Tag: abundance

I’ve yet to meet Matchbox Twenty singer and Grammy-winning songwriter Rob Thomas but I’m sure learning from his music, songwriting, and success.

In reading everything I can about this talented young man, I found a 2009 article in Keyboard magazine that made my head spin.

The real secret of Rob Thomas’ success might surprise you.

It did me.

Here it is:

Rob doesn’t wait for inspiration. He works.

Surprise!

He takes massive action, which of course is the important hidden key word in the phrase “Law of Attraction.”

Rob said “…half of art is getting out of f***ing bed and doing it.”

He said he doesn’t recall the last time he worked a 40 hour week because he works 18 hour days. (!)

He went on to explain that he often spends entire days, one after the other, trying to write a song, and turning up nothing.

But then one day a hit (such as Her Diamonds, Push, Lonely No More) is there. He admits it’s the work before the hit that enables a hit to be born.

The article quoted visual artist Chuck Close as saying, “Inspiration is for amateurs.”

Wow.

“Inspiration is for amateurs!”

Made me think of the famous Jack London (author, The Call of the Wild) quote where he said he doesn’t wait for inspiration. He lights out after it with a club.

You may be wondering how all of this flows with my own philosophy of honoring inspiration and taking action.

I love it.

What Rob Thomas is doing is inviting inspiration with his working. There may be a time or two when a whole song comes to him as a gift, all written and ready to be sung. But I doubt it.

Inspiration comes when you show up and knock on its front door with work, and then when it gives you a peek, you take it and mold it into life.

Many authors have admitted their secret to inspiration was simply sitting and typing.

Ray Bradbury said writing a story a day gave him some classic sci-fi literature.

Jack London wrote over fifty books with his work ethic of writing 1,000 words every day.

How easy is this?

Consider —

A friend misread the Jack London quote and wrote 2,000 words a day. He wrote and published a dozen books before he realized he had accidentally doubled Jack London’s discipline.

I write virtually every day, maybe not as relentlessly as Rob Thomas, but maybe I should. He’s far more famous than me, and has far more girls after him.

The point: Don’t sit around and wait for inspiration. Discover the prayer of work, which invites inspiration. Yes, you may perspire along the way, but if you’re doing what you love, you won’t care.

Let me repeat that:

When you’re doing what you love, you may “work” longer hours than anyone else, but you won’t care because you’re doing what you love.

It looks to me like the success formula of Rob Thomas is this:

1. He follows his passion. He openly says all he knows how to do is sing and write songs. He’s focused.

2. He shows up to work. He says he works 18 hour days.

3. He continues to work. He shuns the parties and distractions and continues inviting inspiration through the discipline of work.

Pretty simple, isn’t it?

Do what you love by working at it every day and your intention will meet inspiration along the way. (Hey, that sounded like a song lyric.)

Rob is so clear about his purpose that he used to identify himself at airport security as “rock star” before he was one.

Finally, there’s another quote in the same interview with Rob that I like. He said don’t be afraid to screw up. To be exact, he said…

“Dare to suck. That changes everything.”

Now get to work.

Ao Akua.

Joe

PS – If you personally know Rob Thomas, please tell him I’d like to meet. He’s been an inspiration, and several of his songs are in the jukebox in my head and won’t stop playing, which is just fine with me. I love them. He also has a movement to help homeless people, so he might want to know about Operation YES.

Bonus: Here’s Rob Thomas singing the 1999 chart-busting hit Smooth (which he co-wrote for his wife, Marisol) as Santana smokes:

Member BBB 2003 – 2011

I’m reading Peter Bevelin’s book, Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger, and having to stop every page or so to record an insight.

Within pages of starting the book, I read about how our genetics get “turned on” due to our environment. In other words, you may have genes to do any number of things, but unless they are stimulated by your surroundings, they will remain “off.”

Bevelin writes, ” So our behavior emerges from the mutually dependent activity of genetic and environmental factors.”

This is one reason your income is usually the average of the incomes of the five people closest to you. They help make up your financial environment.

It’s also why Ben Affleck’s recent movie, The Town, is about a city that appears to breed bank robbers. It’s their environment.

What can you do with this wisdom?

My suggestion (assuming you’re not getting the results you want) is to change your environment.

• That might mean rearranging your home or office, or even leaving it entirely.
• That might mean reading more success literature and more self-help material.
• That might mean attracting new friends that are already successful in your passions.
• That might mean joining associations that keep you stimulated with a focus on your goals.

The point is to surround yourself with the appropriate environmental stimulation to turn on the genes that will help you achieve your goals.

An example might be joining a fitness club or gym. I’ve noticed I work out harder and longer and more regularly when I hang around my bodybuilding friends rather than my Internet marketing friends. The first set of friends creates an environment for physical fitness; the second one creates one for online wealth. Nothing wrong with either one. But being conscious of the environment you’re typically in will help you understand the results you typically get.

I’m doing this with my music. I have several friends already successful at singing, writing music, and playing guitar. I’m spending more time with them to help “turn on” the genetics in me to excel as a musician.

One suggestion is to get into some form of coaching. By being coached you will get the stimulation and information you need to help you change. It’s part of changing your environment.

I’m enjoying Seeking Wisdom and recommend it.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – I’m not an affiliate for the book; nor do I know the author, let alone Darwin or Munger.

Member BBB 2003 – 2011

I now have five best-selling audio programs with the company I love: Nightingale-Conant.

They are the audio leaders in self-help and personal improvement. They’ve been around since 1960 and have published such legends as Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, Marianne Williamson, and Jim Rohn.

When I was struggling decades ago, driving to and from jobs I hated (or driving around looking for jobs), I listened to audios from Nightingale-Conant. That on-going in-car education helped reprogram my mind and direct me on the path to success. I still listen to their programs today.

My first program with them was around 1998, with The Power of Outrageous Marketing (still a bestseller). Today my programs include The Missing Secret and The Secret to Attracting Money to the recent home-run The Abundance Paradigm.

So imagine my delight when the President of Nightingale-Conant sent me a Christmas card saying I am now one of their all-time best-selling authors. (!)

Yes, I’m bragging but I had to tell somebody.

Dreams do come true.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Merry Christmas!

Member BBB 2003 – 2011

Celebrity fitness model Jennifer Nicole Lee is not only beautiful, but inspiring.  She credits me with inspiring her, but it sure seems the other way around these days.

We met almost one year ago when she signed on for my Rolls-Royce Phantom Mastermind, which ABC News* filmed.

I found her charming, funny, sexy, smart, and eager to learn. Within minutes we were talking like old friends and brainstorming new ideas to increase her business, while ABC News* kept the cameras rolling.

Recently Jennifer sent me a bobble head of herself, as well as her new book. Even the bobble head of her is sexy.

While the bobble head is fun, Jennifer’s new book is beyond good. It’s great. It’s high-quality, hardcover, packed with information and (of course) pictures. It reveals her fitness secrets. Since she’s a woman who has transformed herself from fat and unhappy to award-winning fit and contagiously happy, her wisdom is worth our time.

I like the book so much I placed it in the window at the top of the stairs in my new office. I see it every time I enter the room, which puts a spring in my step. 🙂

Jennifer signs almost everything with one word: “Believe!”

When I asked her about it, she explained that belief is the secret to transforming yourself and achieving all you desire.

I believe her.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Here’s a YouTube video about Jennifer Nicole Lee’s new book on the fitness model diet:

Note: I am not an affiliate for anything Jennifer offers. I’m sharing what she does because I think it’s worthwhile. Check it out.

* Six months later ABC News shared this (you’ll have to watch an ad for a drug first): http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/video/joe-vitale-takes-clients-ride-11038944

Member BBB 2003 – 2011

A few people have asked me what I mean by the Divine or Universe. I’ve talked about this in my books and audio programs, but since it keeps coming up, I’ll also address it here. I’ll use one person’s recent questions as the kick-off, and I’ll end with a surprise gift for you. Here goes:

1- Is the “Universe” the same as the “Divine”?

For me, yes. Many self help authors say “Universe” when they really mean unconscious mind. I remember being on one radio talk show when the host declared the universe doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality. She meant the unconscious mind doesn’t know the difference. This is a common mistake. It leads to a lot of confusion. For me, the unconscious mind is below your conscious awareness but basically runs the ship. It doesn’t know the difference between what you dream about or what you actually see, and because of that, you can embed intentions in it. The Universe, however, is the totality of everything. It ain’t dumb. It knows the difference between imagery and reality. It can also be called the Divine.

2- Do you consider the Universe or Divine to be God?

Yes. I don’t say the word “God” too much because so many people have baggage associated with it. God can be seen as an old man in the sky to some sort of other conceptualized being. God isn’t that to me. It is the background Witness of life. I say Divine to be politically safe. I started using the term a lot more after hanging around Dr. Hew Len, who addresses the Divine all the time when doing ho’oponopono.

3- If we are Divine, as you’ve said, then are people God?

Yes, but don’t tell anybody. People are Divinity expressed in physical form. I talk about this at length in my program (now also a book), The Awakening Course. We don’t know we are Divine because we are supposed to awaken to that fact. That’s the purpose of life. But as Bill Murray said in the movie, Groundhog Day, “I’m not the God. I’m a God.”

4- Exactly how does the Divine attract money?

It doesn’t. You do. But you do it best when you are in your passion, when you are connected to the Divine flow of life and you don’t have any internal limits on receiving it. Said another way, money is Divine and the Divine is money. It doesn’t need to attract money. It is money (as well as everything else).

5- If YOU, Joe, write a book while connected to your Divine/Universe/God within, does my Divine/Universe within instantly know this and make ME more likely to buy it from you?

Not exactly. I believe the book I coauthored with Dr. Hew Len, Zero Limits, was Divinely guided. I wrote it in two weeks. I felt like a stenographer for the Divine. But that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Your inner Divinity will tell you what’s next for you. It may or may not be anything I write. (It may not even be a book.) There are hundreds of thousands of books out there, and many of them might be a better match for you at this time in your evolution. I like what Jerry and Esther Hicks (Abraham) have said: they offer their material to those who are wanting it. Period. Look at it this way: the Divine guides me to write a book and the right people are guided to read it. Nothing more. Nothing less.

At the risk of sounding promotional, most of the questions I get are answered in my books and audio programs. I know at least one author who refuses to answer questions at all, saying “Go buy my books!” I won’t go that far or be that harsh, but I have to at least suggest you look into my latest program, The Abundance Paradigm.

Of course, it’s also okay with me if you skip it. 🙂

Finally, here’s a gift for you:

Recently I answered many questions on a private call for buyers of The Abundance Paradigm. I never planned to release the call to the public, but so many people praised it, that I felt I should share it with you, too.

You can listen to the entire call, download it, and/or read the transcript by going to:

https://secure.theabundanceparadigm.com/checkout/abundance-call.php

Enjoy!

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Heads up: I answer questions every month on a private call for the students in my Miracles Coaching program. I’m just saying.

Member BBB 2003 – 2011