March 15, 2007 by jacquie.

I’m considering stories to add to my latest book. Two of my favorite Law of Attraction stories involve my daughter. After Penny finished college, she set out to find a great place to live in Berkeley, California. In this university town, finding any place seemed impossible. One of my friends spent a year looking. People subscribed to rental agents and had to phone within minutes after a listing was posted to find apartments that were often dumps.

Penny had already lived in a so-so apartment; she was ready for something nicer. She found an ad for a “charming cottage” but “no dogs.” Bummer. She had Zoey, her fabulous pit bull-boxer mix—a sweetheart of a dog. She proceeded because the cottage was exactly what she wanted: a stand-alone gem with a fireplace, a garden, and a fenced in yard.

When Penny went to see the house, she took Zoey along and invited the potential landlady to meet her dog; somehow she was sure this woman who said “no dogs” was going to love her dog! Penny’s application was one of 100 would-be tenants’ applications to be reviewed over the next two days.

When Penny told me about this wonderful little house, I suggested that she imagine herself in the house. This was long before I knew anything about the law of attraction, it was just a natural thing for me. Since Penny was a nut for Christmas, I suggested that Penny imagine her Christmas tree in the house and also dream about a party in the back yard. She got the cottage. She and Zoey spent several years living happily ever after. That is, until the day the landlady said her sister was moving into the cottage and Penny had to move out.

Before I tell  my second story, I want to review how Penny used the law of attraction to get that cottage. First of all, she was clear about what she wanted. She took action to enroll in Homefinders and to be one of the first to see the place. She also presented her dog secure in the knowledge that the landlady would love Zoey (or at least accept her). Then Penny’s envisioning living in the cottage really lit her up. She took some final action by calling the landlady before the end of the application period to tell her one more time about how much she wanted to live in the cottage and how she planned to garden and take care of the place. Taking action is a major part of the law of attraction.

The second story starts where the first left off. At that time, I was studying with Robert Kirosaki and decided to explore the real estate market. My idea was to buy a house and rent it to Penny. She and I set off one drizzly Sunday and saw some mighty iffy houses. However, the last one on our list was better than Penny’s wonderful cottage. This was in the heyday of the housing market when sellers got many offers for thousands of dollars more than they were asking.

After we saw all the mother and daughter photos in the house, we told the owner/real estate agent our mother-daughter plan. She was so enchanted with what we were doing, she made a few suggestions such as having Penny buy the house rather than me because as a first time buyer, she could qualify for the loan faster.

During the waiting period, Penny did a fabulous job of envisioning living in that house, once again imagining her Christmas tree. She even drew the footprint of the house and positioned all her furniture. From our first sight, we had a definite feeling that Penny would soon own that little house, and she does. She lives there now—with her husband and her second dog, Kirby. The Law of Attraction works.   

© 2007, Jacqueline Hale

Posted in Articles | Print | No Comments »

March 8, 2007 by jacquie.

When I decided to attend the Mega Book Marketing  event two weeks ago, it seemed like a great idea. I had no idea how far off I was. It was so much more than a great idea that I don’t even have words to describe it. It was the best seminar event I’ve ever attended! This was the first time Elaine and I were in a marketing arena together and we confirmed what a great partnership we have. Our concept for Promise Power evolved as we realized that the tagline must be “Creating success one promise at a time.”

We won the lottery! Only a few people were lucky enough to present a pitch to a publishing agent, and we were two of them. Over the three days, we talked personally with luminaries in the self-help industry, Mark Victor Hansen being the most luminous! Even though he was the event’s brilliant conceptualist, we are scheduled to have a private conference with him in the near future. Mark and his partner, Jack Canfield, have sold 145,000,000 (yes, that’s one hundred and forty-five million) copies of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. They are amazing marketers and incredibly generous spirits.

We got wonderful information from the presenters, who are people with high integrity, open hearts, and incredible skill. These generous men and women gave us so much free information, I’ll probably still be implementing it when summer fades. All 15 presenters encouraged the 650 authors and would-be authors to move from wherever we are to wherever we need to be to make a difference in the world with what we write.

What did I learn from these three days? I learned to trust my instincts. Last week, I wrote about feeling lit up when I decided to write a book rather than create a website. I didn’t really know what that was all about except that it felt absolutely right. Now I know that having a book (rather than a website) meant that I would consider going to this book marketing event. It wasn’t so much about the book but all of the products that will come after the book and the validation about our Promise Bracelet idea. Many people literally lit up when we told them about using this symbol to remind them of their dream and to provide a book with the tools for making their dreams come true, even if they didn’t have a clue where to start. Men kept asking, “What do we get?” Patience, that comes next. Professional women are our first target market.

It would have been easy to think, “That seminar is too expensive, too long, and too far away.” I could have thought that I didn’t deserve to be there. Instead I thought, “I want to be there, I am worth it, and I will learn how to be a better writer, especially how to be a writer who has sold all of her books rather than being a writer with 400 copies of her last book sitting in her office. I learned to believe in myself, and that was certainly worth the price of admission!

Remember, dream big and believe in yourself.

© 2007, Jacqueline Hale

Posted in Articles | Print | 2 Comments »

February 28, 2007 by jacquie.

I’ve had lots of interesting responses to my articles about The Secret and my description of how I use the Law of Attraction. Some people are appreciative and encouraging and others are skeptical. People sent me articles, all of which were negative and some of which were snarky. All this input really helps me understand what the public thinks when they hear about the Law of Attraction. Originally, Elaine and I weren’t going to use that term because it automatically causes resistance in some people. When The Secret became popular (1.5 million copies of the DVD have been sold, 750,000 last month), we decided to declare our alignment rather than avoid it. Either way, the process we espouse for success remains the same. Be clear about what you want and stay positive while you take action to get it.

As I planned a book proposal, I asked myself how we were different. The light bulb I mentioned last week is what sets us apart from the others who talk about reaching goals or success in general. When Elaine came up with the idea of a Promise Bracelet, she light up – I could tell that even over the phone. When I realized that I had to write this book, I lit up and I’ve stayed that way. We both have stayed lit up. We’ve continued to feel spacious and joyful about our goals. Here’s how I define the Law of Attraction: When we have a goal that is worth of our attention, we light up, take action, and we get what we want.

Let me contrast the difference between a goal that lights me up and one that doesn’t. For years,  I’ve had the desire to lose weight. I played with the words to make it as positive as possible. I said, “I want to have a healthy body.” Then I used my own coaching tools regarding having a healthy body, but my weight has stayed the same. Maybe I have a healthy body, I’m disease free and full of energy, but I haven’t lost weight. I can also say that no light bulb has ever gone on when I’ve considered what I weigh or what I’d like to weigh.

One friend suggested that my experiences in wanting and getting clients is a coincidence. She suggested that I was forgetting the times I thought about getting new clients and didn’t get phone calls. Actually there’s a difference between when I thought I should get some more clients and when I actually wanted them so much the light bulb moment happened. Those are entirely different feelings. Thinking that I need the money or I don’t want to be a failure motivated me to think “I should get more clients.” When I thought, “I have gifts to give and I want to share those with new clients,” that’s when new clients came. I have described my business completely:  the kind of clients, how many of them, how I would fill my schedule, and how much money I would make. Even though I stayed positive, that business  has never been as successful as I’ve wanted. Do you know why? No light bulb went off. I was without the passion I felt recently when I decided that I must write a book.

The Law of Attraction works for things that light me up. What does that look like? How does it feel? Do you remember falling in love with a boyfriend or girlfriend, a puppy or kitten, or most absolutely, with a baby! That’s the feeling of lighting up. You feel more spacious. You’re dancing on air. Your face and your whole being lights up. People can see it. They can feel it. And you know it in your bones. When you have that kind of reaction and you are willing to take action, the right resources and opportunities just show up!

2007, Jacqueline Hale

Posted in Articles | Print | No Comments »

February 22, 2007 by jacquie.

Did you ever have a great idea and wonder what took you so long to have it? That’s what happened to me last week. For months now, I’ve been working on a website concept that is an interactive version of the deliberate attraction process I use with my clients. I kept getting sidetracked and bogged down. I’ve even asked myself and my several coach buddies to help me figure out what’s going on. The conclusion I came to was that I was just too busy, which led me to resign from my time-consuming volunteer position.

So there I was with plenty of time and the skills and desire to make the website happen. Basically, it was moving along, but more slowly than I would like and with less enthusiasm than I expected. Then whammo! Last Friday I was watching Oprah’s second show about The Secret and the light bulb went on. It was a 150 watt spotlight. Why don’t I write a book rather than put this information on a website?

 Why indeed! The excitement of it kept me awake. I kept  thinking about the wave of interest The Secret has generated in the Law of Attraction, and here I am with all the material that anyone needs to incorporate that principle into his or her life. Why not just write it as a book?  

Saturday, I started the book—actually it’s more like a booklet. I finished it on Monday. Then on Tuesday I thought of several things I wanted to add. Who knows where it will be by Thursday when you see this article. What I do know is that I should pay more attention—my flagging interest in the website was saying something. Was it that the time wasn’t right? Was I going the wrong direction? Was I using the wrong medium? What I do know is that I love writing books, especially workbooks, which is what Your Secret of Success is. Isn’t that a cool name. I’ll have to come up with a pithy subtitle. Here’s an amazing fact: www.your-secret-of-success.com was available—most URLs with “success” in them are already taken.

Postscript:  On Tuesday (after this went to my proofreader), I heard a tele-promotion about a seminar in LA for marketing books. This was the exact information my business partner and I need. There I was with the seminar on the phone at one ear and my cell phone at the other as I called Elaine to say, “We’ve gotta go to this!”  Guess what? We are. Talk about the Universe unfolding, this has been a whirlwind. Next week, we’re off to the MegaBookMarketing conference. End.

I don’t know what will come of this. I do know I want to sell a million books—maybe printed books, maybe ebooks, that remains to be seen.  One million is a lot of books—far more than I could imagine selling of my Serenity book or my Transformation book. I guess this means I’m growing, vision-wise.

Well, here I am, the light bulb is on and I am enthusiastically seeing the possibilities it has revealed. What took me so long? Well, it took as long as it took.

©2007, Jacqueline Hale

Posted in Articles | Print | No Comments »

February 14, 2007 by jacquie.

I’ve been surprised at how many people have mentioned the movie, The Secret. Even Larry King did a special on it. Then Oprah had a whole program about it last week. Frankly, I’m excited by all the buzz because the principles of The Secret are the very same principles I use in my coaching to help people set goals and reach them. You may remember my talking about the Cosmic Waitress delivering your order—that’s the basis of The Secret. When you are clear about what you want and don’t dilute it with self doubt and negative talk, you will get it.

It’s not really a secret. I heard this concept called the power of positive thinking way back when Normal Vincent Peale first coined it in 1952. (Oh no, now I’ve revealed an approximation of my age!) Before that, Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich in 1937. (I was not around to see that one unveiled!)

So what’s the excitement about this movie? At the beginning, it’s like The Da Vinci Code with lots of mysterious overlays. Then it employs comments from a lot of people who are famous in some circles. Jack Canfield of the Chicken Soup series is the most recognizable of the bunch. The people in the movie are teachers of the Law of Attraction.

What excites me is that people who’d be embarrassed to be seen in the New Age section of a bookstore are actually getting the idea. This concept didn’t originate as New Age information but it fits right into New Age philosophy—and it’s acceptable in many circles.

Our thoughts create our feelings which direct our actions which create results.
In other words, if you don’t like the results you’re getting, you can trace the cause right back to your thoughts. It’s scary how that works. Two great examples often show up for me. I think, “No one ever hires a coach over the holidays,” and sure enough, no one hires me because they are talking to other coaches!  But more frequently I’ll think, “I want six clients this month” and within days (minutes, sometimes) I have six clients. That’s the part I like.

If you consistently have a goal you don’t reach, try working backwards through your actions, your feelings, and your thoughts. How often I’ve heard a client say, “But I can’t change my thoughts!” Oh yes you can! The trick is to be mindful of your thoughts and when you catch yourself thinking something negative, stop yourself and transform that thought into something positive. You might have to do a little work discovering or convincing yourself of the positive, but it can be done. If it’s deeply imbedded in your belief system, it may take a coach’s help. That’s what I’m here for – call me.

© 2007, Jacqueline Hale

Posted in Articles | Print | 3 Comments »

February 7, 2007 by jacquie.

Posted in Articles | Print | No Comments »