Tag: ideas

Robert Collier remains one of my all-time favorite authors.

He influenced me when I was a kid in Ohio in the 1960s, with his books, The Secret of the Ages and The Amazing Secrets of the Masters of the Far East.

My cat loves Robert Collier books too

Collier was the first to introduce me to the Law of Attraction, mind power, positive thinking, and more, while I was a teenager searching for truth in books. His writings deeply influenced me.

“Plant the seed of desire in your mind and it forms a nucleus with power to attract to itself everything needed for its fulfillment.” – Robert Collier

I didn’t know Collier was a copywriter and direct response marketer until, as a struggling adult living in Houston, I stumbled across his magnum opus, The Robert Collier Letter Book.

The final masterpiece, edited by Robert Collier right before he died

I still remember seeing the hardback book, with a faded yellow jacket, on the shelf of Colleen’s Books in Houston.

I stared in disbelief.

I carried the hefty book to the front desk and asked Colleen if the author was the same one who wrote all those metaphysical books.

She didn’t know.

But as I scanned the pages, and saw sales letters for those esoteric books I had read decades earlier, I knew Robert Collier was the author of all of it.

It changed my life forever.

I was an OK copywriter before the letter book; I was a hypnotic copywriter after it.

Rare course by Robert Collier circa 1947

And it was a mention in the letter book that sent me on a wild adventure to discover all I could about Bruce Barton, which led to my writing a turning point book in my career, The Seven Lost Secrets of Success.

Rare 1941 paperback of famous Letters book

And knowing that Collier was a marketer as well as a metaphysician paved the way for me becoming the same, and led to my book Spiritual Marketing, which was later retitled The Attractor Factor, which still later got me invited into the hit movie The Secret.

He so influenced me that I dedicated my book, Hypnotic Writing, to him.

Rare signed Letters book circa 1937

I collect everything by and about Collier.

I have a paperback version of the Letter book, published during war years to save money.

I have an autographed copy of the first edition of the Letter book.

I have a little course he wrote on making money by mail.

I have a complete set of his original booklets.

What was Collier’s secret to success?

Catalog of books Collier’s company sold

It wasn’t sales letters, as I would have guessed, it was ideas.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blue print, and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

Robert Collier felt the idea was more important than the sales letter for it, though he obviously made an icon status legend for himself with his letters.

Books Collier’s company sold

Collier knew numerous people of fame during his lifetime, including strongman George Jowett. I thought that was synchronistic as I know many strongmen of today, including Dennis Rogers and Iron Tamer David Whitley.

I was having lunch with Jerry and Esther Hicks, of Abraham fame, a decade or so past, when Esther said that the greats of long ago met and had lunch, just as we were having lunch that day. They, too, had been influenced by Collier.

Collier left us in 1950.

I was born in 1953.

I often wondered if I were the reincarnated version of him.

Of course, I never got to meet him, let alone have lunch with him, but his spirit, ideas, and wisdom live on, in all of his books, but particularly in his magnum opus, The Robert Collier Letter Book.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Learn more about the Law of Attraction with these in-depth audio programs http://www.nightingale.com/authors/joe-vitale.html

Years ago I asked Rhonda Byrne — the woman behind the Law of Attraction hit movie The Secret — an important question.

We were having dinner in Maui when I asked, “How did you come up with the idea for the movie?”

She thought for a long time before answering, “I called it forth.”

“I called it forth” could mean a lot of things. But the other day I came across a quote from film maker David Lynch that made it all come together:

“Ideas are floating like fish. Desire for an idea is like a bait on a hook.”

It made sense to me because this is how I’m creating music. Songs are floating around in the ethereal world. My desire for a song attracts one to me. The more precise I am in my request for a particular kind of song, the more accurate the match will be.

Rhonda Byrne of "The Secret"

This doesn’t mean I’m in charge of the songs. I’m a receiver for them. Music is still the boss. Songs are still in charge. I get to tinker with the idea after it arrives, but the idea itself comes by grace.

But I attract it by desiring it.

For example, one year or so ago, when I had my training wheels on as a songwriter and was experimenting with writing songs for the first time, I remember thinking, “I want to write a song about being kind to others.”

That might sound simplistic to you. But even way back in the mid 1990s, in my first book on Internet marketing, called CyberWriting, I suggested we learn to write in kindness as a way to keep peace online. This “kindness theme” has been with me for decades, as a kind of prime directive in my life and work, so it shouldn’t surprise you that I wanted to express it in a song.

But how?

I remember sitting on my deck outside my office, looking at the trees, and desiring a song about this message. As I meditated, one started to come to me. I jotted down what I was receiving. I played with it. I picked up a guitar and added some chords to it. The end result is the powerful stand-out song called “Everybody’s Goin’ Thru Somethin'” on my first singer-songwriter album, Strut!

In short, I attracted the song by my desire for the song.

I do the same thing for this blog. I often have no idea at all what to write about, but my desire for a fresh blog post “calls forth” the idea I need.

News Flash: Strut! is now available for you to order. You can hear excerpts from my healing music albums at  Strut! and Blue Healer.

For example, I didn’t know I was going to write this very post on how to attract great ideas. All I had was a desire for a post, which is what started the process to “call forth” an idea.

I then stumbled across the David Lynch quote while reading a magazine. Once I saw it, something clicked in me. I then recalled my dinner with Rhonda, and the post began to come together. I then sat down and wrote this for you.

But it all began with my desire for an idea.

Rhonda called forth her idea for a film about the Law of Attraction. She had a desire to share her insight, and that desire “called forth” a means. The result was a movie of historic importance.

Street sign "Calling forth" music

You can do this, too.

What do you want to create?

A movie? A song? A business? A solution?

It doesn’t matter.

The first step is to declare your intention. Complete the sentence, “I intend to….” with whatever it is you want to attract.

“I intend to…create a website that brings in more sales.”

“I intend to…write a song about the theme of divine love.”

“I intend to…attract unexpected income by Friday.”

“I intend to…attract a loving person to date.”

My suggestions are loose as I’m making them up, but yours can be specific.

After that, allow ideas to come to you. Make space for them. Go for a walk. Relax in the hot tub. Sit in quiet meditation. Read a novel. Have a cup of tea.

Declaring your intention is the request that “calls forth” an idea to fulfill it. Making time to receive ideas is how you open yourself to hear the answer to your intention. Of course, after that, you need to take action on the idea to bring it into reality.

This process works for me.

It clearly works for Rhonda Byrne.

It will work for you, as well.

You just have to do it.

What would you like to “call forth” next?

Ao Akua,

joe

PS — Strut! is now available for you to order. You can hear excerpts from my healing music albums at  Strut! and Blue Healer. The direct links are:  http://www.HealingMojoMusic.com and http://www.GetUpandStrut.com