Tag: mister fire
Attracting Melissa Etheridge: Part 5
It shouldn’t surprise you that I’m writing yet another article here — my fifth — about the rock icon I love: Melissa Etheridge.
I saw her concert in San Antonio last night at the beautiful Tobin Center.
She rocked, of course, and tore down the walls of the new building.
Her power and charm remain high.
She is a bolt of lightning on stage.
I still marvel at her performances.
To my delight, Melissa spotted me from stage.
It was fairly easy for her to see me, as I was in the second row, basically not blinking throughout her entire show.
She smiled.
She winked.
She blew me a kiss.
And when she was exiting at the end, she turned, pointed at me, and mouthed the words, “I love you, Joe.”
I thought I was hallucinating.
But the three people I was with all confirmed it. They saw it, too.
Wait.
It gets even better.
After the show, I managed to get two minutes with Melissa.
I asked her if she had received my latest album, the one I created after my songwriting lesson with her, and the one she helped me name.
“Oh, I so got it,” she said. “I love it. It is great. And I’m so glad you called it The Great Something.”
The title “The Great Something” came out of my private music session with her.*
Apparently that moment was memorable for her, too.
And then she added what I needed to hear most.
She held the album in both hands, looked me right in the eyes, and said with all the sincerity of a turning point moment, “Keep at it. Do more.”
“Keep at it. Do more,” Melissa said.
Getting the encouragement of a music legend – who I happen to be a two decade fan of – was enough to fortify me to climb mountains.
I needed to hear it, too, as I’ll be performing with my Band of Legends for the first time on July 21st at The Townsend in Austin, Texas.
I am so grateful for Melissa, her music, her message, and how she has influenced my life.
I even wrote a song for her, called “Melissa Said,” as a way to show my gratitude. (It’s on The Great Something album.)
I’ve often said that a secret to success is to have someone believe in you almost more than you believe in yourself.
(That’s just one reason I created Miracles Coaching, so you can have someone believe in you, too.)
At this point in my life, I have numerous supporters.
But I’ve had a lot of them along the way, too.
Melissa Etheridge is one of them.
She’s been a coach, a mentor, and an inspiration.
Thank you, Melissa.
I love you, too.
Ao Akua,
PS – * Here are links to my previous four posts about my private songwriting lesson with Melissa Etheridge:
https://www.mrfire.com/law-of-attraction/attracting-melissa-etheridge-part-4/
https://www.mrfire.com/law-of-attraction/attracting-melissa-etheridge-part-3/
https://www.mrfire.com/law-of-attraction/attracting-melissa-etheridge-part-2/
https://www.mrfire.com/law-of-attraction/attracting-melissa-etheridge/
Note: In case you are curious, samples of my singer-songwriter albums — including The Great Something — are here: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/JoeVitale1
Bonus: Here’s Melissa Etheridge burning up the guitar as she tells you “Hold on, I’m coming!”
Start Here
When I was on stage in Madrid, Spain a few weeks ago, someone asked –
“What if you are flat broke, have nothing, are totally alone, and feel desperate?”
It’s a question I’ve heard many times.
I could relate to it because at one time I felt the same way.
I was broke, unhappy, desperate, and in poverty for more than a decade.
But I obviously left that in the dust.
So what’s the answer?
How would you answer the question?
How do you turn your life around?
“No one starts with nothing,” I replied.
I went on to explain –
“You have the gift of life, you have the gift of a body that is regulating itself to keep you alive, you have the gift of air and all the elements that are keeping you here right now. And you’re probably living better than kings and queens of centuries ago. They didn’t have air conditioning, indoor plumbing, a microwave, a cell phone, or much else. You are so much more better off. In fact, everyone starts with a miracle.”
Everyone starts with a miracle.
That’s right.
Even you.
But you have to take a deep breath, relax, and take inventory of all you already have.
You have to move into gratitude.
Once you feel grateful for what you already have, you will more clearly see your options and choices.
What you have to do after that is build from here.
Take the next baby steps in the direction of your dream.
Read the self-help books.
Listen to the self-help audios.
Don’t tell me you are broke and can’t afford them.
Go to the library and read the books for free.
Search the Internet for free resources.
Surround yourself with upbeat friends.
Use Facebook to find or create a support team.
And don’t just sit there.
Take action, action, action, and more action.
Read my free set of e-books, The Miracles Manual.
And get a Miracles Coach to help guide you, encourage you, believe in you, and help dismantle any limiting beliefs along the way.
In short, you start from where you are — appreciating the miracle of your life — and you take the next steps to build from here.
There are countless stories of people starting with nothing and building empires, making dreams come true, and succeeding despite the odds.
Why not you, too?
You got this.
Expect Miracles.
Ao Akua,
Joe
PS – Want proof this works? Go see —
http://www.miraclescoachingproof.com
PPS – Want to hear reviews from people? Go see —
http://www.miraclescoachingreviews.com
PPPS – Want coaching in Spanish? Go see —
http://www.espanolmilagros.com
PPPPS – Want a free resource? Go see —
Crowdfunding Enlightenment
I love crowdfunding.
That’s where the fans fund the dream.
I’ve seen authors, musicians, inventors, and movie producers raise the money they needed for their projects by going straight to the people.
- I became friends with Grammy nominated saxophone sensation Mindi Abair when she crowdfunded her album.
- I studied songwriting with rock icon Melissa Etheridge when she used crowdfunding on her last album.
- I received a signed guitar when I helped Jim Peterik with his crowdfunding for his last album.
- I also supported local musicians I know by donating to their crowdfunding requests on Kickstarter.
But until today, I’ve never seen crowdfunding for spirituality.
As I write this, it’s 4 am here in Madrid, Spain.
I came here to give a presentation to 5,000 people.
Fifteen other speakers flew here as well, including Gregg Braden, Don Miguel Ruiz, Neale Donald Walsch, Mooji and more.
But the planned event – called BeingOne – didn’t occur.
It turned into a nightmare.
Five thousand people stood outside a bull fighting arena where the event was to be held.
But the organizers didn’t pay their bills.
Security would not let the people in. They hadn’t been paid.
Vendors left. There were no people inside to sell to.
People left.
They were upset.
The police came.
There were still thousands of people waiting for hours, confused, impatient and curious.
At least one author (I don’t know who) went to the standing crowd and spoke to them, comforting them, assuring them that all would be well.
The people appreciated him and the love he showed. But they paid good money for a three day event to see 16 speakers.
They weren’t happy.
Where was the event?
Where were the speakers?
Where was Dr. Joe Vitale?
I was in my room, reading social media posts about the missing event, and just as baffled as anyone.
After all, I flew to Spain from Texas solely for this event.
And I did it against the advice of my attorney.
Since I hadn’t been paid, the event organizers violated their contract. So my attorney said don’t go.
But I kept thinking about all the people who paid to see me. Many were flying from other countries. Many had to borrow to make the trip. Many had posted how they longed to meet me.
I knew I had to make the trip.
So I did.
But when I got to the hotel, I was told my room was not paid for.
I was stunned.
So here I am, sitting in Madrid, wondering why I and apparently 5,0000 other people attracted this experience.
I was looking for the lesson, not the loss.
But here’s where the story becomes miraculous.
Many thousands of people, after waiting half a day, left.
The thousands who stayed found out that the security detail needed paid before they would allow the crowds into the arena.
So these people raised the money among themselves.
They essentially crowdfunded the event.
But that’s not all.
When speakers needed translators, people volunteered.
When speakers needed audio for the event, people volunteered.
When the police needed people to move and sit, people volunteered to help the crowd comply.
It was amazing to see.
It was a miracle.
And it happened because good people decided to practice what they had been learning from the very speakers they came to see.
- They were not victims; they were victors.
- They were not giving in to circumstances; they were creating their own circumstances.
- They were not feeling bad or unhappy; they were finding the good and feeling the joy.
This brought me to tears.
By the time I took the stage, the crowd went wild.
They were almost delirious to see me.
I smiled liked the morning sun and opened my heart and repeated, “You are loved! You are loved! You are loved!”
“You are loved!”
I had two beautiful translators on stage with me. Both were volunteers.
They helped me and the crowd understand each other, though I suspect we were all just vibrating at a level of wordless love.
I spoke spontaneously. I answered questions. I did my best to deliver what these wonderful people had waited so long to see.
When my talk ended, the crowd roared like they were at a rock concert.
They stood.
They applauded.
They screamed in joy.
And this was the same crowd that had spent hours frustrated and confused, but stayed the course, raised the money needed, and got to see the speakers they love.
And now, closer to 5 am here in Madrid as I write this, I am still processing the power of people.
When you are clear about what you want, you can move heaven and earth – and raise funds if you need it – to make it happen.
Madrid proved today that miracles are real.
Crowdfunding helped.
But the people did it.
Anything is possible.
Ao Akua
Joe
PS – I have to mention that during the chaos of today, three people who were at the event and lost in the confusion, discovered the hotel I was in and called me. I met them, went on a walking tour of Madrid with them, and had a great time. When I got the call that the event was still on due to crowdfunding, I went and presented. All in all, a great day – just not one that went as planned. Maybe that’s the point: miracles occur when you quit insisting life be a certain way and you instead work with what you are given in the moment. But what do I know? It’s 5 am in Madrid and I’m processing a miracle.
Note: Here are my new friends…and their account of the BeingOne event is here… https://www.facebook.com/maria.cognifusion/posts/545621902493048
Big Mistake
The big mistake most people make when it comes to using the Law of Attraction – or using anything to achieve their goals and dreams – is wanting to know how.
“How do I make it happen?”
“What are the exact steps I should take?”
“How do I get from here to there?”
The thing is, you rarely if ever know how in advance.
Once you complete a goal and can hold it in your hand, or show it off to friends, you can explain the how of it.
You’ll then have a complete beginning-middle-ending story.
The puzzle will be revealed.
You can then explain the steps you took.
But not before you attract it.
Recently I surveyed my list, asking what book they would like to see me write next. While virtually everybody wanted more books like Zero Limits and AT Zero on ho’oponopono, a few wrote in some suggestions.
Those people were usually wanting to know how to attract something specifically, and how I did it.
They wanted stories of people revealing exactly how they attracted their goals.
They were asking for step-by-step plans.
This is the big mistake.
Let me explain:
When I was making a name for myself as a copywriter and marketer back in the 1990s, a lot of things occurred that I couldn’t predict, let alone know how to make happen.
For example, the Internet came along.
Who saw that coming?
I was one of the first to be online already – on what were called Bulletin Board Systems (a kind of miniature, local only, limited reach Internet) – so when the actual Internet was born, I was already there.
The speaking and writing I was doing in Houston, where I lived at the time, now being posted on CompuServe and AOL, broadcast my name across planet Earth.
It helped make me cyber-famous.
It was certainly an essential step in my career.
But I never saw it coming.
It was never on my to-do list.
How could it be?
Are you starting to see how this works?
During these same early years, I wrote a little book called Spiritual Marketing.
I released it online, free, and it touched millions of lives.
I never knew it would do anything. I released it to the world in the hope that it would help people.
But The New York Times wrote about it.
And Bob Proctor urged me to publish the book.
And it became an early print-on-demand book.
It was also my first Amazon bestseller.
But I wasn’t following a “how to make it happen” plan.
No such plan existed.
These synchronistic events were happening as a side result of my passion and persistence.
They were happening organically.
They were happening on the way to my dream.
I couldn’t predict them because I couldn’t see them.
They were on the unseen road ahead, to be discovered as I kept moving forward.
And along the way in this adventure a publisher contacted me. He later published my book, Spiritual Marketing, but with a new title: The Attractor Factor.
That became the most powerful and popular self-help book I’ve ever written.
And The Attractor Factor was given to a television producer in Australia. She read it and contacted me.
She said she wanted me to be in a movie she was making about the Law of Attraction.
It was to be called The Secret.
That movie changed my life.
It put me on Larry King’s television show, twice, and got me invited to speak in countries I didn’t know existed.
How do you make those things happen?
After all, none of them could have been foreseen.
When people ask for the step-by-step exact plan to make something happen, they are making the mistake of thinking there is such a plan.
There isn’t.
There is a general formula, but not a specific one.
There are formulas for helping you choose your intention, start taking action, and maintain momentum once you get going.
But there isn’t a specific “do this and then do this” plan.
Even Mark Twain knew it.
Twain said, on his 70th birthday, “You can’t reach old age by another man’s road. My habits protect my life but they would assassinate you.”
Thinking you can copy the specific things I did in my life to attract and achieve specific results in your life is a big mistake.
Thinking there is a “how” to get where you want to go is an error.
You attract the results you want with the formulas I have revealed, in books like The Attractor Factor, Attract Money Now, and most recently in The Miracle.
Other self-help authors have other formulas.
Mine goes something like this:
- Declare your intention or inspiration.
- Take the first baby step to begin moving toward your goal.
- Keep taking action on all next steps and new opportunities.
- Surround yourself with positive people and messages.
- Clear any limiting beliefs as you notice them.
You’ll notice there isn’t a specific task that will work for you and everybody else.
There isn’t because there’s no way to know it in advance.
Steve Jobs knew this, too.
Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”
Melissa Etheridge told it to me this way –
Have faith that it’s all working out in your favor.
Have faith that “The Great Something” is – as I sing in my title track song on my new album – your “hidden ally” in life.
Have faith in yourself, the Universe, The Great Something, and your journey.
And then one day, after the dust has cleared, and you realized you attracted your goal, you can look back and tell the how of it all.
You can then connect the dots.
But all you can do today is the next obvious action step.
It’s the next “dot” that will lead to your success.
Dot by dot, by dot, you will get there.
Now go do today’s “dot.”
Ao Akua,
Joe
PS – Check out www.MiraclesCoaching.com
Self-Help Songs
How can “self-help songs,” well, help your self?
My six singer-songwriter albums all contain original tunes of “song therapy.”
They often contain positive messages of motivation, transformation, and inspiration.
It’s my way of helping you through challenges and tough times with songs of encouragement.
In many ways, my songs are “coaches” in lyrical form.
My newest album, The Great Something – now on iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, and more – contains the most advanced and memorable self-help songs of my career so far. But don’t take my word for it. Note –
Stephen Oliver said (used with his permission) “I just received my copy of your new CD, “The Great Something”. As soon as I got into my home office (I’m a freelance writer), I put it on the stereo. I’m listening to it as I write. Now I’m in a quandary. I can’t decide whether it’s incredible or ‘merely’ fantastic. Either way, I love it. I’ve already added it to my night time playlist, along with all your other CDs.”
And Jimbo Berkey said (used with his permission) “After listening to your newest album, “The Great Something,” I am convinced that it is the most powerful and compelling message that anyone who hasn’t begun this journey could ever encounter.” (Jimbo went on to buy 20 more copies of the CD to give out to people.)
Let me explain how you can use self-help songs like the ones on The Great Something in your life:
“The Hook”
When you are facing a situation where someone or something is about to “set you off,” take a breath. The self-help song “The Hook” (on my One More Day album) contains the message “Don’t Take the Hook!” It’s a reminder that you don’t have to take the bait. In general, whenever you get upset, it’s when you went unconscious. Something or someone flipped your internal switch and you got mad or sad. The song “Don’t Take the Hook” is your reminder that you have choice; you don’t have to get engaged or outraged. You can always walk away. You can even walk away singing, “Don’t take the hook!”
“The Glad Game”
But if you do take the hook and find yourself upset, you can always play The Glad Game to recover. I wrote this self-help song because of the famous book, and many movie adaptations of it, called Pollyanna. “The Glad Game” (on The Great Something album) is your reminder that you can find the good in any situation or person. You may have to really look. But it’s always there. Always. This upbeat swing-rock-dance song will show you the way.
“Look for the Light”
One way to find the good, or play The Glad Game, is to “Look For the Light.” This self-help song, also on The Great Something album, is a reminder that there is light (or good, or glad, or positive) in any and every situation. This song was born when someone asked me how to handle political fighting and opinion conflicts that split people. I spontaneously said, “Look for the light.” There are always people doing good things, and good causes you can find and support. But you may need to pause and look for it.
“Empowerment”
You’ll find yet another way to use lyrics as affirmations in my self-help song “Empowerment” on my album The Healing Song. This instrumental cried out for my voice, so I allowed inspiration to guide me in speaking hypnotic commands of inner strength. Listening to this track alone can strengthen your mental core, so you can have, do, or be, whatever you imagine and work toward. I listen to this song every time it shuffles up on my playlist. It’s powerful.
“There’ll Be Days”
After my private songwriting lesson with rock legend Melissa Etheridge, all of my music became more focused. The self-help song “There’ll Be Days” (also on my latest album, The Great Something) is my favorite song for conveying wisdom in a traditional singer-songwriter folk format. It’s a reminder that some days will be tough, and some will be tender, but you can get through them all if you smile and remember this song. I know it doesn’t sound humble at all, but I think this song is pure genius. At least I can’t stop listening to it. It’s hauntingly beautiful.
“The Great Something”
When you need reminded that you aren’t alone, and that the dark night of the soul will pass, you might listen to “The Great Something” (the title track on The Great Something album). This self-help song was directly inspired by my lesson with Melissa Etheridge. She advised me to write in the first person. I took her advice to heart and wrote the most personal, raw, and revealing song of my life so far. I listened to it earlier today to remind myself that “The Great Something” – what others might call Divine, Universe, Nature, Gaia or something else – is with you always.
“Some Thoughts”
Everybody has thoughts, but not everybody knows they are not their thoughts. The self-help song “Some Thoughts,” on my One More Day album, is an upbeat tune reminding you that some thoughts serve you and some thoughts suck. But you can play the jukebox in your mind and just select a different song/thought at any time.
“You Gotta”
The self-help song “You Gotta” (on my album titled Sun Will Rise) is a pep-talk in song. With saxophone, guitar and an upbeat drum (by the drummer with the same name as me), this one is designed to urge you to get up, get moving, and move toward your dreams. “You gotta dream, dare, grow and go” is an affirmation and command. After all, any dream you want to attract requires movement from you, as life is a co-creation.
“Everybody’s Going thru Something”
The most popular music video I ever had created is the one made to breathe life into the self-help song, “Everybody’s Going thru Something” (on my very first album, Strut!). I wrote this song to remind us that we all have dreams and we all have pains. If we can be more understanding, we can bring more peace to the world. (See the music video at the end of this post.)
“Remember”
The smokey-bluesy-jazzie self-help song “Remember” (on the album Reflection) is a hypnotic-poetic ballad revealing the creativity technique I used to make numerous albums. The technique is called The Remembering Process and Daniel Barrett, my producer, and I wrote a book explaining it called, naturally enough, The Remembering Process. With baritone saxophone and a smooth groove, this spoken word song offers you another way to enjoy creativity. For some reason I want to say this song is really hip.
If this intrigues you, please see All Healing Music, the portal for almost all of my healing music (many recorded with Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon) and self-help songs (all recorded with my band of legends: Daniel Barrett, drummer Joe Vitale, Glenn Fukunaga).
Remember, what you listen to also programs you.
Choose wisely.
Ao Akua,
PS – Audio samples of my singer-songwriter albums are here: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/JoeVitale1
PPS – You may also be interested in a blog post I wrote last year about Motivational Songs at https://www.mrfire.com/music/motivational-songs/
