Before a recent massage session, my massage therapist (Mary Rose Lam) told me how she made a horrible mess that morning.

She accidentally spilled her blueberry smoothie all over her gray carpet.  That left a big green stain. She was frustrated but told the story with a smile. I hadn’t been feeling well and the story made me laugh out loud. It shifted my mood.

“I’m really glad you spilled that smoothie,” I told her.

“Why?” she asked, looking surprised.

“Because you just brought a lot of joy to my morning.”

She laughed, knowing her sharing the story — even though it was a disappointment to her when the event happened — was pure entertainment to both of us when she related it to me after the fact.

I then told her I had somehow caught a bug and became sick earlier in the week. I rarely get ill, but this was alarming enough to cause me to cancel appointments and consider going to the hospital.

She looked concerned until I told her the rest of the story.

“On Wednesday — which would normally have been my time in the studio — I felt the urge to play the guitar. But when I picked it up, I didn’t have any strength for it. I was too weak. I put it down. But then I noticed my Dean Martin songbook. I flipped through it and saw the song called Smile. I put it on my music stand and sang it. To my amazement, it sounded great. I then pulled out my iPhone and recorded myself singing it. I emailed the song to Daniel Barrett, my music producer, and he said we should record it.”

I went on and explained that my new album, The Healing Song, is essentially done. We had just recorded ten songs and felt it was complete. Adding this new song would get it in under the wire, but that’s cutting it close. Yet I suspected and felt that I got sick to slow me down, so I could allow this new song to be noticed, and then added to my album. It would add something mystical and very different to the tracks. I felt the song was being pushed into my awareness by something greater than me.

What was pushing it into my awareness? We’ll look at that in a moment. Meanwhile…

My massage therapist was in awe.

“Every little thing is a miracle to you,” she said. “Even when you’re sick, you are led to a song that is going to transform your new album. You’re just so in the flow.”

She got me thinking.

Her spilling her blueberry smoothie seemed like it was “bad” to her, but the story an hour later made me laugh so hard I almost cried.

And my getting sick earlier in the week seemed “bad” to me, but it led to my discovering a song I am adding to my new album.

Well, what’s really bad then?

I’m sure you can come up with a list of things that most people would agree is bad, but what about these little snags and stumbles in your life?

Is getting sick bad?

Is spilling a smoothie bad?

Perhaps they’re all just miracles.

(Or am I “bad” in suggesting so?)

While you’re thinking, let me continue the story…

That Wednesday when I was ill and led to the song, Guy Monroe’s name kept coming to my mind. He had helped me with his vocal coaching for my album, Strut! His name was occurring to me again as I felt he could help me smooth out my singing for the song, Smile. I’m used to writing and singing songs that “holler and rock.” Smile is slow, relaxed, soft and meaningful. I felt I needed help with it. But I resisted the idea. (I was sick, remember.) It was easy to dismiss calling him.

But then something happened.

Guy sent me a text message.

He never texts me.

But he sent me a text message, just to say he was grateful for me being in his life.

That’s how the universe works. You get the messages internally first. But if you don’t listen, the messages start coming from the outside.

I’ll repeat that:

That’s how the universe works. You get the messages internally first. But if you don’t listen, the messages start coming from the outside.

I finally listened.

I called Guy. I told him about the Smile song. He instantly agreed to see me. We worked on Smile for three hours. And when I went into Daniel Barrett’s studio to record it, Guy met me there for support.

We recorded four versions of the song. The last seemed to be the best, and we left the studio that day feeling it was “in the bag.”

But something kept nagging at me.

Back home, I kept singing the song. I love the words and message and melody. But I don’t usually keep singing the same song over and over and over again. The only other time was with the acoustic version of the Rob Thomas hit song, “Lonely No More.”

Why was this song still haunting me?

When I went back into the studio with Daniel, and we listened to the version we thought was it, we both realized it wasn’t quite right. There was a word or two “off” in the song. Daniel is dedicated and persistent, so he kept trying hi-tech ways to correct that one word. Nothing was working. Neither he or I were going to settle for second best, either. We wanted this to be perfect. After all, three Grammy winners are involved with this album. I didn’t want anything less than the best.

So I did something new for me as a musician, especially at the point where the album was essentially done.

I offered to re-sing that song.

But wait.

Did that mean my sessions with Guy were bad?

Did that mean the previous four takes of the song were bad?

No. If nothing else, the sessions and takes were rehearsals. They prepared me for the best and final take.

Daniel was instantly agreeable to my recording the song one more time. He’s a joy to work with and goes with the flow. He set up the equipment and turned on the mike. I sang Smile.

One take.

When I was done, Daniel looked at me truly moved, totally quiet, with a tear in his eye.

“That was some of the best singing I’ve ever heard from you,” he said.

I’m usually critical of my own music the first time I hear it, but I had to admit, singing Smile that time around felt right even to me.

Now stop and think about this:

It appears that “something” was directing me to this song, and “something” was urging me to continue rehearsing it, even after I thought it was recorded and done. That “something” kept with me until I re-recorded the song and got the take we all agree is stellar.

So here’s my question for you:

What is that “something”?

When you get a “feeling” or a hunch or an inner nudge, where is it coming from?

When you have an intuition, what sent it to you?

Who sent it?

For me, it’s the Divine directing your life. As Dr. Hew Len (coauthor of Zero Limits) has often said, we aren’t in control. Either unconscious programs are or the Divine is.

We have to keep cleaning and clearing as most of what operates us is our programming. We’re run by our beliefs. What we want is to be so clear that all we hear is the Divine whispering direction to us.

I followed the whispered signs and signals and ended up with a masterful version of a famous hit song.

The end result is a song that will send chills up your spine when you hear it on my new album: The Healing Song. (Available in August.)

Back to my massage therapist.

I told her all of this and she again smiled and said, “Joe, every little thing is a miracle for you, isn’t it?”

Hmmmmm.

It’s a miracle for all of us — including you — we simply don’t acknowledge it.

We judge it as “bad” or “out of flow.”

But is it?

So if you get sick, or spill a smoothie, or get a nudge from within to sing a song or call a friend, note they are important signals.

Divine signals.

They are the miracles.

And it’s all good.

Smile.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Lots of stars have recorded the song Smile since it was written in 1954 by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons, which they based on an instrumental in the Charlie Chaplin 1934 movie, Modern Times. Here’s Dean Martin singing it on his TV show in 1974:

Member BBB 2003 - 2012

How do you really attract success in life?

What’s the formula for having, doing, or being what you truly want?

Long term friends who’ve watched me achieve success in several areas — writing, speaking, movies, music, fitness, and more — say my formula for attracting and achieving goals is easy to spot. Basically, it looks like this:

1. Set Intention

2. Hire Coaches

3. Clear Fears

4. Take Action

5. Persist

That’s it. And that formula will work for virtually any goal you want to achieve.

Let me explain.

Currently I’m deeply involved in the production of my fourth music album. This is fairly startling news, because less than two years ago I had never written a song, or sung a tune, or played more than a few chords on the guitar, or recorded with a band, and so on. Yet today I am recording my fourth album.

Recording fourth album

In the studio with some legends of music — music producer Daniel Barrett, famous drummer Joe Vitale, bass player Glenn Fukunaga — everyone was commenting on how much my singing, guitar playing, and songwriting had improved. It wasn’t an incremental improvement. It was a leap ahead.

It was, in their words, dramatic.

And a few days later, when “Guitar Monk” Mathew Dixon came into the studio to play guitar on one of my new songs, he stopped everything to say the words you long to hear.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something for a while now,” he began. “I was going to put it in an email. Then I was going to tell you at a dinner. But it feels like now is the time to tell you.”

He then paused and said, “I’m proud of you.”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

I wasn’t thinking about those words, but when I heard them, I knew they were the words I longed to hear.

Mathew went on to explain that he teaches lots of people, but not all do the work. He added, “You demonstrate what you teach. When you decided to become a musician, you gathered your support, you took action, and you stayed at it. Your life reveals the formula for success.”

Mathew Dixon and yours truly

I was pretty choked up to hear all of this. But I thought I would share it with you as the lesson is relevant. It reveals how YOU can achieve your goals.

So don’t think this formula is just for me.

For example, legendary drummer Joe Vitale told us he practices playing the drums two hours a day. Two hours! Talk about taking massive action.

Two hours every day!!!

Think about that.

Here’s a man who has been playing for over four decades. He’s a master at it. He’s the drummer rock and roll legends call — from Neil Young to Joe Walsh to Sammy Hagar to you name it.

Yet he continues to work on himself, stretch himself, stay sharp with constant action, and more.

Drummer Joe Vitale's Autobiography

Joe’s an inspiration to me. He knows the formula for success.

Again, the formula looks like this:

1. Set Intention

2. Hire Coaches

3. Clear Fears

4. Take Action

5. Persist

What do you want to achieve or attract?

Take each one of those steps and do them.

Here’s how it looked when I used the steps for my music:

1.  Set Intention.  I decided to become a musician. It all begins when you declare what you want.

2. Hire coaches. I put together a team of mentors and coaches. To excel in any area, you virtually always need a guide.

3. Clear Fears. I had fears bubble up. Self-doubt, lack of faith, negativity. I relied on my coaches and my background in self-help to erase all the fears as they arose. The more you get clear, the faster you attract.

4. Take action. I took guitar and voice lessons, I attended a songwriting seminar (with Ray Wylie Hubbard and Kevin Welch), I hired a famous singer-songwriter (Lee Coulter), I bought books, I wrote songs, I practiced every day.

5. Persist. I continued to take action, rely on my coaches, clear fears, etc.

As a direct result of using those five steps, I’m officially a musician with four  — count ’em, four — albums to my credit.

What do you want to achieve?

The path is clear.

Start doing the above steps today and tomorrow you may hear the words you long to hear.

Ao Akua,

joe

PS – You can listen and even download the title track to my new album, titled “The Healing Song,” at http://www.TheHealingSong.com Grammy winner David Darling composed and played the beautiful cello music on that track. Give it a listen.

PPS – Here’s a short video of famed drummer Joe Vitale talking about my improvement (on the new album, The Healing Song) since the recording of my first singer-songwriter album (Strut!) just eight months ago:

Member BBB 2003 - 2012

“The Healing Song” is an original hypnotic sonnet written and performed by me, with original music composed and performed by Grammy winner David Darling. You can listen to it — and download it for FREE — right here: Click here to get “The Healing Song” for free. Enjoy!

I have yet another amazing free gift for you.

I’ll tell you what it is in a minute, but notice how much more eager and attentive you are to read this post.

Why?

“Free” is the most powerful word in marketing. I’ve seen people scan entire sales letters unconsciously looking for the word “free” in it. I’ve seen people so eager for something free that they would read the word “fee” as “free” and misinterpret the offer.

A decade ago I offered an e-class on Hypnotic Writing. The fee was $1,500. But people fogged out over the price and misread “fee” as “free” and called to sign up. When I asked for their money, they were surprised. They truly thought it was free.

That said, I’ve been preaching the merits of giving things away for decades. I’ve always personally given away a lot, usually books, but in the last year alone I’ve given away five cars.

Yes, cars.

Giving is so important that I’ve written one book on it and coauthored another. It’s the core of my life. Obviously, I give away the posts on this blog, and my podcasts, and my videos, but I also give away items I could sell, such as my book, Attract Money Now.

As powerful as giving and the word “free” is in life, I’m a little confused that more people don’t do it. When I consult with people (usually for free), they fear giving away their product or service will cheapen their brand and ruin their business.

Even when I tell them Google gives a free service and yet is a billion dollar company, they don’t get it.

Even when I point out several books offer proof that free is a new business model, they are still reluctant.

Why?

Stimulating analysis of FREE (but ironically book isn't free)

I used to scratch my head about this until it came time for me to promote my music.

As you may or may not know, I’ve recreated myself as a musician. I have three albums out and a fourth being mixed in the studio right now. While I’ve been in marketing for decades, I’ve not had to promote music before. I found it a new breed of cat, and with three thousand new albums coming out weekly (!), the competition is staggering.

How do you stand out in the crowd?

Obviously music videos and concerts and publicity can help. I’ll have music videos up soon, and I’ll announce a public performance, too.

But what gets people to listen to your music in the first place?

And now, a musician...

I struggled with marketing my music for a few months. Oh, I did well offering it to my email list. They are fans and tend to support my passions. (I love you all.)

But how do you make a dent in the public’s mind?

One way is through videos on YouTube.

But that’s not enough. You still have to get eyeballs there.

What else can you do?

Enter the magic word FREE.

There are different ways of giving, of course.

Giving a song in exchange for an email address is one way, but that’s not really free, is it? You’re still asking for something (the email address).

Giving a lesser quality song in exchange and urging people to buy the CD with the higher quality song on it is also a version of free, but it’s manipulative. It’s still not free.

Free means no strings, or catches, or hidden barriers or steps.

Free means FREE.

So I decided to practice a more committed version of giving. I’m giving away the title track from my next album, tilted “The Healing Song.”

This is an original healing sonnet written and performed by me, with original music composed and performed by Grammy winner David Darling.

YOURS FREE: This is an original healing sonnet written and performed by me, with original music composed and performed by Grammy winner David Darling. You can listen to it — and download it for FREE — right here: Click here to get “The Healing Song” for free.

You can listen to it — and download it for free — right here: Click here to get “The Healing Song” for free.

Of course, I’m hoping you love the track and go tell all your friends.

So yes, I’m promoting my music in this post, but there’s a larger lesson here for you.

What are you giving?

In general, it goes like this:

If you want more money, give money. Give to wherever you receive inspiration.

If you want people to know about your service, give away your service. Let them sample it.

If you want more love in your life, give love away. Open the door to receiving by giving.

Get the idea?

In general, the more you give, the more you will receive.

Where will you give today?

And what will you give?

Ao Akua,

joe

PS — My earlier healing music albums are:  Strut!,  Blue Healer, and Aligning to Zero. My next album, out in September, will have three Grammy winners involved and is called The Healing Song. All those sites have free samples from the albums on them. Enjoy.

Member BBB 2003 - 2012

I’m excited!

I’m not sure how to convey how important it is that you drop everything and go see — http://www.aligningtozero.info

You see, I’ve been working hard to find ways to help you release any hidden blocks to your own success, whether you want to attract better health, a relationship, money, or anything else — including spiritual advancement and even enlightenment.

With that help of a dear friend, I just created what may be the most serene, tranquil, easy and effortless way to do just that. It’s designed to align your energy centers. It was made with my Healing Guitar. It was inspired by ho’oponopono and my coauthored book (written with Dr. Hew Len), Zero Limits. The website for it begins…

Secrets of the Ancients Discovered And Adapted For The 21st Century…

How Music Can Trigger Enlightenment

Finally, a true breakthrough designed to easily transform

your very being – And all you do is relax and listen while

doing (or not doing) whatever you want – Guaranteed!

Announcing Aligning to Zero by Mathew Dixon and Dr. Joe Vitale Here’s why this is so important to you:

If you would love to have any of these seemingly miraculous benefits…

… you can have any or all of them!  Simply by listening to this innovative, soothing, and divine new music called Aligning to Zero.

The  whole story is at … http://www.aligningtozero.info and

you can hear samples of the music at http://www.nimbitmusic.com/aligningtozero