May 2007 - The Law of Attraction at Work

What is "The Secret"?; Setting a clear intention; Improving productivity and teamwork; The dark side; How it works; Creating a plan; True story; On a personal note; Bottom line; Resources (links, books, media products, articles, the lighter side)
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What is "The Secret"?

Have you heard the "buzz" about the DVD seminar, The Secret? Oprah is talking about it. Even Newsweek is talking about it.

The basic premise of the Law of Attraction as explained in The Secret is that we attract what we think about most.

How does our belief attract what we want at work? Let’s say that you have a difference of opinion with someone else at work. For the sake of discussion, let’s say the difference of opinion is not a huge one.

Setting a clear intention

Think about what you want to achieve in an interaction with someone that you have difference of opinion with.
What do you want to accomplish - Do you want to resolve the differences? Do you want to make a plan to work together? Do you want to continue to have conflict with the person? Do you want to change their mind?
Whatever you want will determine your attitude going into a meeting with the person. If you go into the meeting without even thinking about what you want, anything can happen.
Before you meet with the person, set an intention that you will both leave the meeting feeling good about what happened and that you have a good plan for going forward.
Take a deep breath before the meeting and make sure you are in a positive state of mind. Do whatever you need to do to get yourself feeling good before the meeting.
Then take a few minutes to visualize this: See yourself going into the meeting in a positive frame of mind. See yourself and the other person talking about the differences of opinion and finding creative ways to resolve them. See yourself and other person looking for ways to come to agreement and move forward. See yourself and the other person as you leave the meeting, both feeling good about what happened. See the situation being resolved in a positive way. Feel the emotion of knowing that it is all working out well for both of you.
Now, as you prepare to enter the meeting, let that visualization come alive for you in your mind and in your emotions.

If you do this, you will find that the entire nature and tenor of the meeting can change for the better.

Over time, using this process, people with whom you previously may have had conflicts become easier to work with. Problems and issues get resolved more quickly - all because your attitude changed for the better.

If you do this every time before you enter a meeting, you will find that your attitude will transform many situations almost magically. See every project as an opportunity for people to work together in positive ways. See every difference of opinion as a wonderful opportunity to find new and creative ways of doing something.

Improving productivity and teamwork

If you are a manager, encourage your staff to take this approach as they work on a project or as they work with others. Before long, you will see staff working together more effectively. Conflicts will decrease and productivity will increase. People will start noticing how much nicer things are at work. They will start feeling better about coming to work every day. They will get along better with each other and find more things to laugh about.

Take time to say, "thanks" and "I appreciate you and your work" at least once a day — more if possible. Notice ways to give positive feedback whenever you can and where ever you are. Say "thank you" when someone does something nice for you - holds a door open, lets you go first in line, gives you a compliment, accomplishes a task, gives you information, etc. Pay attention to strangers you encounter - smile, say "hello" and "thanks" or "how may I help you?" whenever possible.

You will notice that people will begin to treat you better. "What goes around, comes around" means that if you are sending out positive messages all day long, positive messages will be coming back to you.

This is how the Law of Attraction works — you attract to you that which you are. If you have a positive attitude, you attract more positive people and events to you.

The dark side

Conversely, if you get up in the morning in a foul mood, go to work expecting everyone to fight you at every turn, you will likely find that the day does not go well. Again, you are attracting to you what you are feeling and reflecting your belief that things are not good.

If you see the world as a dangerous or fearful place, you will find things to fear at every turn. If you believe that someone else must lose something in order for you to win something, you will be looking to hurt others. Of course, they will find opportunities to fulfill your beliefs and you will find yourself being hurt as well.

You do have a choice about how to approach your day. If you get up in a foul mood, you can change that before you leave home. Do something that makes you feel good — play music, read poetry, meditate or pray, play with the dog, kiss your spouse or partner, play with your children, remember a happy time — do whatever it takes and your day will be much better for the small amount of effort required to change your outlook.

How it works

We attract to us what which we are in direct proportion to our belief. In other words, the clearer we are about what we want and trusting that it is our destiny to be joyful, happy and creative, the greater our ability to experience what we desire.

If we have big dreams and KNOW with confidence that we are what we believe, we attract to us more of who we are. If we are happy, we attract more happiness in our life. If we are abundant, we attract more abundance in our live. If we are joyful, we attract more joy in our life. If we are loving, we attract more love in our life.

Conversely, if we are bitter or filled with blame, we attract more people and situations full of bitterness and blame. If are fearful and distrustful, we attract more fear and distrust into our lives. If we feel like a victim or that we are "less than" others, we attract people and situations to confirm our beliefs.

By changing our mind about conditions and situations, we can in fact change those conditions. We can choose to focus on the positive aspects of a situation instead of the negative aspects.

Did you ever wonder why Donald Trump is so successful? It is because he believes it is his right to be successful and that nothing can stop him. He never doubted that he could do whatever he wanted.

The Law of Attraction is a big part of how most successful people are successful — they truly believe they can do whatever it is they want to do or be whatever is it they want to be.

They not only know it in their mind, they feel it with their emotions and they take action based on those beliefs and feelings — they move confidently in the direction of their desires.

Creating a plan

Are you involved in planning or strategic planning where you work? Have you ever been part of a plan or a project of any kind? If so, you will notice that many things that are planned actually get done. Do you think they would have happened by accident if there was no plan? Probably not.

Planning is simply one form of the Law of Attraction at work. People set out a plan, develop a vision for a new idea or project, feel how it will be when it is finished, see it in their mind as completed and successful, then they go forward to accomplish the plan. Because they have set a clear intention, they "attract" what is needed to accomplish the plan. If team members involved in the plan believe in the plan’s goals, they will be actively participating in a positive way, which makes the plan go more smoothly.

If along the way, many people disagree or refuse to participate, they attract chaos and the plan does not go forward smoothly.

What do you want from your workplace? Set your intention, set your goals, believe it is possible and move forward confidently and positively in the direction of your desires.

Practice until it becomes second nature and you will find that your work experience changes significantly for the better. If it does not, either two things are happening: 1) you are not keeping a positive consistent focus, or 2) the environment in which you work is such that positive thinkers cannot survive. If the former is true, continue to practice until positive thinking becomes a daily habit. If the latter is true, find a different environment that supports the positive person you are.

True story

Many years ago, a friend asked me to attend a 15-week workshop she was teaching at no charge. It was called Leadership Dynamics from Paul Meyer's company, Success Motivation Inc. She was trying to build up her business and had a few empty seats that she offered to close friends. At the time, I was barely making enough money to survive so figured it wouldn't hurt. I had some great ideas but had not yet learned about goal setting. The workshop taught me a lot about setting intentions, making goals and living a balanced life. By the end of the workshop, I had been approved for a $50,000 grant to start a non-profit organization, the Orange County Business Development Center in California. Wait - that's not even the best part.

Each week, we had homework - setting goals, looking at our life and seeing where we needed to put more attention, learning more about ourselves, our personality and our desires. We also had to write down things on a "wish list" each week. On my wish list, I put big things like a new car, a trip to Europe, a new house, a better relationship with my partner, family and children, a good job and plenty of money coming in, a deeper spiritual connection, etc. I put a lot of little things on there also. I worked with the goals for a while after finishing the workshop then put the books away and got busy living my life. It was a few years later after I had moved that I noticed the books again and reviewed my wish list. Every single thing I had put on my wish list from that workshop had happened! I had a new car, a new home, had been to Europe for the first time, had plenty of money coming in, was much happier in my relationships, had deepened my spirituality, etc. All of them had happened - most of them without hard work, without even focusing much attention on them.

Did you know that only 5% of people write down their goals? And, 90% of those who do write down their goals achieve them? Are you willing to be one of the 5% who are successful in accomplishing what they want?

On a personal note

Just as you can create a plan for what you want at work, you can create a plan for what you want in your personal life.

Do you want better relationships?

Set your intention for what you want, feel the way you want to feel when you are in that better relationship, think of ways to create that relationship, put yourself in places where good relationships exist, hang out with people who have good relationships, let people who have troubles in their relationships go away from your life, work out differences with others who are close to you in a positive way, resolve small problems that naturally occur before they become larger, eliminate fear from your relationships, etc.

Practice saying, "please" and "thank you." Treat other people with joy, respect and kindness, no matter what they do or what they say.

Notice when someone does something nice, do something nice for those you care about, let go of silly grudges and negative thinking — focus only on the wonderful positive traits of the people you care about.

Do you want a different job, career or working situation?

Set your intention for what you want; feel the way you will feel when you have that better career, job or business; hang around with people who have the type of career, job or business you want; eliminate fear from your mind, see yourself successful in that new career, job or business; visualize your new work area and feel how good that feels.

Practice acting in the way you will act when you have that new career, job or business.

Notice people who have that career, job or business that you want — how do they act, ask them how they got successful, pay attention to what works, give up thinking "I can’t do that" and focus on "I CAN do that and I AM doing that."

Focus only on the wonderful positive aspects of what you want.

Do you want better health?

Set your intention for perfect health; feel the way you will feel when you have perfect health; hang around with people who are healthy; stay away from people who are sickly; see yourself as healthy; affirm daily "I never get sick" and "I am perfectly healthy"; act in healthy ways; eat good food; eliminate junk food and high-calories foods from your diet; feel how good that feels to be perfectly healthy; exercise when you can knowing that is what healthy people do.

Practice acting in the way you will act when you have perfect health.

Notice people who exhibit perfect health — ask them how they maintain their health, pay attention to what works, give up thinking "I can’t do that" and focus on "I CAN do that and I AM doing that."

Focus only on the wonderful positive aspects of what you want.

Do you want more prosperity and abundance in your life?

Set your intention for what you want, feel the way you want to feel when you have more money and more "riches" in your life, think of ways to create more prosperity and abundance in your life, put yourself in places where abundance and prosperity are; hang out with people who have plenty of whatever they want in their life and see life as rich and fulfilling; let people who have troubles with prosperity and abundance go away from your life.

Practice affirming, "I have more than enough to meet my needs right now" and "my bank account is filled to overflowing right now."

Practice saying "thank you" whenever you notice more money or more of anything you desire coming into your life.

Practice saying, "thank you, thank you, thank you" whenever the sun rises in the morning; be grateful for the rain, be grateful for the incredible natural abundance of our planet. See abundance and prosperity all around you.

Notice that there really is plenty for everyone. You don’t need to take anything away from anyone else to have more of what you want — you only have to put your attention on the abundance that is already all around you.

Recognize and affirm that you have an abundance of wealth, a never ending supply of information, an abundance of healthy foods, an abundance of people who can produce more goods and services, an abundance of money flowing through our economic system, an abundance of creativity, etc.

Help others and share what you have knowing that even more will come to you.

Bottom line

Only YOU can create your own life starting in this moment right now. Only YOU can live your life — no one else can do that for you. No matter what anyone else tries to tell you, YOU are in control of what you think — and only YOU can change that thinking. Only YOU are in control of what you feel — and only YOU can change those feelings. If you start to think something negative, practice shifting your thoughts or your feelings to something that makes YOU feel good. Soon it will come easily and without conscious effort.

You don’t have to change anyone else to be happy; you can choose to be happy yourself. You don’t have to change the world to be peaceful; you can be peaceful yourself. You don’t have to take anything away from anyone else to be abundant; you can feel abundant yourself. You don’t have to make anyone sick to be healthy; you can be healthy yourself. Whatever it is you want, think it for yourself, feel it for yourself, do it for yourself and be it for yourself.

If you want to change your life, change your thinking and life will change almost magically for you. All of the most successful people in the world will tell you the same thing that I’m telling you – it’s all up to YOU! That’s the only true "secret" to living a successful life.

Internet Resources

Many positive Affirmations and Quotations to help keep you thinking and feeling in a positive way - http://www.itstime.com/may2007a.htm. Also available as a PDF file http://www.itstime.com/May2007PositiveQuotes.pdf
Quotes on setting goals http://www.about-personal-growth.com/goal-quotes.html

Books - Disclosure: We get a small commission for purchases made via links to Amazon.

Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance, Marcus Buckingham. Free press, 2007. ISBN-10: 0743261674 ISBN-13: 978-0743261678
The One Thing You Need to Know: About Great Managing, Great Leading and Sustained Individual Success, Marcus Buckingham. Free Press, 2005. ISBN 0743261658
Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton. Free Press, 2001. ISBN: 0743201140
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently, Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman Simon & Schuster, 1999. ISBN: 0684852861
Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised, Napoleon Hill. Aventine Press, revised edition, 2004. ISBN-10: 1593302002 ISBN-13: 978-1593302009
Deliberate Success: Realize Your Vision with Purpose, Passion and Performance Eric Allenbaugh & Denis Waitley. Career Press, 2002. ISBN-10: 1564146170 ISBN-13: 978-1564146175
Wake-up Calls: You Don't Have to Sleepwalk Through Your Life, Love or Career! Eric Allenbaugh. Fireside, 1994. ISBN-10: 0671887076 ISBN-13: 978-0671887070
The Law of Attraction, Esther and Jerry Hicks. Hay House, 2006. ISBN-10: 1401912273 ISBN-13: 978-1401912277
The Secret (book based on the DVD seminar), Rhonda Byrne (Editor). Atria Books/Beyond Words, 2006. ISBN-10: 1582701709 ISBN-13: 978-1582701707

Media Products - Disclosure: We get a small commission for purchases made via links to Amazon.

The Secret video seminar (Original Edition DVD with Esther Hicks, Jack Canfield, Dr. Rev. Michael Beckwith and many more), produced by Rhonda Byrne. Prime Time Productions, 2006, 89 minutes. ASIN: B000K3I7SO
The Secret video seminar (Extended Edition DVD with Jack Canfield, Dr. Rev. Michael Beckwith, Dennis Waitley, John Gray, Neale Donald Walsh and many more), produced by Rhonda Byrne. Prime Time Productions, 2006, 92 minutes. ASIN: B000K8LV1O

Articles

Oprah: Discovering " The Secret" http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/slide/20070208/ss_20070208_284_101.jhtml
Oprah: One Week Later: The Huge Reaction to "The Secret" http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/slide/20070216/ss_20070216_284_101.jhtml
How to be happy at work http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Be-Happy-at-Work&id=540915
The Law of Attraction at Work http://strategic-business-planning.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_law_of_attraction_at_work
The Law of Attraction http://hodu.com/attraction.shtml
What is the Law of Attraction? http://www.todayisthatday.com/lawofattraction.html
Utilizing the Law of Attraction http://www.lifedynamix.com/articles/Inspiration/635.html
Positive Affirmations Create Effortless Ease http://benchmarkcoaching.wordpress.com/2007/01/01/a-genie-who-will-grant-your-every-wish/
Workplace Personality Clashes: How You Can Overcome Them http://www.sedona.com/WorkplaceClash.aspx
Newsweek 3/4/2007: Decoding "The Secret" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17314883/site/newsweek/?nav=slate?from=rss
How To Create A Vision Board And Attract Your Goals http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Create-A-Vision-Board-And-Attract-Your-Goals&id=430204
10 Tips to Effectively Achieve Your Goals http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=102601&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=798071&highlight=
Goal-Setting: The 90-Day Challenge http://michaelhyatt.blogs.com/workingsmart/2005/01/goalsetting_the.html
Achieving Goals: The Remaining 90% - Sheer Persistence http://ezinearticles.com/?Achieving-Goals:-The-Remaining-90%25---Sheer-Persistence&id=5076
S.M.A.R.T. Goals http://ezinearticles.com/?S.M.A.R.T.-Goals&id=11135

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