The Seven Steps to Abundance
By Craig Lock
"Do not follow the well-beaten track of others towards success -
like the rainbow, it is often an illusion always just beyond our
reach. Make your own path and let your spirit blaze a brilliant
trail towards the pot of gold, the prize for the gift - one that
is uniquely you and YOUR magical and successful journey down the
river of life."
- Craig Lock
"Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed
possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you
can change your beliefs."
- Maxwell Maltz
Here are my thoughts and steps on how to to "design a
life"...instead of been blown about by the winds of life (like a
paper bag), or the currents, like a jelly-fish. Enough similes.
1. Find the VISION, the plan for your life. Unless you know where
you're going, you are unlikely to get there. Any place where you
are is a good place to start.
Ask yourself:
What activities have you most enjoyed in the last 10 years?
What is fun? What do you treasure?
What do you most want to be doing in the next 10 years?
I'd love to write, help, encourage and hopefully even inspire
others.
2. Which of your strengths and weaknesses are a joy to you?
What do people say you are good at?
What is special about you?
List ideally what would you be doing? Living at the beach,
writing and travelling...and be financially secure, of course!
Ideally what would you want to be? When I started out writing
seven years ago, a successful author was my original goal. Now I
want to be a "great" writer, whose words make a difference in the
world by encouraging and hopefully even "inspiring" people around
the globe.
What motivates you? What "drives" you? What is your "hot button"?
Ask WHY do you need those things? What are those status symbols
for?
Define your vision. Write it down in less than 10 words. It took
me most of my life to discover what I believee Does it involve
other people?
What do I most want to be doing? Why?
What do I most care about? Why?
What steps can I take to move me closer to doing what I really
want to do with my life?
Find your niche - your unique skills and natural gifts?
Think about WHO will pay you to enjoy yourself. Instead of
worrying about being sacked, think who will pay you to have fun?
How can you best use your gifts and talents?
Where do you want to work? With whom, in what sort of company?
Look for a picture of your ideal environment: home, as well as
work.
3. PLAN ahead carefully. Doing this reduces false starts and
wrong directions. Most people spend more time planning their
annual holiday than they do their "blueprint for life".
Put it all down in writing. Doing that focusses your mind, your
consciousness. My advice: "Think big, but start small".
The prominent American psychologist, Carl Rogers said: "The only
real security is the preparedness to embrace insecurity". Be the
YOU you most intend to be? Take stock, review your plan and
prioritize your life goals.
4. Make the COMMITMENT. Stop saying you're going to do it and
actually DO IT. Put in the work and write out the cheques. This
involves going past the point of no return. Make commitments: to
yourself, to your loved ones in terms of time, energy and money.
Then stick to it and take full responsibility for the outcome.
5. Spell out the details of the PLAN. Think it all through and
concentrate hard. What are you going to do? How are you going to
do it, step by step? What needs to be done and in what order of
priority? What resources do you have at your disposal? What are
your expenditure needs? Reaffirm your commitment through a
personal budget. Be flexible in your thinking, as circumstances
usually change...and we can't foresee the future. And most
importantly, THINK BIG.
6. Develop a network of people to help you achieve your goals
(and you can help them achieve their goals at the same time).
First, you must be aware of them. It's a "win-win" situation. Be
enthusiastic at all times, because enthusiasm is catching.
7. Take ACTION, that first step...then the next will follow
naturally ...and far more easily. Nothing can stop you now. "Roll
up the sleeves" and get down to work. I believe the first
prerequisite for success is loving what you do. I love writing,
although it's very lonely (and probably the world's most solitary
occupation). Always remember, life is not a 100 metres sprint -
it's a marathon. So rest when you feel you need to and don't feel
guilty about it (something I have to learn!). Have fun along the
journey. Perservere and persist in your quest.
Take responsibility for your own abundance and your learning
throughout the 'game of life'. Appreciate your abundance and
prosperity daily by giving thanks to God, the Universe for what
you do have. Live with "an attitude of gratitude", instead of
focussing on what you lack.
Have faith in yourself - believe deeply in yourself, but even
more deeply in Life, The Universe, Supreme Being, a Power far
Greater than yourself, Infinite Intelligence/Wisdom... who loves
you and wants what's best for you. The spiritual journey may take
far longer than you thought, so be patient.
NB:
Always remember,
The measure of success is not money, but learning and growth -
just trying to be the best person you can possibly be each and
every day.
Measure success in learning and growth - nothing else is
important. Work is a place each of us creates in order to grow.
It is the laboratory for experimenting with our potential.
When working for yourself, this is a time of unprecedented change
in your life. Work allows you to put into place skills and
knowledge acquired through education. It is a time to experiment
with our potential and the various demands made upon us.
Initially we learn to work in teams, working towards a common
objective. Then gradually in our working careers we learn to take
on more and more responsibility.
BELIEVE you DESERVE to be abundant - though not more than others.
It's a matter of finding a balance between your ambitions and
your responsibilities. Be accountable and socially responsible,
by thinking of other people.
"As we know the universe will always provide when we put our
positive and unabstructive energy to what we want in life. I
believe in life that if we are given access to the knowledge,
then we have the choice of being capable of whatever we want to
achieve. Anything one does with passion and belief will
manifest. We are all energy and that which we put out into the
Universe is energy, therefore whatever we believe in comes back
to us."
- Kate Conroy (wise and well-expressed words from a
"cyber-friend" and talented young writer)
You can't force people to change. Listen to your intuition, truth
and love. That is the "voice" of God, The Divine, Higher Power,
the Higher Self, Spirit, the Ultimate Source speaking to you.
We are all spiritual beings living in the physical world. So
wherever you are, what better time to start on your spiritual
journey to abundance... than NOW!
Craig Lock
"Information and Inspiration distributor"
http://www.craiglock.com
"If a man has talent and cannot use it, he has failed. If he has
a talent and uses only half of it, he has partly failed. If he
has a talent and learns somehow to use the whole of it, he has
gloriously succeeded and has a satisfaction and a triumph few men
ever know."
- Thomas Wolfe
"The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find
their greatest happiness in using it."
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities
brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."
"Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the
talent to the dark place where it leads."
- Erica Jong
'Without legends, dreams die."
"When dreams die, there is no opportunity for greatness.
Greatness is a measure in one's spirit, not in the results of
one's rank in human affairs."
"To dream anything that you want to dream, that is the beauty of
the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the
strength of the human will. To trust yourself, to test your
limits, that is the courage to succeed."
- Bernard Edmonds, American Writer
"Believe in yourself and in your dream,
Though impossible things may seem
Someday, somehow you'll get through
To the goal you have in view.
Mountains fall and seas divide,
Before the one who in his stride
Takes a hard road by day
Sweeping obstacles away
Believe in yourself and in your plan
Say not - I cannot - I can
The prizes of life we fail to win
Because we doubt the power
within..."
- anon
* P.S: Robert Kiyosak (author of the "Rich Man, Poor Man"
series) once said that "the definition of success is having the
freedom to be yourself". I think that pretty much sums up the way
I feel about success as well. Thanks for sharing that great
thought, Robert.
* "luck", as they say, is where preparedness (is there such a
word?) meets opportunity.
"Let the light of your BEING shine brightly; so revealing Who You
Really Are. Be a Bringer of the Light, which emanates from our
soul, God, our Creator, the Source (and Ground of our very
Being). Therefore, it can do more than illuminate your own
path.YOUR spirit will help makes the lives of others easier by
illuminating others paths. For this light is our humanity, the
spirit of God, truth, beauty and especially love...and it lies
within each one of us. Through your actions and your being, let
your light, YOUR spirit truly shine brightly on the world, like
the radiance emitted by a candle at midnight."
- Craig Lock
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