Okay, I’m ready to manifest something. I’m dead set on making a goal come to life. I’ve got my thoughts, beliefs, and actions aligned with my goal. I’m trying really, really hard, and…

Nothing.

Why can’t we always go from 0 to 100 in the manifestation process? It’s because we have to shift gears along the way. Don’t forget that.

Within every larger momentum, there is a sum of smaller momentums mimicking the larger momentum. These momentums build on top of each other until the final momentum is reached. The thing most people take for granted in trying to manifest a goal is that there is a middle ground. There is an in-between progression of momentum you need to build before you are there.

We need to get our manifestation engine going in first gear before we can jump to second gear, and so on. You can’t hit hit 100mph in the first gear of any automobile, nor should you think you can manifest any of your goals unless you are building up your energy in a progression.

Sure, some people appear to win the lottery and get really lucky with instant manifestation. Would you believe that most of those people who win the lottery buy tickets every day, or every week. A lot of lottery winners invest close to the amount they finally win in trying to win before they win any money. If you look at their investment as a steady progression of money or energy, day by day, you can see what I’m talking about.

So don’t get frustrated if you aren’t reaching your goals in the snap of a finger. The real fuel of manifestation is the building of momentum, and the building of energy. Manifestation comes about when you finally invest enough energy to make something happen.

So maybe you should ask yourself, “How much positive energy am I investing into my goals?”

This just happened…

If you have any sense of humor then you can’t help but to enjoy this video. The purpose is to help you crack a smile, because who doesn’t benefit from a little laughter… or Country Hip Hop.

So feast your booty on Country Hip Hip shakin’, and call me when you find a better way to start your day. (Sorry, I just had to post this!)

I just want to remind you to seize the $h*t out of your day because you are going to get hit by a bus tomorrow. What do I mean by that? Every ounce of “I can’t” hits you like bus and makes road kill out of your potential to do anything. Without dreams and a little bit of I can… you’re dead to any kind of future you desire.

Watch these two examples of people who say… “I can…”

Look, no hands!

“There were times where I looked at my life and I said ‘I can’t do this and I can’t do that.’ You keep on concentrating on the things you wish you had and the things you wish you didn’t have, and you sort of forget what you do have. There’s no point in my life where I wish I had arms and legs, I wish I had arms and legs… What I’ve seen in life — and there are a couple key principles — the first thing is to be thankful. It’s a lie to think you’re not good enough. It’s a lie to think you’re not worth anything.“

Fear? What’s That?

…You can say seize the heck out of your day if you don’t want to say $h*t. I respect that. Just make sure you seize the (fill in the black) out of your day, everyday. Could it be any cheesier, or any more true?

Ouch! That was a positive feeling!

Did you know there is research out there saying that positive feelings can be uncomfortable?

It’s not really a surprise. We are used to a certain set of feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and general patterns in our lives. Our brains alert us when anything differs from those patterns, even positive feelings. We operate the same way if we experience more negativity than we are used to. Anything different is threatening. We are, after all, creatures of habit.

This is why you might know some people who are always melancholy and down-beat, day after day. Likewise, you probably know annoyingly happy and upbeat people that can never be brought down. It’s habit. We have default settings for our moods and overall feelings that our brain is trying to protect. It’s just the way things works inside that big ball of gray mush between your ears. It’s a survival mechanism that operates on the – if its not broke, don’t fix it – mechanism.

So how would you like to be a little bit happier and better feeling everyday from here on out?

Even if the thought of being happier sounds pleasing for a few moments, your brain will try to keep you in the pattern of mood you’ve been in for years, maybe the mood you’ve experienced your whole life.

So how do you actually become happier, more up beat, and better feeling day after day? You have to reset your brain’s baseline settings. It will be uncomfortable, even scary, for some people to experience, dare I say it… more positive feelings. You will get uncomfortable being too happy for too long.

To change this, you have to do something… dare I say this too… different. You have to exercise positive feelings and emotions as if negative emotions were love handles you want to get rid of. Everyone knows that exercise can be uncomfortable at first; but little by little, you get stronger, more fit, and better feeling. And little by little you can reset your baseline mood to be happier. One of the best exercises for positive feeling is meditation.

Don’t take my word for it, try it out for yourself. Take a moment every day, even if it’s just for five minutes – to concentrate on gratitude, great memories, or anything that makes you smile. It might be difficult, but have patience and see how you feel afterwards. If it feels uncomfortable at first, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Meet Willie, manifestation’s best friend.

My dog has mastered manifestation and taught his “master” a thing or two. Willie has four legs and he loves long runs in the park. As a matter of fact, he absolutely obsesses about going to the park for runs. Willie is better at manifestation and bringing his desires to fruition than most people I know. He has a simple formula for doing this that he helped me to learn. Go figure! Who ever thought a person could learn so much from a dog?

Willie only has simple desires like food, sleep, and running outdoors. But Willie has so much desire that you will often see him running in his sleep. He turns this desire into a belief. Let me tell you what happens…

When I start lacing up my running shoes, Willie runs up the stairs to me and starts wagging his tail. Without a doubt in his mind he knows he will be going on a run. I can’t help but take him with me seeing that kind of passion. If he was lazy, and not squirming at my feet, I might think twice.

Willie can visualize his goals so clearly that he can’t see anything but letting them come true. He puts so much of his energy into his running thoughts that he will dream about them during his sleep and make them happen when he’s awake

Sometimes I don’t take Willie running with me. Sh** happens, right? I sometimes go somewhere where he can’t come along, but he never loses sight of his desire. Willie has a way to make things happen.

Every once in a while Willie will take himself on a walk. When our back door is left open, the opportunity for success is left wide open as well. Willie doesn’t hesitate and takes himself running around the neighborhood. Willie never forgets about his desires when the door of opportunity is wide open.

The final element is Willie’s appreciation. When you take him running with you, the gratitude is absolutely beaming in his expression. He never takes these opportunities for granted and he will follow me around the rest of the day. Then when he falls back asleep, you see his feet moving step by step, dreaming of his next run in the park.

Willie follows these manifestation steps to make his goals happen:

1. Desire – Consciously recognizing the goal you want to make happen.
2. Belief – Turning the desire from a want into a belief. Believing in yourself and the reality of your goal.
3. Persistence – Always remembering the goal and constantly reminding yourself.
4. Gratitude – Not taking blessings for granted and showing appreciation.

If my dog can do it, you can too! Why do you think Willie is so good at manifestation?

When you speak the truth, the truth speaks!

And believe me, if you are speaking the truth, you will absolutely reek with confidence! Confidence is an inevitable side effect of being truthful and sincere.

So why am I talking about confidence? Recently I had three important interviews for a very exciting career opportunity. I had every reason to be nervous because I was talking to some very influential thought leaders. More than that, I have a track record of getting nervous in interviews.

But it was time to stop that! I was fed up with being nervous. I had to really meditate and ask myself…

“How the hell am I just going to be confident? What does it take?

During meditation this thought surmised, “When you speak the truth, the truth speaks.” I then realized that I didn’t have to say a word in any of my interviews. I just had to be sincere and let the truth speak. I didn’t have to try to use verbiage that made me sound like I was smarter than I was. I didn’t have to use a tone that made me sound more “spasiticated.” I just had to be myself and be sincere.

Let me tell you, this method brought me more confidence than I ever imagined.

Don’t get me wrong, there were several moments when I reverted to my old ways of nervousness. There were a few occasions where Stut-Stut-Stuttering-Stanley started speaking, but a quick reminder to myself to just be sincere immediately helped me regain composure.

I thought I would share this personal antidote because it’s a lesson in confidence I always took for granted. I’ve always heard others tell me, “Just be yourself.” That thought is so simple, and so easy to take for granted.

The Caveat

Don’t be fooled. Just like we are our own biggest enemies, we are our own biggest fans. Your truth will sound like the best thing since {fill in the blank}, and others won’t always agree with it. Just realize your own truth will be different from everyone else’s truth, and being confident is totally about having the courage to be yourself.

I hope all or you reading this are already a step ahead of me and practice this secret already. So share your thoughts about how you bring about your own confidence, and by all means don’t be shy. Your own truth will move mountains… even if its just your own mountain!

How many times has the dentist said you need to start flossing your teeth everyday?

Maybe you do floss everyday (and I salute you), but it’s small habits like these many of us have problems starting. So then what happens when we need to make even bigger changes to our lives?

I can tell you that I only remember to floss when there is something really annoying stuck in my shiny grill (I don’t really have a grill, just normal teeth). So many of us only realize we need to make big changes when something really annoying gets stuck in our lives – like a health problem, a bad habit, or a poor mindset that got us in trouble.

The Good News

There is a five-step plan to get you into a new habit or mindset, and it’s easy as pie if you stick to it. Sometimes telling yourself that you will “just remember next time” isn’t enough. The scientific verdict says it will take 21 days to start a new habit, so…

Go on the 5-21 Plan

I’m not talking about May 21st. This is the easy as pie five-step plan for 21 days to start a new way of life.

1. Consciously make a commitment and write this commitment down on a sticky note or somewhere you will see it every day for at least 21 days. You can even hang a picture or use anything that helps you consciously realize your goal.
2. Look at this commitment everyday and verbally repeat it to yourself when you see it.
3. No excuses! Stick to it like broccoli in your two front teeth.
4. 21 days later… now you are flossin’… or exercising, or owning the mindset of a millionaire, a champion, or anything you committed to.
5. Don’t quit! It’s way to easy to stop your new habit for a few days and revert to an old way of life. Turn your 21 days into the rest of your life.

And here is the secret sixth step you never knew was coming…

Hire an expert psychologist to train you like one of Pavlov’s dogs. Not really, but watch what happens with this simple Altoid reward system from a clip of this popular TV show.

Imagine being on the phone with someone and a strange energetic interference begins distorting the connection.

It was one of the amazing things that happened while I was interviewing hypnotherapist, reiki practitioner, and all-around brilliant individual Julie-Anne Taylor – whose presenece was literally electrifying. I asked Julie-Anne to read my energy at the end of the interview and a peculiar interference occurred. How can you explain this? (Please comment below if you have an idea!)

Julie-Anne debunks and explains some of the myths behind hypnosis, past life regression, neuro linguistic programming (NLP), reiki healing, and many other fascinating topics. We had an intriguing conversation and you can listen to the whole thing on this YouTube playlist. This is our first interview for ManifestWell.com. If you would like to request another interview with your favorite expert or author, contact me and let me know.

Sign up for our newsletter and you will get the entire conversation as a downloadable MP3 that you can listen to on your iPod or on your own time.

Julie-Anne Taylor is a highly qualified Consultant in Advanced Hypnotherapy from the Atkinson-Ball College of Advanced Hypnotherapy and Hypnohealing, which is one of the leading organizations in this field.  She is also registered with the British healthcare organization known as BUPA. She works mainly with the medical profession, both in the NHS and private sectors. To learn more visit her website at http://www.therapyedinburgh.co.uk/.

Would you believe your very concept of God in your brain could determine your state of well-being?

Would you believe that “fearing” God is actually unhealthy, and what does this mean exactly?

Negative emotions, like fear, kill parts of your brain by releasing harmful neurochemicals according to clinical research at the University of Pennsylvania. The concept of God is fairly large for many people, but it’s how you conceptualize God — and conceptualize your thoughts (positively or negatively) — which matters.

I’m a nut when it comes to research revealing the real-life effects of positive and negative thoughts. In this video (below), Mark Robert Waldman, an associate fellow with the University of Pennsylvania, gives a stellar presentation talking about the God concept and what happens to your brain with big ideas.

If you find this sort of thing boring, don’t be afraid to yawn. Yawning is actually one of the eight most beneficial exercises for your brain. It keeps your brain alive and stimulated, Waldman says. You might expect this guy to know these types of nuances after extensive research on the things that are inherently good for you and your brain.

Not everyone has the time or patience to watch a 20-minute video, so I took some of the important points and summarized Waldman’s presentation. (The summary is the below video.)

The God Concept

“God is good for your brain, only if your image of God is positive,” said Waldman, who also said dwelling on a negative thought for more than 20 seconds does damage to your brain.

Waldman said that if your dreams, goals, and visions is are positive – it will stimulate parts of your body and brain that are enormously healthy; while possibly adding years on to your life. Contrarily, he said negative ideas create neurochemicals destroying the limbic system which controls our regulation of destructive emotions. “You kill yourself with those [negative] ideas,” he said.

“God is a big idea,” and big ideas actually grow dendrites in important parts of your brain Waldman said . “A single word changes the function and structure of your brain.” As an example, Waldman said that if you look at the word “NO” for more than one second, it starts releasing those neurochemicals that deteriorate your brain.

Waldman also mentioned a recent study on persons with adverse mental health. The study showed that by looking at a list of negative words, over a relatively small period of time, their mental condition became worse.

Meditation is the Real Deal

Meditation is actually beneficial to create positive physiological effects for your brain and body. Waldman said if you meditate for 45 or 50 minutes on an idea, you disappear in some sense of the term. He said you lose your ego and all that remains in your total consciousness is your big idea. He said this idea becomes your inner and outer reality. Waldman showed diagrams of brain activity through the presentation to demonstrate his points.

“This is why you have to meditate on your positive belief, your positive image, your optimism – for a very long time – if you want to achieve the types of neurological benefits that we’ve been able to document in the lab.”

The Game Changer

“What is my deepest, innermost value?” Waldman asked the crowd in front of him. “Find a single word or phrase that captures that deep value.”

“This is your big idea.”

“An idea so powerful, it will change your brain, it will change your life, and it may even change the world,” he said.

Surprisingly, Waldman said they found for most people that God wasn’t their biggest idea. The concept of money was an even bigger idea in most people’s brains. So what was the biggest concept for most individuals? Waldman said the biggest concept was the one thing that captures the individual’s own deepest value.

Waldman said his own deepest value is compassion, admitting he needs to meditate on this idea even more in his life.

“When you share your deepest belief with other people from other traditions, you are going to find out we are all members of the same church – the church of humanity, the church of life. If you meditate on that word, that sacred belief, that big idea, for just a few minutes a day, for eight weeks – you will begin to change the structure and neurological function of your brain. It will bring a little bit more peace into your heart,” Waldman said.

He furthered his point by adding, “If you bring this value into your speech, and into your expressions, you will change the listeners brain.” Waldman said this concept is called neural resonance, and it is the key to getting along with others.

Pretty Cool ‘stuff!’

Now my question to all of you is, knowing about this research, is it convincing enough to change you from dwelling on your own negative thoughts? Your comments…

When the Stars DON’T Align… What Do You Do?

It can get very confusing when you are trying to be somewhere in your life or achieve something you’ve been working so hard for, and the stars just don’t align. It leaves you looking up at the sky saying, “Common, throw me a friggin’ bone for once!”

The adage goes, “Sometimes it’s who you know.” Let me tell you what I mean.

When I was younger I had a very special teacher who “knew somebody.” My teacher told me he knew the very last guy on the public record to be diagnosed with polio, a crippling disease, before the vaccine came out to prevent this disease from occurring. My teacher had a very personal conversation with this disabled old man who had every reason to be bitter about life.

For this man, it seemed luck ran short and the stars just didn’t align, but this man had a gift so many of us look for. He had the gift to create opportunities from problems.

He told my teacher, “I’m glad I was the last person to be diagnosed with polio. Living in this world, I don’t know if there are many people who could enjoy their lives and handle this disease like I can. If there’s a God, he picked the right guy.”

Putting It All Together

His message conveys that problems don’t have to be problems. With every problem we are actually presented with an opportunity, even if it doesn’t appear that way. If you look at personal growth like a muscle, you need to exercise your muscles for them to become stronger. Part of the exercise process is breaking down muscle tissue so it can rebuild giving you the ability to accomplish bigger tasks. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity.

Our problems present the opportunity for us to become stronger, if we let them. If you can realize this concept then nothing in your life will ever be problematic, ever. You will not be scared to take calculated risks, because you know there is an opportunity in every defeat.

I’ll never forget that story about the last man with polio. I think about it every time the stars don’t align, because it gives me a giant telescope to take another glance and see them aligning for something better in my life.

What do you think?