Why Hasn't It Happened?

"To live is the rarest thing in the world.
Most people exist, that is all."
-Oscar Wilde

I received an email from a reader who asked me if the law of attraction really works. She had been depressed for a while and often imagines herself dying of a terminal disease. If law of attraction is a real thing, why is she still alive?

I honestly don't know the answer to that question. As far as law of attraction is concerned, I can only speak of it in terms my personal experience. Does it work for me? It certainly has.

I knew that if I wanted to change my life, something has to change. I have to learn new things, move out of my comfort zone, and find the courage to do what I've never done before.

After watching the movie "The Secret" and reflecting on my life, everything that happened (and didn't happen) suddenly made sense. I suddenly understood the reason for my successes and failures. I understood why I underachieved when I could have done better.

I wrote in a previous post that thinking and wishing is not enough to change your life. The first step is deciding what you want. The next step is taking small, baby steps each day that will get you closer to your goal. Wishful thinking alone is not going to get you there. Many people want to be a millionaire but only a handful of them do. Why? Those who become millionaires did what need to be done to achieve their goals while the majority simply dream of becoming millionaires.

Life is short. We can choose to do something significant with our life or we can choose to waste it. The choice is yours. If you think you life is bad, start counting your blessings.

Last December, I wrote about my visit to a children center that was founded to help underprivileged children. After seeing the children there and what they had to go through, whatever problems I thought I had seems so trivial.

We can go through life blaming others for our hardship and misfortunes. We can play the victim role. Or we can choose to take charge of our life and turn it around.

What do you want to do?

"You don't get to choose how you're going
to die. Or when. You can only decide
how you're going to live. Now."
-Joan Bacz

What Is Your Financial Thermostat?

Before you can secure your financial success, you need to identify your financial thermostat - your current beliefs about money - because these beliefs might be holding you back. Often, these beliefs are ingrained in you since you were a child and you carry them into adulthood.

List down everything you've heard about money. It might be something like this:
Money doesn't grow on trees.
Money is the root of all evil.
Money doesn't buy happiness.
Making money is hard work.
Rich people become rich by stepping on other people.
...........

How many of these statement have influenced your attitude towards money? How have the beliefs influenced your behavior?

After you've identified your limiting beliefs, brainstorm for a list of new, positive beliefs to replace the negative ones. Your new beliefs might be:
Money allows me the help the needy.
I'm a money magnet. I attract money easily.
Money allows me to travel to places I've always dreamed of.
...........

One of the important success habits is to pay yourself first. Make sure you save at least 10% of your income. This sounds simple, but it's surprising how many people find that it's the hardest thing to do. Many say they'll start saving when they have extra money, but that day never comes. You can make paying yourself first easy by having a standing order to transfer money to a saving account. If you never see the money, you won't miss it.

Make a list of all your debts and work out a plan to pay them as quickly as you can. If you need help doing this, get the help. After you've paid your debt and you have a small amount of saving, you can then think of investing.

That is a story for another day.