream for me to knock both Eagle projects out at the same time!! (Aside from having to return to the site a second time - 6 hours away - to go measure and map the new trail a few weeks later.)

Kayli, age 10 - still loves horses and spends time with them whenever she can. This is Kayli visiting "Jack" - our friend's neighbor's horse. She started a family trend among the kids blogging. She loves to cook and can follow any recipe... goodies are her favorite thing to make. She still plays the violin even though we missed an entire semester. Learned to play most of "Maple Leaf Rag" and "Bad Day" on the Piano. Learned how to curl her own hair. Discovered a few new movie favorites: "Singing in the Rain" and "Anne of Green Gables".

Jared, age 9 - loves to play on the computer creating pixel art. He took first place in water color for 3rd grade at the Arizona State Fair. Has taken a real interest and demonstrates quite a talent in all sorts of art. He creates shadows and dimensions even when using nothing but Microsoft Paint. He loves the scouting program and loves to go to the science center as a family. Doesn't like to go for long drives, though. Doesn't like jumping cactus, nor slippery rocks next to ponds. His blue scripture case with "CTR" (for "choose the right") embroidered on the front (with scriptures inside) vanished over our July trip to Utah and Idaho and still hasn't turned up. Anyone seen it? The scriptures have his name engraved on the outer cover...

Nicholas, age 7 - matching socks, which can be quite a chore in our family. He set a goal to learn how to read by Christmas, so that he could finally "read Jackrabbit Factor". Still waiting to lose a few teeth that look like they'd like to drop out soon. High energy, high volume individual. Packs a powerful punch. He has taken a liking to the piles of Legos Jacob "manifested" eight years ago (as described in Hidden Treasures). Maybe because they are just so much more fun than trying to match piles of socks. Also, Nicholas was excited to get his very own baseball bat at Christmas... still has yet to go use it...

BETHANY'S VIDEO COMING SOON - file conversion issue is taking more time than expected. Check back soon!

Bethany, age 5 - sings original songs, complete with vibrato - melodramatic vibrato, at times. Can get me giggling by merely asking for something and then striking a pose that communicates absolute beggary, with puppy-dog eyes batting and lips pursed sweetly together. I try not to laugh but I can't help it. And for the record: no, it doesn't work. Loves to be rewarded with Trident gum when she goes for extended periods of time with a dry thumb. (Yes, it was given up more than 6 months ago, but there have been occasional setbacks.)

Sarah, age 2 - has everyone wrapped around her finger. Loves to spin in her "princess dress" (see sample above). Is talking in full sentences now (when she's not on camera, at least), and loves her siblings (and all the attention they give her). Rides a little bike with training wheels. Loves Caillou, Baby Songs, and Elmo's Grouchland Adventure. Has learned to reprimand Charlie the basset hound, but unfortunately Charlie pays no attention to her squeaky, non-authoritative voice. ("Charlie, GO!" "No, Charlie!" ...and when he doesn't obey, she just screams.)

That's the rundown. Besides all of that, we spent July on the road for a speaking tour, enjoyed Yellowstone, hiking the "Y" in Provo for July 4th fireworks, visiting friends and family, and Zion's National Park (almost, that is... the trailer was too long for the mountain switchback roads so we had to turn around.) In December, I spent a week at my parents' house in an effort to make significant headway on creating the Jackrabbit Factor sequel. (Kids voted to knock it out in a short period of time rather than to drag it out over two years like the last time.)

The best part of the year was just being together. Nothing brings us greater joy than our family, and we wish you and yours a bright and fulfilling 2009. May God bless your family with the Spirit of Christmas Love throughout the year!

Handling Economic Challenges Gracefully

2009-01-21T12:05:00.005-07:00

Are you facing some tough economic challenges right now? Is there part of you that keeps wondering what people might think if you have to make some drastic changes? It's the classic "fear of failure", and it's time we address it in a new way.

If you are hot on the trail of a rabbit (otherwise known as a "goal"), and feeling full of expectation and excitement about achieving it, and you know it's just a matter of time, this post is NOT for you. Hang up now.

However, if you want to feel that exhilaration of pursuing a worthy ideal, and knowing that you're on the right track, and are having some trouble getting to that point, and are perhaps facing some of the toughest setbacks you've ever faced, then keep reading. I think you'll find some valuable insight...

It's common to be driven by a dream, and then when things get tough, the shift of focus from chasing a dream to just trying to hang on to what you have can be a challenge. It's important to check in on your primary motivator in a situation like that. I want to address a common, but dangerous trap.

The desire to maintain a particular image with your peers is a dangerous motivator. It's a trap that leads people in prosperous times to overextend themselves, and it's a trap that leads people in tough times to take too long to cut their losses and adjust their plan.

"Adjust my plan?? But how is that demonstrating tenacity??" you might wonder.

Note: The goal is in stone, but the plan is in sand, as it should be. When you face challenges, you must be willing to alter the plan.

If times are good for you right now, then avoid the trap by being absolutely clear on your values and simply practice delayed gratification. Make sure you are improving the lifestyle to help you and your family accomplish greater things, and not for the purpose of impressing anyone.

If times are tough for you right now, reject all concern for what your neighbors will think if they see you cutting back in your lifestyle. There is a force of opposition that would fill your mind with fears of what people would think, to keep you from doing the right thing for your family.

Think about it... someone needs to take a stand for what's right, even when it isn't popular, and if you do the right thing, you'll give others around you the courage to do the right thing as well. You may be the only person on your block to cut back on luxuries temporarily, but if it will help you be more free to obtain true necessities for your family, then just do it.

"Cut back?? Isn't that operating on a 'lack mentality'?" you might wonder...

Let me explain. It is critical that you understand this:

The most important factor in your ultimate success is how you FEEL.

So, if you are feeling fearful of the future, and having a hard time thinking "abundance" in spite of the circumstances, then one of the quickest ways to feel abundant is to TAKE CONTROL of the visible resources you already have at your disposal.

Be the master of your money. Show yourself that you are still in charge, and that the money is not the master over you. If you cut back on expenses voluntarily before you have no other choice but to do so, then you are demonstrating mastery.

There is a great feeling of abundance that comes when you choose liberty by pro-actively cutting expenses temporarily.

Before our monthly income tripled in 2000, we had prepared the soil by first coming to terms with the painful financial picture we were in, and created a long-term plan for climbing out. We cut back on our spending, and watched every penny very carefully, operating on a focused plan to roll our debt load down.

Although the picture was bleak, we felt rich, because we were doing something smart with our current resources. That feeling of taking control changed our vibration and led us to the opportunity that accelerated our income faster than we had even anticipated. Within a few months, we paid off all of our debt except our home, something we thought would have taken us 5 years or so on our original plan.

Did you catch that?

Until now, you may have only heard the part of our story that "our income tripled in about three months." But it was a number of months prior to that, that we sat down and got serious about doing what we could to reduce our debts with the little resources we had. We got serious about improving our credit. We mapped out a month-to-month plan on how we would roll our debts, and not buy anything unnecessary until our financial picture was well under control.

We felt rich, because we were taking control of a situation that had previously felt "out of control". With that new feeling, we attracted the means to accomplish the goal very rapidly.

The means that showed up required that we go through a barrier of fear. But with our new understanding of the Terror Barrier, and how to get through it, we took the leap, and tripled our income. The Family Time and Money Freedom home study course (FTMF) will take you through that process, step by step. If something is telling you to take that leap of faith, have some courage and find out what our graduates have learned. You're worth investing in. (More info on FTMF here.)

Additional Tips to feel Abundant Now:

De-clutter your home. Unload things that you are not using, things that could be enjoyed and used by someone else right away. Let them go, cheerfully, and you'll feel abundant again. Give them to charitable organizations who will recycle them.

Cut your losses. We've made our fair share of poor investments, and the first time we faced losing a lot of money, we used all of our mental toughness, all of the visualization, all of the prayer, hope and persistence we could muster to change the nature of the bad investment. We thought that when nothing changed, we were just not being faithful enough, and that God could certainly cause a miracle in our behalf to turn the bad investment into a good one if he wanted to.

But the heaven's remained silent until we became really humble and began listening for, and looking for, other benefits from the experience. The investments actually ended up paying really well, once we decided to stop trying to force them to be a certain way, and rather glean the benefit from the lesson itself.

If you work to learn rather than work you earn, you will always be well compensated.

So, ultimately, we found the courage to stop the financial bleeding where it was, and through the experience we learned (for the first time) to remove all emotional attachment from financial investments. We determined to be grateful that we only lost about $150,000 in that experience, and discover that we could bounce back after a setback. We found out that setbacks didn't have to be fatal.

We decided to be grateful that we didn't learn the lesson on millions instead of the thousands that we lost.

Remember: The tools of visualization are not to manipulate circumstances, but to plant seeds, and to allow the natural processes do what they need to do, to ultimately bring the vision about in the right time and place. Visualization changes YOU, not the circumstances. When YOU are changed, your circumstances will reflect it.

So, if circumstances seem bleak, use visualization to create the life you expect to live on the other side of the hardship. Most people who are gripped with fear in this economy have no visual image of what their life will be like in 10 years. Most are so consumed with visions of a financial train wreck in a few months, that they have not stopped to consider how they might put things back together afterwards, and build an abundant life in the longer run.

Zoom out. If you are gripped with fear, zoom out. The law of rhythm states that all of life's conditions are cyclical. If you're having a bad day, you can expect to have a good day soon. If you're having a bad year, you can expect to have a good year soon. If it's been a tough decade, then start creating the vision of what a decade of prosperity would feel like. The opportunity for the upturn is there for you, but it requires your hope and optimism to bring it about as soon as possible.

Don't avoid thinking about the worst-case scenario.

WHAT DID LESLIE JUST SAY???

You heard me right: Don't avoid thinking about the worst-case scenario. But before you pass judgement that I've totally flown off the deep end, consider it this way:

If pushing the fearful thoughts away has not been working for you, go ahead and go there. Let me explain. If I told you, "do NOT think about an elephant," then you could spend all day long pushing elephant images away. What you're essentially doing is thinking about elephants non-stop.

So maybe you're facing the loss of your home. Maybe you'll lose everything. Maybe you'll have to go bankrupt. Go ahead and create a contingency plan... what would you do to start over? What is your ultimate goal? What is the life you're trying to build? Stop avoiding the images of hitting the bottom, because by pushing them away all day, you're essentially giving them a whole lot of attention. Get it over with. Think them through and finish the exercise with the vision of bouncing back afterward. See yourself successful on the other side.

Did you know that most highly successful people have lost, or nearly lost, everything, at least once? Bob Proctor says he has nearly lost everything twice. The law of polarity states that as bad as things are, is how good things are (or can be - if you'll allow it) on the other side. The harder the fall, the higher the potential bounce. There are so many people facing the loss of everything right now, that we will be able to find out soon enough what a person is made of by how quickly they bounce back.

How quickly a person bounces back depends on how quickly he/she comes to peace with what is.

So go ahead and think through the worst-case scenario, and come to peace with it as soon as possible. Think about it unemotionally - with a mindset of fixing it, in case that's where you go.

Then create a plan for avoiding the worst-case scenario, and let yourself get really excited about the success!

Summary: Address both the bad and the good possibilities, but address the bad with composure, and address the good with excitement.

The conditions connected to the dominant emotion will have the greatest affect the final outcome. So go ahead and think it through, experience the fear if you must, create a contingency plan for recovery, and then pull yourself together. Then spend the rest of your time and energy going forward on the plan for only prosperity and success. End your exploratory session on an optimistic note, and feel good knowing that you're going to be okay no matter what. This exercise helps you get back to being in the right vibration for success, which is a much better place to be than in constant conflict of trying to think prosperity when you're feeling so much anxiety.

Get back to the basics. Focus on your family. Your family is yours in good times and in bad times. So focus on building and strengthening those relationships. If you've already come to peace with the worst-case scenario, then you'll find it easier to let go of your stresses to enjoy the kids, and your spouse. Really, what do you have to lose? (You might say, "everything!" but whether you do or you don't, you can grow stronger as a family through it, and not let it fracture the most important thing to you: your relationships.)

Taking time to put family first will increase your emotional and spiritual vibration and prepare you to make better decisions when you return to the grind.

Prepare for emergencies. Historically, when the economy has suffered, other calamities have piled on top of it to add stress to an already weakened people, such as war, or widespread illnesses. This is a time of testing. Keep your head on and follow your intuition. Have some extra food on hand, in case you have to stay in your home for extended periods of time. If you are prepared, you will more easily avoid falling into fear. Remember, a mind full of fear cannot simultaneously be full of faith. A mind and heart full of faith will be in tune to receive inspiration that can help avoid or overcome hardships.

Take inventory of lessons learned. If you've made some mistakes with your money, learn the lesson and move on. Yes, we are to think abundantly, but we are also to be wise stewards of the resources we've already been given. It is important to know that God can and will provide abundantly all that we need to accomplish all He wants us to do, but if we slip into an entitlement attitude, that we should always have all we want right now, and that it will never run out, no matter how careless we are with it, we have swung too far into an irresponsible, immature mindset that is no better than a teenager's who lives with a rich and indulgent parent. God will not spoil us... so if we think abundantly without regard to the rest of his universal laws, we are setting ourselves up to be humbled.

Practice gratitude. You have all you need in this moment, so recognize it, acknowledge it, and express your gratitude for it. Even selfish teenagers get more favors from responsible parents when they show genuine gratitude.

"So is there, or is there not, abundance??"

There is abundance. There is only abundance. We can have all that we need to enjoy freedom, and reach our highest potential.

In fact, we already do. We have all we need right now to learn today's lesson. We will have all we need tomorrow to learn tomorrow's lesson. Remember to always work to learn, and you'll live an abundant, fulfilling life.

The journey will have some bumps in the road, and for good reason. Stay faithful, trusting that there is good in all of it, and you'll come out on top. It is only by faith that miracles are wrought, and yet sometimes we have to take a step back and get our feet solidly back on the ground before we're ready to climb that next mountain. When you start approaching your challenges in the right way, you'll feel the joy, and the soul-expansion, of choosing the right.

If you haven't been feeling that for a while, take a deep breath and assess your situation, right where it is. Face the facts - know where you are. The GPS (global positioning system) will only accurately take you to where you want to go if you accurately identify your starting point. If you haven't done that for a while, (i.e. pulling your bills together and identifying your income/expenses), then doing it now can actually feel GOOD, because it's RIGHT. Doing the right thing will bring you peace of mind, which is the first step to being open for further instructions.

It's not over... it's a wonderful new beginning!

Prosperity Tip: Friction or Traction?

2008-11-24T19:50:00.007-07:00

Imagine life like a network of cogs and gears, like the inner workings of an old fashioned clock. Each person, each situation, is passing into and out of our lives as though they were fixed onto one of the gears rotating and making contact with our own.

The mechanism is so complex that we cannot diagram it, nor predict with certainty which gears and cogs are at play to effect the interactions we experience.

One thing I know is that each time we set an intention to accomplish something, the governing forces alter the timing and pathways of each of the gears in motion. Each gear is on a track that can be moved in and out of the pathways of other gears in motion.

At the center of your gear is the axis, upon which you rotate... sometimes smoothly, sometimes not. Things run well in the whole scheme of it all when you rotate freely with every engagement of oncoming, spinning gears.

Sometimes, however, after you set a goal, what shows up is a gear disguised as a challenge that appears to want to engage and then send you into a realm where you'd rather not go. So you tighten up your axis and refuse to spin with the oncoming gear.

This causes tremendous friction, and in reality can be much more painful in the long run than loosening the tension at your axis point, allowing the oncoming "challenge" gear to engage with your own, and see where it takes you. You'll often find that after it spins you in the opposite direction of your goal, it eventually helps you come around to exactly where you need to be in order to receive the goal gear that was set in motion toward you when you set the goal in the first place.

The destination resulting from engagement with the unexpected "challenge" or "adversity" gear is rarely apparent when you consent to engage with it. But you can trust that it will move you into position to receive the "goal" gear as it spins its way toward you.

Those who refuse to engage won't be where they need to be, when they need to be there. And then they wonder why their goals never come true.

If you refuse to relax in the face of adversity, not only will you feel the full force and heat of the friction, you'll eventually lose your ability to engage at all with any gear that comes along to take you there... because refusing to "go with it" strips your gear of the very teeth that allow you to engage even in the gears that appear desirable.

Every gear, apparently good or bad, has the potential to move you along to wherever you decide you want to be. Get a visual image of where you want to end up, and the right gears will come along to get you there. Keep your axis well-oiled, and you'll find the journey to be a joyful evolving.

It's only "hard" when you refuse to spin.

Let me help you stay well-oiled for 12 weeks straight, and just see where it takes you. It's an amazing experience, well worth whatever sacrifice it takes for you to engage. The FTMF course is the most powerful gear I can offer you... and you can view it as a good gear because of the knowledge you'll gain, or as a bad gear because it costs some money. Either way, it is specifically designed to take you where you want to be.

Engage with it, and let it take you to greater success and peace of mind than perhaps you've ever felt, even in a bad economy. Not everyone will participate in the recession... join those who have determined to rise above it.

Even this economy is a gear in the machine of life, which will either cause you friction, or, if you choose, it can provide TRACTION to bring you to the success you seek.

Your choice. Get started now and be one step ahead for some powerful New Year's resolutions. Let 2009 be your best year ever! Click here for more information about the FTMF: Family Time & Money Freedom Home Study Course.

Prosperity Tip: Yeah-Buts or Rabbits?

2008-11-24T19:32:00.004-07:00

Read The Jackrabbit Factor. It's fun, it's free, and it's been responsible for helping thousands of people achieve their goals.

If you've already read it, I suggest that you read it again. You're a different person today than you were the first time you read it. You'll notice new things you didn't notice before, and you'll pick up on concepts that escaped you the first time. It will help you get the next level.

Beyond that, pay attention to your thoughts as you consider setting your next goal. As you consider it, are you seeing the rabbit (as described in The Jackrabbit Factor)? Or, are you only seeing the obstacles, and listing all the reasons it won't work for you? Do you see beyond the wall, knowing there's a way to the other side, or do you only see the wall?

Are you focused on the "rabbit", or do you find yourself saying, "yeah-but..."?

Share this concept of "yeah-buts vs. rabbits" with your friends, and invite them to call it to your attention when you're focused more on the "yeah-but" than the "rabbit"... and I hope you'll do the same for them.

Together, we can conquer the constant pull of mediocrity, overcome our challenges, find the benefit contained in every adversity, and ultimately reach our highest potential. We all need friends who will hold us to our highest good.

Hunting season is open: it's time to gather the rabbits and leave the "yeah-buts" alone.

They're much too gamey, anyway.

Get community support on YOUR goals in our highly active forums, from like-minded people on the rabbit hunt as well. Meet and get to know our mentors there! You're never alone on this journey if you'll just reach out and get to know people in our community who also want to become the best person they can be... just like you.

A Dose of Prosperity: Those Meaningful Moments

2008-11-19T21:48:00.004-07:00

Last weekend we conducted a Principles of Prosperity Workshop, and during one of the exercises, two of the participants had the unique privilege of witnessing a rare and meaningful moment in the life of a stranger on the street.

They were on assignment to spend some time in the community with one particular purpose in mind (which I will not disclose here), and as a result, they found themselves at a bus stop with a woman in her 50s or 60s who had a bag protectively at her side.

In visiting with her, she eventually explained with embarrassment that there was a teddy bear in her shopping bag. Then, she eventually felt safe enough to share the fact that the teddy bear was a brand new purchase, to replace her childhood bear which had been torn in two many decades ago. Not only that, but she had just spent more than $200 for its long-overdue replacement.

How many emotions had stirred over the years to bring her to this point, so that she could finally find closure to something that had been so evidently painful from her childhood?

Here was a woman creating the change she needed, to overcome the pain of a memory that had been with her for so many years.

In that moment of self-designed healing, this woman chose prosperity. She was ready to move forward, and overcome the hindrances that had weighed her down all those years. Why, I wonder, did she wait so long? What joy she must feel, and what wonderful experiences await her now that she can look forward instead of being stuck in the past!

It was a beautiful thing, that the participants could witness such a pivotal moment in this stranger's life. They may be the only people in the world with whom she felt safe enough to tell.

Now, there are two lessons to be learned from this story.

Lesson Number 1:

Every person you meet has a story. Everyone has heartaches, and burdens that they have carried, sometimes for a very long time. See people as people - not objects. Listen. Find out where they're coming from before imposing your agenda. Through listening first, see whether or not your offering even fits with their life concerns, dreams, and dilemmas. If you put people first, you'll prosper with an abundance of rich relationships... whether or not you end up doing business together. That's prosperity.

Lesson Number 2:

What pivotal life-moment can YOU create for yourself right now? Transformations come from decisions. Action on those decisions create change. Do something different this week to heal an old hurt, or to allow yourself to move forward boldly, and courageously.

...And furthermore, have an added measure of respect for the favorite teddy bear in the life of a child. :)

Counter-intuitiveness for Prosperity

2008-10-17T22:34:00.004-07:00

When times are tough, you have to think outside the box if you want to come out on top. Here's an example of one man who did just that, during the Great Depression:

My friend Glen Messman was visiting with us this evening, and shared a story about his grandfather that is worth repeating. His grandfather was a banker in 1933, and in order to keep depositors from bankrupting the system by withdrawing all their money, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a United States Bank Holiday from March 6 to March 10.

Banks were allowed to reopen when they could prove that the money in their reserves was greater than or equal to the money that had been deposited in. If the banks were unsound they would stay closed or could apply for a government loan in order to keep from declaring bankruptcy. (Wikipedia)

Glen told me, according to his grandfather, that one out of three banks never re-opened.

Upon hearing the announcement that he was required to close his bank, and knowing the fallout that would probably happen from it, he chose to think outside of the box, and be a resourceful problem-solver, instead of shrinking into fear and victimhood. He knew that the declaration itself would create panic for many of his customers, and that when he reopened, there would likely be a run on the money.

The problem became his opportunity. He recognized a need: the people needed peace of mind, even more than they needed their money. So he contacted the top four leaders of women's church organizations in the community, and asked them to organize a community barbecue to celebrate the holiday.

They were to get everything they needed to put on a feast, and that he would pay for the food if they would prepare and serve it.

It went off without a hitch, and when he opened his doors, nobody asked for their money back, and his bank thrived through the Great Depression.

No matter how bleak things appear to be, you can be resourceful. Look for a need in someone else's life, and see what you can do to fill the need. Leave everyone you meet with an "impression of increase". Leave them better than when you found them.

Fear will cause you to do things to perpetuate the problem. Thinking prosperity in the face of fear will cause you to do things to solve the problem.

Let's be part of the solution.

More on how: event schedule

Prosperity Tip: Momentum in the Darkness

2008-10-17T17:10:00.005-07:00

Have you ever felt like you're at the end of all you have: emotionally, financially, spiritually, physically, intellectually? Ever feel depleted and wonder how you're going to do all that you have to do?

No matter how bad things seem, there is always just ONE more step, at least, that you can take. Eventually, one step at a time, you will be led to see something that gives you hope you seek. (If you're not seeing it yet, it's because you've got at least one more step to take on your own. And then maybe another...)

But this is a promise: eventually, you will see it.

You'll see a glimpse of how life can really be, and you'll have an inkling of how you can accomplish it. You might not feel like you have the resources you need to accomplish it, but that's not necessarily part of the equation. So long as you have these following pieces, you still have all you need right now:

an idea of how you want things to be
desire and commitment
something that you can do today, without additional resources

With these three components, you have something to do. You're not stuck. I have never met anyone who is truly stuck... I don't think such a condition even exists.

As you continue to DO what you CAN, the way appears, and the things you need will fall into place in front of you. Sometimes it feels like stepping into the darkness, but with each step you discover that you still have everything you need from the list above to keep going.

Warning:

If you proceed cautiously, one timid step at a time, you might find that you do not have the momentum to leap the final chasm that may appear out of the darkness at the last step before your dream is obtained.

Move forward confidently and quickly - no need to be frantic, but there's also no time to procrastinate either. Get momentum in your pursuit, so that if a chasm appears, you can leap it safely. Be anxiously engaged, always, in a good cause, and your momentum will take you safely over the obstacles that appear along the way.

Increase your education on how to do this... increased awareness and understanding helps to quell the fear: event schedule

Prosper in spite of a Global Economic Crisis

2008-10-17T16:38:00.004-07:00

Because of today's economy, there are masses of people who are gripped with fear about what is going to happen to them and their families financially. It's important to take a deep breath and think clearly about these two points:

Law of polarity:

Contained within every "bad" situation, there is an equal and opposite benefit. If it's only a little bit bad, then it's really only a little bit good. If it's catastrophic, then contained within the situation there is a seed of equal or greater benefit (as Napoleon Hill stated).

So how bad is the economy? Pretty bad! But that's why we can be really excited. Here's why:

Out of this global hardship will come some serious progress in terms of spiritual awakenings. People will learn to be more resourceful than perhaps they've ever had to be. People will begin to discover they can have gratitude for the simplest of blessings. It will force many people to detach themselves emotionally from the "things" they've relied on for their emotional well being and financial security.

All of these outcomes are tremendously good. Is it fun? No, probably not, for many people. But it will be like the fires of the 1980s in Yellowstone which burned away the dead wood and forced the pine cones to release new seeds.

New life will be born from the financial crisis of today. Be optimistic. It's a great time to be alive and to be raising a family. If your life as you know it is threatening to change dramatically, be at peace knowing that you have all you need to bounce back bigger and better than ever on the other side.

When the tide goes out, nobody despairs that the whole ocean is disappearing forever! This downward part of the economic cycle is just part of the ride.

And, not everyone will suffer through this cycle, which brings me to point #2:

Be a part of the solution:

How many people out there are engaged in conversations about how bad things are? How many people are spending every waking moment trying to brainstorm and deliver solutions to those who just wallow in their problems?

This is a great time to be alive because wealth is created when people find ways to solve problems. Wherever there are problems to solve, there is wealth to be made. Be a problem-solver, and you can prosper abundantly in any economy.

The good news with this economy is that there is an ABUNDANCE of problems to solve!

So take inventory of your unique gifts and abilities. Your personality. Your wealth of knowledge and experience. Your unique collection of challenges you've overcome. Maybe you have solved the problem in your own home on what to do with mismatched lids and plastic containers. Did you know that there are lots of people out there who would like a solution to that problem? I say this so that you will NOT discount ANY of your abilities as being insignificant.

I know of people who have written an essay or report on how to solve a really random problem, and then put the document on ebay for sale, for a dollar or maybe more. While it might not pay the mortgage this month, it is demonstrating resourcefulness, creating money out of thin air, and focusing on solutions instead of problems.

Get in the habit of thinking "solutions" instead of gabbing about "problems", and ultimately you'll find yourself discovering big solutions to even your own biggest problems.

Want help? Check out our event schedule.

Prosperity: How Committed are you, Really?

2008-10-17T08:51:00.002-07:00

In order to prosper, or in order to enjoy the freedom you want, you've got to be totally committed to your goal. Let me illustrate what that means. Once there was a group of farm animals, arguing over who had the most important contribution to the farmer's breakfast meal:

The cow proudly announced how important she was, because without her milk, breakfast just wouldn't be complete.

The chicken proudly pointed out that breakfast couldn't possibly be breakfast without her eggs.

Finally the pig stood forward and said, "Yeah, well, you two are INVOLVED, but me? I'm TOTALLY COMMITTED."

So are you just involved with your goals? Or are you totally committed?

Chase rabbits that are worth giving your life for. Freedom is one rabbit that I believe is worth dedicating your life to ... freedom to become all you can be. Showing that it can be done, so that you can inspire others to do the same. Strong relationships with your loved ones. Physical fitness and emotional wellness.

A goal is a worthy goal if it opens the way for you to accomplish more and make a better contribution to the lives of those with whom you come in contact.

Be totally committed to your goals. Don't waffle (no waffles for breakfast here!) - be more like bacon: totally committed. If you recognize that you are not totally committed, then set a goal to find a goal for which you can have that kind of passion!

Today’s Economic Issues - Prosperity Lost?

2008-09-29T13:44:00.002-07:00

While the masses are watching the news with white knuckles, there are still others who view these historic events with an uncommon peace of mind.

The fact is, that every adversity has the seed of equal or greater benefit. By the law of Polarity, the tougher the challenge, the more incredible the opportunity. Not everyone will suffer the same through these national, or even global, challenges. Even during the depression, not everyone struggled. There are going to be a lot of people who actually thrive during this economy... and they aren't typically the ones who are looking for the right advice by watching the 10:00 news.

How we choose to react to circumstances will always determine how well we fare in the long run. Remember, the very poor think day to day, the poor think week to week, the middle class think month to month, the rich think year to year, and the very rich think decade to decade.

The longer-term vision you have, the easier it is to endure the short-term blips in the road.

So how should you live out your day, today? How do you deal with the concern that the entire economy may be on the verge of disaster? The answer: do your best in the moment at hand to be solution-focused. All you have is now, and if your mind is set on long term results, you’ll be more inclined to come up with the right solutions to the concerns that are on your mind today.

I think of New England’s Dark Day of 1780, when the sun went dark for hours, and many feared that it was the end of the world. With only primitive communication methods, the cause of the darkness was inexplicable, and stirred up fear in the hearts of devoutly religious men who concluded that they were very possibly, about to meet their Maker.

A member of the legislature in Connecticut, Abraham Davenport, addressed his colleagues’ concerns, communicating his position that whether it was the end of the world or not, he could not say. But what he did know was that he had a duty to perform, and rather than coil back in fear, he chose to meet his Lord face to face, confidently carrying out the duty he knew was his responsibility to perform in that moment.

He intended to simply let God perform his work, and he would simply press forward with his own duties. His words to the men were that they must carry on, even in the darkness, and told them to thus “bring in the candles.”

So whether this is the beginning of the end for America or not, I have a duty to perform here and now, and so do you. Though darkness swirls about us, we must bring in the candles and press on, no matter what. Stay focused on your own personal victory, and as you let those images fill your mind (rather than the possible economic train wreck that has not quite fully happened), you’ll be entitled to discover the God-given solutions, custom-designed for you and your family.

The last thing we need is for the collective masses to be picturing disaster and adding emotion to those images. Nevertheless, I cannot control everyone's thoughts, so the best thing you and I can do is to control our own. I believe that is the best way to fare through the challenge. What other apporach could yield anything better?

As I have in the past, I encourage you to learn, and let me help you apply the principles of prosperity which are sometimes counter-intuitive, but oh, so dependable. Get started today with the Jackrabbit Factor 2-month Ecourse or Family Time & Money Freedom 3-month Home Study Course.

One last thought... if you're looking for another source of income, read about the Rabbit at your Door.

There's a Rabbit at Your Door. Right Now.

2008-09-12T11:13:00.027-07:00

If you've been looking for a way to create more time and money for your family, I have an idea.

(I don't want to just talk philosophy all day, I want to help you find real ways to really make it happen, too.)

Just like in "The Jackrabbit Factor", some people will spot this rabbit, others will overlook it completely and then wonder why opportunity never knocks on their door. Well, it's knocking now.

How do you open this door?

By reading this entire message. Some people won't, and that's okay - because they're probably already chasing another rabbit. This certainly isn't for everyone.

But if you're looking for a real solution, then here's the story:

Have you ever seen any of my videos? If so, you probably know we've been more than just a little frustrated with not having the tools to bring you high quality video presentations. For people who can't attend a live event, it isn't quite the same to watch a presentation in a 3 inch box that has to reload every 2-3 minutes with low quality images (and worse quality audios).

Well, there's a new technology that would help us bring you powerful presentations in high-definition, full screen, streaming video, however...

There are only about 5 companies who use it: major television networks, Disney, and Oprah, because it's so cost-prohibitive - to the tune of 3 million dollars to play in the game, and $500,000 each quarter to maintain... plus streaming charges.

Well, the creators of the technology knew some retired millionaires, some of them wearing Super Bowl rings. They said, "If you can find a business model that would take this technology to the internet withOUT being television, you can have it for free (except for streaming charges)."

So they put their heads together, and came up with an idea to create a community around sports videos and teaching kids how to throw a football. They knew Garth Brooks because of their involvement in his charity, and planned to include a concert each quarter.

Their intention was to draw in the YouTube crowd - millions joined YouTube to watch poor quality video in a 3 inch box, why wouldn't they join this new community to watch high definition videos in full screen, with no buffering? The plan was to grow the community, sell it, buy an NBA franchise, retire again, and spend their days yelling at referees (that was literally their plan). :)

Brian Tracy found out these guys had access to the technology. He contacted the CEO and asked, "Is it true you have this technology?"

John McLelland (CEO) said, "Yes, we do."

Brian said, "This is the future of my industry. We've always known that one day we'd be in everyone's home. We just weren't willing to give up our content to a 3-inch, low-quality box."

He continued, "I'm in. I'll give you everything I've ever created. I'll bring you the top speakers in the world, and we'll fill the site with our content."

He turned over his $600,000 worth of content, and became the Chief Learning Officer for the newly evolved company now called iLearningGlobal.tv.

Dan Clark came along and volunteered his material. He went to dinner with Brian, Kevin Allen (Global Director of Marketing), and Kevin's wife who said, "Dan, I get why Brian's here, but why are you here?"

He replied, "Look. When you wake up at 2:30 in the morning and you're grieving the loss of a loved one, you're going to log in to ILG and punch in 'grieving', and 5-10 of the masters of emotion are going to give you 7-10 minute segments on how to go through the grieving process...

...It's going to get you through the night."

He was added to faculty, and the company evolved again to fulfill an even broader purpose than they had even imagined.

When they prepared to tape some new high-definition content with Brian Tracy, they told him, "Take the first 3 chapters of your book and give us 10 minutes... GO!"

He said, "I can't do that."

They said, "Take the first 3 chapters of your book and give us 10 minutes... GO!"

He replied, "It can't be done."

They said, "Take the first 3 chapters of your book and give us 10 minutes... GO!"

So he did it. When he was done, the room was silent. Finally, he said, "That is the BEST content I have ever created! Let's do another one!"

Eventually, they realized the need for material directed to the YOUTH, too. Now, each time a speaker puts up 3-4 video segments, they're required to create one for teens.

Teens have never really been Brian's audience. They just don't pay thousands of dollars for personal development, and now his material can really make an powerful impact in the lives of a younger generation.

Who else is on faculty?

Bob Proctor, Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, Dolf de Roos, Stephen M R Covey, John Gray, Sandy Botkin, Denis Waitley, T Harv Ecker, Les Brown, Richard Paul Evans, Tony Allesandra, and more... about 45 are on faculty at the time I write this... including me.

*Big GRIN* - Uncanny how this becomes a part of my life shortly after I finally release my resistance...

Now, the company has only been "open" since August 1st, 2008. People can't sign up unless someone has referred them. That's because the company pays commissions on the referrals. Do you see where I'm going with this?

It's a business opportunity for YOU - create a residual (recurring) income for your family, by helping others become better at whatever they're already doing right now! As they tell their friends, your paycheck grows.

This isn't a $5 product being sold for $35 so you can get a commission, ... it's a service worth tens of thousands of dollars for a pittance ...and the company can afford to pay you because the content is donated, the technology is donated, and the advertising is word-of-mouth. Plus, nothing has to be bottled, warehoused, or shipped. Gas prices will have no effect on the delivery of this service.

Instead of paying $1500 for a 3-day workshop, subscribers pay $79.95/month to get everything, in the comfort of their own home, at a pace they can absorb. With new videos being added all the time, they'll never run out of things to learn.

This will be a billion dollar company in a very short period of time, and there will be a lot of new millionaires to come out of it. Want to be one of them?

(At the time I write this, it's still in soft launch mode, open only 46 days, with less than 2000 people involved. The big launch is scheduled for January 2009.)

All of my video will be handled at their studio. We'll get to use the same kind of technology that Oprah's using. (Do I hear a big "Hurrah!" from everyone who has so patiently endured our previous video recordings??)

By the way, the average cost to get started in a referral, or network marketing business (according to the Direct Sales Association) is $860. In order to get started with this , you pay $99.95. That's $79.95 for your first month's subscription, plus $20 to give you your own replicated website that tracks your commissions.

Come on board now, while it's still so new, and let's help the rest of the world find out about it. Be a part of our team; we're changing lives, and prospering families!

So, honestly, besides showing people how to get the information that will change their life as it has has ours, we're really looking for motivated leaders who want to work with us and our team directly, to improve lives and prosper their own family in the process.

If you think you're one of them:

1) Enroll as a marketer at http://www.ilearningGlobal.biz/jackrabbit. Click on "join now" and be sure to mention our username: "jackrabbit". (This puts you on our team so that you can get our personal support and special ThoughtsAlive event/training priveleges.)

2) Let us know you've enrolled so we can help you know how to get started. You'll even get our cell phone numbers after filling out the form at http://www.thoughtsalive.com/ILGlobal.php.

If you've ever wanted to work with us in the past, this just may be what you've been waiting for. It's a new beginning, let's put the principles you've been learning from us into practice, and soar!