I Want ..... absolutely nothing

Wanting.... it's become a fad.

You see and hear it in everything from The Secret, to numerous vision board workshops and seminars on how to "manifest your dreams into reality." The promise is if you believe it, you can achieve it.

And to some extent, yes - I agree - what you visualize becomes your reality. The Law of Attraction and Newtons Law of Motion are real - just as real as the law of gravity. That is why it kinda cracks me up when people ask me how they can start to practice or "use" the Law of Attraction in their lives.... um, well... that is like asking when gravity is going to kick in... you kind of don't have a choice - you are effected by the law whether you are aware of it or not. What ever you put out, the Universe sends back. What comes around, goes around. Period the end. Guess what - what goes up, must come down too. Count on it. If you don't believe me, go jump off a bridge and see what happens. The end result aint no Secret, I can clue you that.

When I first started out coaching, a friend of mine asked me to participate in a vision board workshop that she was leading. I was really excited because I had just started reading the Law of Attraction, and I had just watched the Secret... so I was stoked. She lead a very inspiring and motivational workshop, and at the end of the day, we all walked away of all our hopes, dreams and desires cut out of random magazines and stick-glued to a piece of posterboard.

I stared at that damn board every day for months.... I looked at the picture of the cabin in the woods, I looked at the picture of Matt Lauer and Oprah Winfrey (who will be the first ones to interview me when my book hits the New York Best seller List)... and I fascinated about the money I would have, the things I would buy, and the success I would feel. And I felt very, very empty. After a year, I crumpled up the posterboard and threw it in my campfire.

You may be asking, "But Cilly, you are a life coach... don't you believe in setting goals, striving to gain and grow, and achieving?"

Why yes, yes I do... But one lesson I have learned in my own life, and through working with clients is there is a BIG difference between wanting something and working towards a goal. Wanting produces a gap in your life - a gap between where you are now, and where you want to be... creating longing, loss, or lack. Whenever there are gaps in our life, because of the vacuum effect - it has to be filled with something... and that something is usually stress, anxiety, dissatisfaction, disappointment... or as Buddha puts it so simply... "suffering."

Working towards a goal fills that gap - because you HAVE something... you have a plan. You fully acknowledge where you are now, and you fully acknowledge what you want in your life, and you fill the gap with small, achievable steps.... but here is the real "secret"... ready for it? What really magnetizes your goals and attracts them to you is GRATITUDE.

Joel Osteen delivered a great sermon on this very topic today - praise. He said Isaiah 54 says,

“Sing, oh barren woman, you who never bore a child; break forth into song and shout for joy.” You may be at a place today where you have unborn promises; you have loved ones you’re praying for, but aren’t seeing the change; you may even feel barren. During times like these, it’s tempting to give up and say, “Too bad. It’s never going to happen.” But that’s the time when you need to praise God even more. Praise opens the door for God to move and for breakthroughs to come."

The real secret that unlocks all the doors to all our desires is not visualizing on what we do not yet have, but being grateful for what we have already been given. One of my favorite quotes is from Ralph Marston, and I believe he sums it up perfectly

“What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it - would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have.”


So, my challenge to you (and when I say you, I mean me.... you can join me if you'd like) is to stop WANTING. I want nothing. I have everything I need to live my best life.

I will continue to grow, stretch, and expand by staying open to all the Universe offers, and I give thanks for the many blessings I have in my life. I am abundant beyond measure. I, alone, am enough.