How to Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

There's always a way.

I can't help but laugh out loud when someone says "that's impossible" because I know it's not. And when people say "that's impossible" it just makes me want to do it that much more.

What would you love to do or have right now, that in this moment seems impossible (or nearly impossible)?

Now just suspend disbelief for a moment -- just one moment -- and imagine what it would be like if it wasn't impossible. If there were really a way that it could come true, come to you, and happen really quickly.

Can you see it? Can you even imagine that it's possible?

The trick is to stay focused on it being DONE. Finished. Completed.

It's a done deal.

See, when you do that, it puts your mind into a completely different state. Notice the difference:

"How on earth am I going to do this?" (Notice how it invites exasperation, desperation, and perspiration because you're gonna have to work extra-hard to get it all sorted out and "make" it happen. You get stuck in future or past, which causes tension and stress.)

...versus...

"OK, that's done. Now what?" (Notice how this removes the anxiety about "how" it's going to happen and shifts you into the present moment to evaluate what there is to do right here, right now. Let's the Universe handle the details and lets you focus on whatever is most optimal right now.)

In the book "As You Believe" by Barbara Dewey, the author recounts a personal story about a time when she was working in real estate and was indulging in a moment of frustrated desperation. She was sitting in her office, cold calling leads without any luck. She needed some money, and she needed it fast. But (as real estate goes), it takes time to put together a deal, go to closing, and receive a commission check.

She snapped out of her mini freak-out and quickly affirmed something to the effect of "God is my source of infinite supply and I always receive exactly what I need, in perfect divine timing." She believed this with such conviction, that she immediately shifted her mindset from one of "how will I make this happen" to one of "OK, it's done. Now what?"

Then she asked herself this: "If I knew without a doubt that the money was on its way, what would I do right now?"

And the answer that immediately entered her mind was "I would go home and do laundry."

Now keep in mind -- this was back in the 1970s, when there were no cell phones, no pagers, no email, and no way to contact a person except to call home or work and catch them there, or leave a message and wait for a call back.

So Barbara heads home and starts doing her laundry. Minutes later, the phone rings with a call from someone she had shown a property to months ago, who is now ready to move forward immediately. She wants to pay cash, and the seller wants a fast closing. So the deal was done and Barbara got the money she needed, and she received the phone call because she was at home, in the right place, at the right time.

Sometimes, when we are in the mindset of "OK that's done. Now what?" the answer we get can surprise us. Who knew that doing laundry could bring in a big (and fast) sale? But that's exactly the way it works. Besides laundry, it could have been anything -- call a particular person, write an ad, go to a certain place, take a nap, watch a particular movie.

When you are in the mindset of "done-ness" then you don't need to second-guess the answer to "now what?" because the fear and worry has shifted away.

See, if you're pretending to believe that it's "a done deal" but you don't really believe it, you will keep trying to make it happen with fruitless actions (working too much, trying too hard, forcing things) instead of just trusting and going on with whatever is most optimal in the moment.

This is a very simple lesson that is totally profound when you actually get it. Do you get it yet?