Week 20 – Supply & Demand

Create the supply and the demand will follow. Say what?

This is bassackward from every economics class I’ve ever taken (OK, I’ve only taken one economics class…but I’ve read several books).

The law of supply and demand is one of the most basic principles in economics. Basically it’s this, when an item is scarce, but many people want it, the price of that item will rise. Conversely, if there is a larger supply of an item than consumer demand warrants, the price will fall. ~ Investopedia

If you are in the retail, shipping, manufacturing, or selling business (that’s just about everybody) you will want to have a good understanding of this principle. With-holding the supply of certain goods or products will create a demand and thereby increase the price of that product. The trick is to make just enough of what the public wants so that the price will stabilize at a margin of greatest potential profit.

Here’s a question then…

How does one create the supply?

Haanel states in Masterkeys Lesson 20: 12-13:

“When you begin to perceive that the essence of the Universal is within yourself—is YOU—you begin to do things; you begin to feel your power; it is the fuel [SUPPLY] which fires the imagination; which lights the torch of inspiration; which gives vitality to thought; which enables you to connect with all the invisible forces of the Universe. It is this power which will enable you to plan fearlessly, to execute masterfully.”

In other words…We live the life we choose. Creating the right fuel, thought or internal picture of what we want is key to manifesting our dreams (supply). When we have this mental picture the DEMAND for action will follow. Hence, it is imperative that we give our dreams due diligence by thinking of the person we wish to become in order to fuel the demand for excellence in order to become that person.

 

Week 17 – Permission Granted

Who gives you permission to do what you do? I believe this is a question worth asking. As children this question may elicit a different response than when we are adults. As an adult we may take it for granted that we don’t need permission…or maybe we mistake approval from others AS permission to do or be something. We end up being or doing to please others instead of being and doing what our heart desires. That is not what permission is. Seeking approval outside ourselves gives away our power. We surrender our will to that of another.

Here’s why I LOVE this fabulous word…PERMISSION…

Introduced in week 17, Mark J. gave us a 30 second exercise to, out loud, give ourselves permission to do or be what was in our heart. Simple exercise. Profound effect. For some reason taking the time to give myself permission really felt freeing!

I began by saying out loud “I give myself permission to be happy!”

A smile crossed my lips.

“I give myself permission to be wonderful!”

Grinning with affirming tingles down my spine.

“Permission granted to be quirky and different and smile big, give hugs to strangers, dance in the living room, shout for joy, compliment a loved one, laugh out loud, be courageous!”

I finished with, “You have my permission to pursue your dreams, making the world a better place to live in!”

Whew! It was like coming out of the fog and being able to see clearly. Who knew? Such a simple exercise…30 seconds and BAM I’m out of the old blue print and into the new.

Life gets easier when we drop the conflict within ourselves…the constant excuse making that fights against our true happiness. Conflict that comes via the voices from the past…from my childhood and from others…shutting me down. That’s why I’m really in love with PERMISSION! There is no one telling me I can’t live my dream but me and my old blue print. HA! I’m giving myself permission to attract those people into my life who support working together with me on projects that are for the greater good. Because I give myself permission to enthusiastically pursue my dreams with laser focus I am supported at every turn!

Master Key 17:25 says…

“Remember that fundamentally the subconscious is omnipotent; there is no limit to the things that can be done when it is given the power to act. Your degree of success is determined by the nature of your desire. If the nature of your desire is in harmony with Natural Law or the Universal Mind, it will gradually emancipate the mind and give you invincible courage.”

Well bring on the courage because I’m giving my subby the power to act…

I feel like I’m my own Fairy God Mother….”Linda, I grant you permission to follow your heart’s desire without hesitation and with enthusiasm!” Sweet!

Week 15 – Excuse ME…Not!

I don’t mean to brag but…

I am natures’s greatest miracle! It’s true, and so are you! So says Og Mandino in Scroll IV of “The Greatest Salesman”. 

I am unique…just like everybody else.

Reminding myself of this truth, everyday, 3 times a day is the antidote for excuse making. I’ve made excuses my whole life. Excuses like…

• “The reason I’m not famous like so and so is because I was born into a poorer household with little opportunity.”
• “I don’t have time because I’m a busy mom.”
• “I’m not wealthy because I don’t have the support I need.”
• “I’ll try my hardest but I’ll never be the best because I have so many other interests competing for my time.”
• “I can’t be as good as that person because he/she was lucky and had an easy life.”

Excuses, excuses! You get the picture. Even as I write these down they sound hollow and false…yet, I find myself entertaining these thoughts on more than one occasion a day.

Truth is, an excuse comes from a place of lack. it excuses us from being great – it’s the master of mediocracy. It is the outward comparison of ourselves to another’s gifts and talents and assuming that their talents were somehow easier to achieve than ours. We fall short every time. It makes us feel inferior and that our talent is not worth giving to others. A dangerous place to be in the world of an entrepreneur.

The opposite of making an excuse involves two things…

1. Acknowledging our uniqueness
2. Appreciating our circumstance

This is what Og Mandino writes about. Deciding to come from a place of strength and celebrate my own unique experience no matter how small or insignificant I may feel is the road to success. It leads me down a path of believing that I can and do have something to offer.

I got this aha moment in dance rehearsal last week. We were on the bar, as we are every week, doing pliés and tendus. I was thinking to myself, “this is so hard at age 52. I’m too old to be as good as these younger women.” I caught myself mid-sentence and realized I was selling out to lack! Yikes! and Yuck! A huge aha moment for me. Something inside me said,

“You love dance! Just do it and go full out!”

I did. My spine straightened. I felt my core tighten. I gave myself permission to go full effort – and you know what happened? It was FUN! I felt FREE! I danced better than I thought I could. At that moment I felt a responsibility to myself and to the dance company to treat this moment like a performance. Then these words came to mind…

That which we practice often we perform amazingly.

The lesson: Replace complaining with appreciating…no excuses! It works like magic. In every instance. When we excuse ourselves from our dreams we open the door to shame, unworthiness, and lower vibration feelings. When we appreciate who we are unconditionally and take responsibility for our course in life we open the door to greatness! We are natures greatest miracle. Excuse me not, I’ll take greatness!

Week 14 – Got Me Thinking…

Charles Haanel boldly states in Part Fourteen of The Master Key that “all thought is creative.” Not just some thought…all thought.

What does that statement mean? Haanel goes on to say that if you deny the conditions in your life that you are not happy with that you literally up-root or sap the vitality of those conditions leaving them to wither and die. The opposite then stands to reason that what we put our attention towards and think about more often (and complain about) will persist with us, orgrow (seventh Law of the Mind).

You can see this played out when you’re around Uncle Ned or Aunt Petunia who can’t shut up about all the problems that are in their favor. You just think…”Nothing changes with that man/woman, bad luck seems to follow them everywhere.” They are literally creating the bad luck through their constant watering and nourishing of the very conditions that they are unhappy about.

This got me thinking…what if we are so comfortable in our misery that we don’t want to have those problems go away? Or…what if those conditions we deem unfavorable are actually blessings in disguise would we recognize them and change our habitual complaining about them?

This concept hit me hard.

I’ve been nursing an emotional hurt (brought on from a business partnership breakup) for over four years. It seems to come up every time I make a bold move in my business life. It’s as if I’m reliving the pain of that failure over and over and it feels like I’m paralyzed to take a risk. Is it a self-sabotaging mechanism in order for me to stay in the safe and known world? When I reach outside my comfort zone I feel every anxiety and hear all the unworthy gossip about myself replay in my head.

Time to stop the replay!

I CAN substitute a negative thought for a positive one…my choice (Law of Substitution). I can also CREATE whatever feeling around that failure that I want (Law of Dual Thought). JUICY!

After talking about this life changing business fallout to two separate individuals in the same week, I received some very insightful advice which came in the form of an inquiry…”What have you gained from this experience?”

That question simmered around in my head for a few days.

Then the flood gates gave way and I could no longer hold a container of resentment.

My mind poured out instance after instance of all the opportunities that opened up and have shaped my direction in the last four years. I could see that every workshop, class, seminar, or other business venture that I had either been in or taught in the past four years was a direct result of that fateful business failure. All the friendships and people that I’ve met because of or in spite of this failure count in the 100’s. Tearfully I realize that I would do it all over again in a heartbeat and I’m grateful for that past experience. The thought I had created about that business venture being a failure is NO LONGER THERE. It is replaced with a new thought and feeling…one of deep and sincere gratitude. I’m grateful for the experience. I’m grateful for the failure. I’m grateful for all the growth that I’ve experienced.

You could say that the light has replaced the darkness. I have blossomed into a more soulful, authentic, real version of myself instead of working in a business with someone else’s dream.

I find Haanel’s writings to be very liberating. The idea that I can CREATE the condition around an event that is either out of my control (or perceived to be so) is redemptive. Moreover, the study and practice of training my mind to create the condition and see that it is within my control is freeing. I believe Haanel is DEAD ON with his summation of our power to create conditions. To deny this is to deny responsibility for our fate. It is to say that it does not matter what we do in this life because ultimate reward is out of our control. This is not so. We indeed have more control over our lives than we give ourselves credit for.

The very thought that MY thoughts are the cause of the events that take place in my life has got me thinking…what else is possible?