Tag: the movie The Secret

Recently I found a one hundred year old copy of Wallace Wattles’ famous book, Financial Success Through Creative Thought, or, The Science of Getting Rich.

This 1915 leather bound edition of the book first privately published in 1910, is the one that inspired Rhonda Byrne to create her bestselling book and movie, The Secret.

1915 edition

While my computer took an hour to download new operating software, I reread Wattles’ book.

I’ve read it before, of course. But several things surprised me on this fresh reading.

Here are a few facts that jumped out:

• Wattles doesn’t talk about the “Law of Attraction” with that exact phrase, ever, but he certainly spells out that your thoughts will attract what you get. (The phrase “Law of Attraction” was made popular by William Walker Atkinson, in his 1906 book, Thought Vibration or The Law of Attraction in the Thought World. Wattles and Atkinson had the same publisher and probably knew each other.)
• Wattles doesn’t say anywhere that what you want will “magically” appear out of the air, just popping into reality before your eyes like some sort of magic trick. He explains that what you want will be attracted through natural means.
• Wattles actually stresses the need to take action to attract what you want. He has two chapters on the subject. He says “the failure to connect thought with personal action” is the biggest shipwreck in getting results.

I loved reading the book again because I could see clearly that many people who criticize or misunderstand the Law of Attraction have simply not read Wattles’ original text.

Or, if they did read his book, they glossed over all the parts they didn’t want to face, much like the many who watched the move The Secret and somehow fogged out when I appeared on screen and said you had to take action.

That’s the nature of unconscious limiting beliefs.

They filter reality so you only see what is a match to your beliefs.

Science of Getting Rich

Of course you have to take action.

Of course what you attract will come through natural means.

Of course it all begins with thought, which leads to behaviors, which leads to results.

Wattles is down to earth, very practical, and psychological in his approach.

He explains that you have to form an image of what you want to have, do, or be in your mind.

That image, held with faith and focus, will command the invisible elements of the world — the “stuff” that makes up everything, including you and me — to begin to form into your desired image. It will begin to unconsciously nudge yourself and other people to help you attract what you hold in mind.

You then have to work, with gratitude and holding your faith, in the direction of making it materialize, even if, at first, you can see no way to make it happen.

If I had to sum it up, I’d say that Wattles delivered a very simple, logical, and practical formula for attracting wealth. He’s not “woo woo” at all. He’s psychological rather than metaphysical, somehow knowing what psychologist William James declared –

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes” and —

“Act the part and you will become the part” and —

“Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit.”

And something to think about from Wallace Wattles —

“The only service you can render God is to give expression to what he is trying to give the world, through you. The only service you can render God is to make the very most of yourself in order that God may live in you to the utmost of your possibilities.”

Wattles book is still in print, and copies of the original 1910 edition are available for free online. I urge you to find one and read it.

And then turn what you learn into action.

Wattles wrote – “The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.”

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — This free new e-book can help you, too: http://www.theabundanceproject.com/book1.php?linkid=428743

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A friend about to turn 40 years old sent me this question –

“What is the main/biggest thing you wish you knew about money before you were 40?”

I thought about it and came up with the following answer:

Stop worrying; it all works out.

Since I’m now in my sixties and have gone from homeless to poverty to filing bankruptcy to sleepless nights and more, only to end up living the life of one of the rich and famous, I’d say that all my worrying didn’t help at all.

Worry is a belief. It’s trained behavior. Most of us think if we worry, we will whip ourselves into doing something. But worry doesn’t stimulate right action. It stimulates more worry. And from a Law of Attraction view, worry begets worry.

Think about it: Under the feeling of worry are fear based thoughts, such as “What if this doesn’t work out?”, “What if my car is repossessed?”, “What if I lose my job and then…and then…and…!?!”

Those thoughts will create a reality that matches them.

Those thoughts will lead to desperate behaviors, and cause you to ignore more prosperous opportunities.

Those thoughts will create the same old scenario.

As I’ve said many times, you will easily attract what you fear or what you love, because both are strong emotions packed with high voltage energy.

It’s wiser to focus on what you love rather than on what you loathe.

Come from faith rather than fear.

Come from prosperity rather than panic.

Said another way –

Watch which thoughts you feed. If you think lack and limitation but pray for peace and prosperity, you are like a farmer who plants strawberries but prays for tomatoes.

I’ve learned that I need to work but not worry.

Trusting work, faithful work, passionate work.

But no worry work.

Using worry and fear to motivate yourself is a fool’s game. It doesn’t help.

Had I known this fact of life before the age of 40, I would have been happier and slept better, and probably reached success sooner.

In short, keep working, stop worrying.

My friend also asked —

“What single factor/knowledge/idea would you say was the most influential in being financially free and successful?”

Again, I meditated on the question and came up with this answer —

Definitive course on attracting money

Realize money can come from multiple avenues.

For decades I thought money would only come to me from my writing. I couldn’t see any other way. While I continued to labor at day jobs I hated, just to survive, I also continued to write and submit my work to publishers. My entire focus was on money coming from writing.

I couldn’t see the bigger pie.

I couldn’t see the world of infinite possibilities.

I couldn’t even imagine it.

When I began to expand my mind, through books and audios I borrowed from the library, and allowed money to come to me in new and even surprising ways, my income increased.

For example, I began to speak in public.

That was a huge undertaking for me because my natural inclination at the time was to be a book nerd and live in the library. Public speaking was terrifying. Even traumatizing.

But I did it as it introduced a new way to receive money. Either I would get paid to speak or I spoke for free but sold my books in the back of the room. It worked.

I did more than speak, too.

I also tried publishing my first book as a correspondence course. This got my mind to relax the restraint that published writing meant having a publisher. It didn’t. I could take a book, break it into lessons, and sell it as a course.

I tried it once with a classified ad. (This was long before the Internet.)

It failed.

But a decade later, when I tried the same thing online, it became a major income stream for me. It led to my creating e-classes, and attracting tens of thousands of dollars (and a BMW Z3, which was a big deal for me at the time) as a result.

Learning to expand my mind about how money could come to me also led to recording audios.

The legendary publicist and dog lover, Paul Hartunian, told me how easy it was to make audio programs in my home. I listened to this wonderful mentor and acted.

I bought a cheap cassette player, put pillows under the window and door cracks, and recorded a marketing program in my bedroom. Most of it was based on what I learned from researching P.T. Barnum, and writing a book about his business secrets, titled There’s A Customer Born Every Minute.

I sold that home made program for $500 a copy. It later became my first Nightingale-Conant program, called The Power of Outrageous Marketing.

And that, of course, led to me creating numerous audio programs for Nightingale, and becoming one of their best selling authors ever.

My mind expanding didn’t stop there.

All the self-study I had put into becoming a writer meant I had skills most others didn’t have.

Bob Bly taught me (through his books and later with snail mail letters he was kind enough to write to me) to be a copywriter. That lead to a nice income writing sales letters, ads, and more (eventually even writing sales copy for Jerry and Esther Hicks, of Abraham fame).

As I continued to expand my mind, I learned about direct mail marketing.

I borrowed a little money from my parents, rented a mailing list, and sent out a sales letter I had hypnotically written about a new software program. (To show you how long ago this was, the program was DOS based and came on a floppy disk).

It worked.

I still remember opening my post office box and seeing an order for the software. I felt like I had won the lottery.

I also wrote a book about my own invented form of copywriting, had it bound at Kinkos, and sold it at my talks. That self-published manual later became my first e-book, thanks to Mark Joyner, which led to a long series of profit attracting digital products.

It changed my life forever.

It’s still famous today, in print and as an e-book, titled Hypnotic Writing.

And all of this was long before I was ever invited to be in the hit movie The Secret, which of course also changed my life forever, as it shot me into global notoriety and led to numerous unexpected opportunities.

I could go on, but you get the point.

My income increased when I didn’t insist that it come to me in a particular way.

Expand your mind to allow money to arrive in other ways.

Money doesn’t have any beliefs about you; you have beliefs about money. It will come to you if you don’t block it or wear blinders when it drives by your home.

To help you stop worrying and expand your mind —

Read books by Catherine Ponder, Arnold Patent, Napoleon Hill, and me.

Read The Power of Impossible Thinking by Yoram Wind and Colin Cook.

Read Create or Die: A Manifesto for Fearless Creators Everywhere by Dr. Morgan Giddings.

Listen to audio programs from Nightingale-Conant, from Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hanson, and me.

Listen to The Secret to Attracting Money by Joe Vitale.

Of course, you still have to follow your passion, take inspired action, maintain your character and your health, but the above will get you going in the right direction to attract more money.

Happy New Year!

Expect Miracles!

Ao Akua,

Joe

NOTE:  If you are truly panicking because the bills have piled up, you’re out of work, and you see no end in sight, remember that there are numerous resources available to help you. Yes, take care of your mindset, but also call for help when you need it. The back of my book, Attract Money Now, has a resource section. It’s free right here.

PS – The fastest way to expand your mind is with the help of your own Miracles Coach. Check out Miracles Coaching.

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Reading as much as I do, it’s hard to narrow the stacks of great books down to a handful of memorable classics. Here are the top ten books that really stood out and made a difference in my life in 2014:

Best Books 2014

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. This may be my favorite book of the year. Yes, there are plenty of self-help books that say virtually the same thing as Sincero’s book, but almost none do it with attitude. I love the humor, honesty, intimacy, personality, and daring of the author. I love the book so much I reached out and interviewed Sincero for my podcast. She’s sincere, funny, open, and a living badass of the polite I-won’t-hurt-you but I’m-going-for-my-dreams-so-stand-back sort. Fun, wise, empowering. Read it.

Spartan Up! by Joe De Sena. This one lit a fire under my butt and made me want to get out and run up steep hills with my shoes on fire. Since I’m already working out intensely, thanks to personally training with Body-for-Life fitness legend Bill Phillips, I didn’t feel compelled to enter a Spartan endurance race. But I found this book inspiring, motivating, and heart pounding. I love his concept of “obstacle immunity,” which means hard core exercise builds inner strength to easily handle the stresses of normal life. He’s right. After intense exercise, traffic is nothing. Great book.

The Science of Living by Emmet Fox. This book clearly explains the teachings of New Thought pioneer Emmet Fox, most famous for his little books, such as The Mental Equivalent and Make Your Life Worthwhile. Though Fox taught and published in the 1930s, The Science of Living is a recent publication based on his private classes with metaphysical students. I love its clarity, plus it made me feel like I was in the room with him. This fully explains what the philosophy of Mind Science is all about. A true gem.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I’ve read this 1937 classic before, of course, but after reading a recent biography of Carnegie (Self-Help Messiah), I decided to read it again. It is a masterpiece. I am in awe of Carnegie’s conversational writing style, powerful stories, and crisp message. I wish just one of my books was this good. The message, while simple, is as relevant today as it was over the last several decades. Priceless.

Making the American Body by Jonathan Black. I found this book hypnotic. It masterfully tells the story of the men and women who shaped fitness in the United States. That may sound boring to you but believe me, the feats, feuds, and fuss of the often egomaniac men and women who urge us to get fit is an entertaining, enlightening, and even appalling read. My only disappointment is the author somehow left out Bill Phillips, who is a living legend in fitness. Otherwise, riveting.

A Moment in Time: The Steve Reeves Story by George Helmer. I’m one of the biggest Reeves collectors in the world. I have the famous body builder/movie star’s gym, car, clothes, trophies, and more. My collection is impressive enough that Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk) came to see it. This long awaited biography, by Reeves’ personal friend and executor of his estate, is mesmerizing. The hundreds of photos are worth the price of admission alone. The stories are alive. It’s a loving tribute to a legend; the definitive biography of the original Hollywood Hercules.

The Devil’s Horn by Michael Segell. As you may know, I’m now a saxophone player. (Afflatus, my baritone sax album, came out last month.) This is the hands-down best book ever written on the dramatic roller-coaster history of the sax, an instrument once considered the “devil’s horn” by some while others swooned to its cool sound. It was once the most popular instrument in the world (until the guitar got plugged in). The man who invented the sax – named (no surprise) Adolphus Sax – went through business failure, ridicule, controversy, political manipulation, envy, and even a death threat. An astonishing book.

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Nicholas Herman, later known as Brother Lawrence, lived in France in the 1600’s as a kitchen working monk. He dedicated his life to constantly living, working, playing, and praying “as in His presence” at all times. “His” means God. If the God word pushes a button in you, exchange it for Divinity or something else. This little book of conversations with, and letters by, Brother Lawrence has been changing lives for centuries. It did mine, too, and deeply influenced the writing of my forthcoming book, The Secret Prayer. There are numerous editions of this holy work around, many published in English for the first time around 1895. Highly recommended.

Managing Thought: How Do Your Thoughts Rule Your World? by Mary J. Lore. I love the direct simplicity of this well crafted book. It helps you understand what your thoughts are doing, whether you are aware of them or not. Of course, once you are aware of your thoughts, you are now separate from them and more in control. A practical, inspiring guide.

Willpower: The Owner’s Manual by Frank Martela. This brief book surprised me with the 12 tools it describes for “doing the right thing.” I expected fluff, I got wisdom. People often resist will power, thinking it is pure ego or pure pain, when in reality will power is what you often need to align your desires, achieve your intentions, and attract what you want. Great book. Will yourself to read it.

And here’s a bonus title —

You Are the Placebo by Joe Dispenza. I’m not a fan of so-called scientifically based books describing how the world works, mostly because I can’t follow their terminology and the authors often disagree with each other, but this book is easy reading, easy to understand, and truly eye opening. Dispenza explains how it is possible to heal many “incurables” with thought alone, by detailing how the mind influences everything. In a way, this is a manual on how to create the placebo effect as needed. I read every word. Fascinating.

What about you?

What did you read this year that moved you?

Please post your comment below.

Thank you.

Ao Akua,

Joe

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PS – My list of best books for 2013 is at http://blog.mrfire.com/best-books-of-2013/

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In the October, 1927 issue of Nautilus magazine, prolific Law of Attraction author Brown Landone revealed a way to give yourself a “shock treatment” to attract more money.

I’m a huge fan of Landone. He wrote more than 100 books, including The Success Process, before his death in 1945. I was deeply interested in this article by him in this old magazine of New Thought ideas.

In it, Landone told the story of coaching a woman who came to him complaining that her husband had a weak heart and wasn’t successful.

She wanted him fixed.

New Thought author Brown Landone

Landone explained that he didn’t fix anybody.

He knew that once you found your own inner peace, the rest would follow.

He wrote:

“..I know that abundance is a result of attaining the kingdom of heaven, and that each soul’s kingdom of heaven is within himself.”

He went on to say that he might help in uncovering the source or cause for the heart palpitations and the lack of success, which would help the man discover his own inner kingdom.

In other words, if he could help the man get clear of his inner blocks, the results would follow.

So he agreed to see the husband.

After a brief discussion with the husband, Landone discovered the man had $647 in savings and made $47.50 a week. (This was 1927, remember.)

He also learned that the husband had lost much of his “gusto” for life; that he was simply going through the motions in his day to day life, without much hope or enthusiasm for anything better.

With that information, Landone did something shocking.

He told the husband to go out and spend all the money!

“I told him to buy his wife five new dresses that afternoon, to order a $90 suit of clothes for himself, to purchase a $740 auto within a week, and to buy a $6,000 or $7,000 home within a month!”

What!?

The advice stunned me.

How in the world could he tell a struggling man, just getting by, to go empty his savings and extend himself financially?!?

What logic was behind this?

I was riveted to Landone’s article, wanting to know why he gave such a controversial directive.

Landone went on to explain, “Beginning to lose hope, leads to lack of daring.”

He wanted the husband to wake up!

He wanted the husband to stretch.

He wanted him to dare again.

He wanted him to get out of his comfort zone.

He wanted him to shock his own mind and awaken it.

The man listened, and acted.

Landone said the first thing that happened is the man’s heart began to beat evenly again. 🙂

And then the man began to think of new ways to improve his position at work, which led to him getting promoted, and then getting a higher salary.

Within a few months, the man’s consciousness had changed to the degree that he left his job, started his own business, and saw his revenue leap to $90,000 a year — in 1927!

The man told Landone, “Why it’s silly to be poor, isn’t it?”

I love the story and the message.

In my book, Attract Money Now, I call Prosperous Purchasing one of the seven steps for attracting more money.

Read inspiring book for free

The idea is to honor and appreciate yourself by being honest: when you have the desire for a product or service, and you have the funds, then go ahead and make the purchase.

It’s an affirmation of prosperity to do so.

But Landone suggested buying and investing more than what you are comfortable with, and putting yourself into a scary place financially, as a way to “shock” or “kick start” your own mind.

Instead of playing it safe, you shake yourself by taking a risk.

You over ride your fear with an act of faith.

And then you watch your mind come alive with new ideas.

It’s not about feeling desperate, but about feeling driven.

When I interviewed Jen Sincero, author of the book, You Are A Badass, she told me that her life changed when she hired a coach.

She also said making the decision to do so rocked her world.

“I tapped out my credit card to hire the coach,” she told me. “And the first thing that happened is I threw up.”

Jen went on to tell me that she called her coach and tried to get her money back.

“But the coach told me that my vomiting was part of the process,” Jen explained. “I was beginning my transformation right then and there.”

If you find yourself in a financial lull, consider giving yourself a prosperity shock treatment.

Simply Dare Something Worthy.

Consider what you really want to buy (for yourself or someone else) but are afraid to do so, and then go buy it!

If you are reading this and feeling your heart race and your palms sweat, then you know what to do next.

To be blunt, are you going to come from fear or faith?

Said another way, the idea isn’t to get rid of fear, it’s to use it as a catalyst for new ideas, actions, and results.

Dare and grow rich.

Shocking, eh?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — Just as Brown Landone was a coach to the husband, you’ll get faster results with your own coach, too. Check out Miracles Coaching. Remember, it’s okay to stretch. It’s time to shock yourself into awakening. Do it!

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Someone on Facebook wrote a variation of this statement…

“Napoleon Hill said, ‘Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.’ This is the biggest load of monkey poo since the Law of Attraction. Right now, I am conceiving and believing that I can walk on water. Wish me luck.”

This is a wonderful example of illogical thinking.

Does the person really think they can walk on water?

Can they really imagine it?

Do they really believe it?

Obviously not.

And if they can’t, then they just proved Napoleon Hill right.

Hill said, “Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve”  and not “Whatever your mind can make up, even though you don’t really believe it and it’s not really possible, it can achieve.”

Big difference.

And please note that Hill said you can achieve it, not that you will achieve it.

He wisely left room for the possibility of you not actually attracting what you “conceive and believe.”

He knew you still had to work all the steps, including taking action.

His quote wasn’t just about conceiving and believing.

He said there were at least 16 laws, remember.

He wrote about them in such books as Laws of Success and of course Think and Grow Rich.

The ridicule people give the Law of Attraction or Napoleon Hill is a reflection of people’s own belief system – only they rarely see it.

I remember being in Russia at one of the many book signings and author meet and greets I did there.

An elderly gentleman in one audience said, “I really want to believe in this Law of Attraction but the skeptics make a good case against it.”

“Have you ever noticed that the skeptics seem to hang out together,” I began, “and the Law of Attraction positive thinkers seem to gather together?”

He smiled, nodding, as it dawned on him what I was saying.

“Everyone is living the Law of Attraction,” I explained, “but some know it consciously and others do not. You are free to believe what you like and you will attract whatever evidence you need to support your belief, even when it’s illogical to others. That’s the Law of Attraction.”

Remember, you get what you really believe, not what you want to believe.

In other words, when you examine your own statements, you might see the twisted logic behind them.

But like the person who posted the opening line, you probably won’t see the fallacy of your thinking without someone there to lovingly point it out to you.

This is why it’s so important to have a coach.

A coach can listen to you speak, reflect back to you the very beliefs you won’t even hear yourself saying, and help you question any beliefs that don’t serve you.

For example, the person who was poking holes at Napoleon Hill’s statement probably didn’t realize they weren’t being logical or even accurate. Seeing this blog post, they might grasp it.

But arguing for limitations seems silly to me.

Why argue against goals, success, visualization, positive thinking and the like?

Why not argue for them?

After all, the whole point is to help you achieve success.

Why not find ways to prove Napoleon Hill right?

Hill also wrote, “Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.”

Anyone who tries to dismiss the positive and encouraging words of Hill is speaking without thinking.

More than that, they are raining on the hopes and dreams of other people.

That isn’t wise, kind, loving, or useful.

As Mark Twain said, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

Napoleon Hill believed in you.

So do I.

Go for your dreams.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – For the record, I can walk on water. I’ve done it numerous times, usually in Ohio, usually during the Winter months. We called it ice.

PPS – I also found this on Facebook: “Dear Optimist, Pessimist and Realist: While you guys were arguing about the glass of water, I drank it.” – Opportunist

PPPS – And here’s Napoleon Hill himself giving you some coaching:

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