BlogHer - Can You Just Attract More Money? - Comments

Thanks for the laugh...and making me think

soulseeking — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:09:37 -0600

Hi Paula,

Thanks for posting this and sharing the link to the video clip spin off of the Secret. It was amusing, and thought-provoking. The first time I viewed the original movie, I was amazed. This tongue-in-cheek is more like how it really happens but maybe if I applied the LOA philosophy with more diligence...?

Anyway, I've now discovered BlogHer and hope to find a lot more discoveries!

All the best,

Ann

Not a Person of Color, but have a thought

paulag01 — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:35:14 -0600

Hi Rachelle,

While I can't offer you the person of color perspective & hope that some additional folks post with that viewpoint, I do have one thought I'd like to share.

As I coach I have to wonder if it is just a story and mindset that people in that situation tell themselves? Now, I know there are hardships, and sometimes horrid conditions and realities that I cannot even imagine haven't been in that situation firsthand. Yet, don't we always hear stories of people of color who have risen above their situation, left the projects and gone on to be successful financially and otherwise? If they can do it, why not others? What is different about them? And from that I would glean hope and possibility.

"If you believe you can or believe you can't" -- either way you are right.

Warmly
_Paula

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

Paula is the author of the 12 Part "Comfortable in Your Own Skin" eCourse
which you can sign up for free at her website www.thepaulagcompany.com or
popular blog www.coaching4lesbians.com .

Attracting Money in Systemic Disfunction?

Rachelle Mee-Chapman — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:49:48 -0600

This is a fascinating post and brings up a lot of ideas and questions for me. Many of my friends live by this philosophy, and I've been intrigued by it. But I also have concerns and would appreciate insight from people who have more experiencewith it than I. For instance..

I'm wondering how this applies across class, and especially across racial lines? How would someone in a ethnic group whose history was one of systemic poverty experience this philosophy? Would it be an experience of hope, or percieved condemnation?

I've never experienced chronic poverty amongst my ethnic group, but if I did, I'd have to put a lot of emphasis on the key phrase: "assuming both groups have the same potentional for opportunities." Even, then I think it might give me pause.

I'd be interested in hearing from someone of color and who has experienced lack...what would you think of this concept?

Bravo!

paulag01 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:54:14 -0600

Bravo FabGrandma! You own that title of Writer. Denise is so right people feel like "I'm not a real writer because I only..."

If you write...and write well, you are a writer! Period! It took me a long time to own that whole "published writer" thing, but you know if you don't celebrate your own talents, who will?

Thanks for sharing & Congratulations to You!

Warmly
_Paula

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

Paula is the author of the 12 Part "Comfortable in Your Own Skin" eCourse
which you can sign up for free at her website www.thepaulagcompany.com or
popular blog www.coaching4lesbians.com .

You are a writer, you are a writer!

Denise — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:08:26 -0600

I love that story.

There are so many women bloggers who hesitate to call themselves the "W word" and I really think once they can do that, and believe it - the gigs will really start coming.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

This is so true!

FabGrandma — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:58:01 -0600

When I started writing my blog about a year and a half ago, it was because I was getting a new daughter in law. She was living in England, and I wanted her to get to know our family and feel comfortable with us when she met us face to face, so I was writing about us for her. I started getting comments from strangers, and suddenly, I was thinking, MAYBE I can be a writer.

That was the only way I thought about it until about a month or so ago, when I received an email from a publisher who wanted me to write a monthly column for a regional publication, one I had never heard of. But, he said he liked my writing style and thought I would have something to contribute. Oh, my! So, in the last month, I have been actively thinking of myself as and calling myself A WRITER, and in the last two weeks, I have received several offers to write, for money.

From this personal experience, I can say, that if you think it, it can be.

Read the latest at http://fabgrandma.blogspot.com/

Cool!

paulag01 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:52:09 -0600

Thanks for sharing Denise. That is great for you guys!

The way I see the LOA is how I feel about Energy work. It works...indeed it does and has in my life. So, I have just given up trying to figure it out...and just go with it :-) You don't need to know how it works, just how to use it (sort of like electricity -- does anyone REALLY know how it works? I worked at a utility company for 7 years and even the engineers at the power plants couldn't REALLY tell me.. it was like "and then poof...electricity")

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

Paula is the author of the 12 Part "Comfortable in Your Own Skin" eCourse
which you can sign up for free at her website www.thepaulagcompany.com or
popular blog www.coaching4lesbians.com .

Worked for my partner, and for me by default

Denise — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:53:00 -0600

I swear, true story. 100% true story.

TW was playing around with The Secret, watching the videos at work (she worked at a major southern University) and using positive thinking and mantra stuff --- "I am a money magnet!" and... very quickly, she got a raise. And a part-time job offer.

Then, I got a raise. Then I got a new job offer. Then I got another job offer. Then I got a raise. Then she got a new job. Then she got another job.

It was weird. Just out of the blue money did start to appear. Was it The Secret or Positive Thinking or Law of Attraction or just hard work that finally started to pay off? I don't know but it was weird and cool - all at the same time. Heh.

Now if she could somehow convince the bills to stop coming in... Maybe I should put her to work on that.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

Can You Just Attract More Money?

paulag01 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:32:11 -0600

Everyone has asked this question at least once since the marketing megahit The Secret took the world by storm. People have been mired in analyzing their thoughts, forcing themselves to think positive, and often wondering why The Law of Attraction isn't working for them the way they want it to. I for one believe it is at work, but that doesn't mean you can just will the things you want to have show up in your life to appear at the exact moment you want them to.

The other day I was watching one of the short films from my monthly Spiritual Cinema Circle and you just know it is going to be fun when one of the movies is a humorous look at the Law of Attraction called "The Rub of Attraction". Little did I know you could also catch it on YouTube. It is worth the 9 minutes of viewing for a good laugh or two and some thought provoking questions.

The one question I took away from the movie is -- does attraction always work or is it sometimes just the way we look at things? For instance, the guy with the parking space in the movie -- he got the one he wanted after driving around for 17 minutes. Law of Attraction? (as they guffaw at it in the flick) or simply a good rationalization (eventually every parking spot will open up)?

What if we could embrace the fact that we are always creating our reality even if we are not 100% in charge (after all I am not in the camp that believes illness is something we created and can will away, even though I do believe there is a connection there, its just that there is more at play). It is as simple as taking responsibility for ourselves and our lives and noticing things as they come (good or bad) and adjusting from there and doing that over and over for a few decades until our time on earth is through. Christine Kane makes some great points in her post "The 6 Snarkiest Misconceptions about the Law of Attraction: #2":

#2 - Making Law of Attraction a Part-Time Philosophy

"Have you ever noticed that anybody going slower than you is an idiot - and that anybody going faster than you is a maniac?" - George Carlin

A mentor of mine says, "Either you believe in Law of Attraction or you don’t. That’s it. There’s no in between, or sometimes about it."

This means that it’s all your creation. It’s all your thoughts. It’s all your beliefs. It’s all your projection. The good stuff, as well as the bad stuff. The unexpected check that comes in the mail. And the idiots and maniacs on the highway.

It gets even harder when it comes to money sometimes. Are we able to just accept it? Kane adds:

Of course, some people may even have a difficult time accepting that they created the good stuff. In my last e-Seminar, one person was intending wealth as she changed her career direction. One day, she received a large chunk of money out of the blue. I’ve done this work long enough to know not to dismiss this kind of gift. She wanted to acknowledge it, but she was skeptical. Her snarky side was trying to convince her that it couldn’t possibly work like that. It couldn’t be that easy. There had to be some logical explanation for this!

What is your initial reaction? Can you believe that the law of attraction is at work with money or do you need a logical cause and effect answer? Do you believe that the only way to obtain money is to work like a dog because that is the only way you will be justly rewarded?

When I work with clients on the topic of money, we spend a lot of time uncovering limiting beliefs like:

Money is the root of all evil
I have to work hard in order to get money
Money is limited and I have to fight to get my piece of the pie or else someone else will
I'll never have enough

And on and on. There are a myriad of beliefs around money that keep us all stuck. Even if we don't notice we have them, the underlying feelings are at work and the feelings are THE most important and powerful force at work when it comes to the Law of Attraction.

Money is a flow of energy. You need to stay in the flow if you want to attract money in your life. But don't let the idea of "not hoarding" put you on a slippery slope as "The Dharma of Money: How to Attract Debt Instead of Prosperity" points out.

To the contrary, I’ve noticed a painful trend among some otherwise adept followers of the Law of Attraction: if you want to have money and get out of debt, then spend lots of money! It’s not working for them, and I’ve been thinking about why. I’ve concluded that it’s just not the same concept of "flow." The money is flowing out but the energy of it is still focused on themselves rather than flowing it out to others in a charitable sense. So the flow is confined to helping one person the self. Not that you shouldn’t ever do something nice to feather your nest, but I do believe that some of these people are kidding themselves in a way that will come back to haunt them and some of them are just now on the precipice of self-destruction.

We do create our own experience. I recently read the book "Ask. Believe, Receive: 7 Days to Increased Wealth, Better Relationships, And a Life You Love" by David Hooper. It is like a handle cliff notes version of The Law of Attraction as it applies to different areas of our lives. In the chapters on money he gives one of the nicest and succinct explanations I have seen to date:

Have you ever wondered why some people have a lot of money and others have so little? You may be tempted to say that the former group must work hard and the latter group doesn't, but that's not always true, is it? There are plenty of people who work very hard but still barely manage to make ends meet each month. There are also plenty of people who don't work at all, yet have millions of dollars in the bank.

Assuming both groups have the same potential for opportunities, the difference between them is usually a little something called: Mindset.

One group has a wealth mindset, while the other group has a lack mindset. The Law of Attraction is activated by your mindset, which is determined by all the things you think and feel on a regular basis.

Mindset makes all the difference in many areas of our life, and money is no exception. Combine the right mindset with the right actions and that is the real secret to attracting more wealth (money and otherwise) into your life. Whether you call it The Law of Attraction or not... it is most certainly a life principle and universal law.

Paula Gregorowicz, owner of The Paula G. Company, works with women who are ready to create their lives and businesses the way the want rather than how they were told they "should". She is the author of the 12 part eCourse "How to Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin" which you can download for free at her blog http://www.coaching4lesbians.com.

To get the latest word on personal finances from an LGBT perspective and Paula's practical coach approach to the topic check out Queercents http://www.queercents.com.

Are you a small or solo business owner who wants to be comfortable in their own skin online via a website that is a true reflection of who you are and what your business is about? Paula's signature down to earth and "plain English" approach to website design and consulting can help. Visit http://www.paulagwebdesign.com to download the free successful website planner.