AttractAnything! (the blog)

Senator Phil Gramm got in hot water this week by suggesting that the economic difficulty facing Americans right now is “mostly mental.” Gramm went on to use some pretty unfortunate language, at one point referring to Americans as “a nation of whiners.”

While Senator Gramm’s choice of words was undoubtedly inflammatory and ill-advised, the overall point he was trying to make is a valid one: the biggest problem with the U. S. economy at this time is a lack of confidence (read: faith) amongst the buying public.

When people get scared because of economic warnings and rising fuel prices, they tend to stop spending money. This has the effect of putting the crunch on retail and other businesses, who then proceed to lay off workers and “downsize.” In other words, worrying about financial hardship is a type of self-fulfilling prophecy, and it all comes down to what economists call “consumer confidence.”

Keep It off Your Radar

Those of you who have read my blog posts before probably already know that I don’t watch the news. I do scan the headlines on my start up page on the computer, but I only read a news story if it is directly relevant to me, or if there is something I can do about the situation (these types of stories are few and far between).

For example, if a hurricane is barreling toward the east coast of Florida (where I live), that is a news story that is directly relevant to me, my business, my friends, family, et cetera. Those types of news stories I will read; but speculation about how bad things are economically for some people, in some areas, in some sectors of the market, are frankly none of my business and I make it a point to not allow such nonsense “on my radar.”

In fact, I encourage everyone to place strict limits on the amount and type of news coverage they will expose themselves to. Some people think this is simply burying your head in the sand, but I see it differently. Exposing yourself to negative information about the economy (or anything else for that matter) tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Which Way is Your Energy Flowing?

James Ray is famous for saying “energy flows where attention goes and when we put our attention on problems, tragedies and other negative news stories, we are in fact inviting these things into our experience. This is exactly what happens in times of economic downturns or “recession.” People place so much attention upon negative factors that they become fearful, and end up making the economy worse.

Economic ups and downs are a fact of life for all people, in all countries, at all times. And while it is true that the economy has been sluggish in some areas and it has caused disruptions in some American’s lives, it is important to keep things in perspective. Economic upturns and downturns have always been, and will always be. Keeping that in mind is a good way to weather the storm without allowing it to blow you off course.

In times of hardship (economic or otherwise), it is important to return to the basics: keep your focus on what you want, and ignore the rest.

To Your Continued Success!
Jon

Jon Mercer, MA
Personal Development Coach
http://www.attractanything.com/
Managing Director, Youniverse LLC

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Today I just wanted to remind everyone (including me) how important it is to spend your days doing what you love. They say nothing is guaranteed in life–and tomorrow is not a “given” — not for any of us. That’s why it is so important to do what you love to do in life, and do it TODAY.

If you find yourself toiling away at a job or a lifestyle or in a relationship or (fill in the blank) that you don’t like on a daily basis, it’s time to make a change. But what is it that keeps us from moving forward in life, from letting go of those things we don’t want? One word: fear.

Fear keeps us in a perpetual state of indecision, and prevents us from recognizing and claiming our true calling in life. And don’t misunderstand me–I don’t mean YOUR fear is holding YOU back. Not at all. Fear is universal, and we ALL deal with it sometimes. I have to face fears all the time–sometimes I do so admirably, but other times I cave in or whimp out. That is simply part of the human condition, and I have personally never met anyone who has COMPLETELY conquered fear from their life.

But the good news is, you don’t have to conquer fear completely to become a more-evolved, more highly functioning (i.e a prosperous and successful) person. But you DO have to make an effort, and try to face up to your insecurities and fears, and then move forward even though you are scared.

“Just a Dream”

A client of mine in New Zealand once told me his greatest dream was to buy a boat and sail around the world. When I asked him what action he had taken toward acheiving that dream he replied, “nothing, I mean it’s just a dream — not something I could actually do.”

And of course he had a long laundry list of reasons why he could never sail around the world; too dangerous, required too much money, his family wouldn’t accept it, and so on… But when we went through his reasons one by one, he discovered that ALL of these excuses were based on one simple mindset: fear.

And you know what? Whether he eventually sails around the world or not is not terribly important. But whether he tries to make it happen or not is VERY important! Trying — expending effort on behalf of our dreams — is everything in life. Because lets face it: we all have only so many days and so much energy to spend on this planet. What we do with it is entirely our call. If we don’t use our time and energy in the pursuit of our dreams, then by default, we will use our time an energy on things we don’t like or care about. Imagine looking back on your life from your last day and realizing that you wasted it on things you didn’t care about at all. Scarey thought, isn’t it?

Do What You Love — Full Stop

Even if what you love seems impractical or improbable, do it anyway. The alternative is to give in to fear, and let it keep you in servitude to things you don’t like for the remainder of your years.

You (like me) will likely never conquer all of your fears. That’s just life, and you should never feel bad about that–being human is a GOOD thing after all. Just keep pushing toward what makes you happy, what drives you. Do what you love, or die trying. The alternative is to do what you hate, and die doing that. Seems like a pretty easy decision to make when you look at it that way…

All the best,
Jon

www.attractanything.com

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