PART ONE
INCREASE YOUR NATURAL POWER
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.
Powerful people have the ability to get what they want, to attract great opportunities, people, and wealth, and to wield their influence to impact those around them. We are all powerful to varying degrees, but everyone can increase his or her own natural power and have more energy. The formula is a simple one: to increase your natural power, eliminate the things that drain your energy and add the things that give you energy. I said simple, not necessarily easy. The first place to start when you begin this coaching program is to dramatically reduce the number of things that are distracting you and draining your energy, and replace them with some positive, nurturing energy boosters. This is where you get your life in good shape, get rid of the bad habits, and learn how to protect yourself from unpleasant people and remarks. This is the underlying foundation needed to increase your power naturally and attract the success you want. We often neglect to build a solid foundation for our lives because we are so busy going after our goals.
There are a couple of dangers in going after really big goals before you’ve taken the time to get your life in basic order. First, you may achieve your goal, but it may not last. You’ve probably seen it happen to friends who sacrifice all to go for their goal and achieve it, only to find the success short-lived and their lives in shambles. Most people erroneously conclude that success ruins people, but in fact, it may not be the success that ruins people, but rather the lack of a solid foundation. Any work you do in this first section will strengthen your personal foundation and make all the following steps of this book much easier to accomplish. While these tips may look simple, take the time to do them. It is critical to achieving long-term, sustainable success.
The second danger in going after your goals before establishing a strong foundation is that you may reach your goals and then not feel fulfilled or satisfied. A reporter once asked me, “What is the number one reason people are unable to reach their goals?” I simply told her it was that they picked the wrong goals in the first place.
Have you ever had your heart set on some objective and then, when you finally achieved it, found that your victory was hollow? Either what you wanted wasn’t as great as you had imagined, or you enjoyed it for a short time and then went all too quickly on to the next goal. This is extremely common. We are so heavily influenced by media and advertising that we often don’t know what we really want as individuals. Instead, we adopt some media-inspired vision of what will make us “happy.” What you think you want may not be your true dreams or goals; instead, you may have been seduced into them by slick advertising. Obviously, reaching these goals will still leave you with those vague feelings of discontent. Before you can even figure out what makes you really happy, you need to handle the basics in life.
Start energizing your life by getting rid of everything you are putting up with. Cleaning out your closet and sewing on a button may not sound glamorous, but these kinds of things are often the first step to getting what you really want. As Mom always said, “Eat your veggies; then you can have dessert.”