Four themes emerged.  Four things that at least one of seemed to be true for all of the successes I examined.  For several of those who were making LOTS of money doing what they love, all four were true, for others it was a case of just one being REALLY true… but it always seemed to be one of these four:

1.  KNOW THE PROBLEM YOU SOLVE.  Those who are making it work financially are very clear about the specific problem their work solves.  This makes them very clear about how valuable they are.

2. KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET.  Those who are making money doing what they love know who will benefit most from what they offer.  They do not offer their services to “everyone”.

3. HELP OTHERS MAKE MORE MONEY.  In terms of value, one great way to attract more money is to help others do the same.  Many of those who are financially successful are teaching others how to do the same.

4. SHARE YOUR OWN SUCCESS STORY.  Another way to attract paying clients is to share your own success story if it is one that they would want to emulate.  Offer to be a mentor to others who would want to create the same kind of success.

Do you have clearly defined answers to any or all of these four questions?  Which one is it most important for you to be clearer on?

For me, getting clearer about the specific problem my work solves and the specific target market I should be focusing on seem to be the most important.  I figure this will make my success story even better!

COMMENTS?  The comment function on this blog is not working, but I would love to hear your response.  Send it to  info@heartset.com and I will post it here…

But let’s not diminish the importance of roles…

Connecting to who we really are helps us in many ways, especially when it comes to getting back on track when we become aware of NOT having the experience of life we want.  In that moment of dissatisfaction, the moment we become aware we are not BEING who we really are, when we have already asked and answered the “Who am I?” question, when we have already chosen what our desired experience of life is, we are able to quickly and easily shift back toward what we really want rather than pausing to try to figure it all out.  And during that moment of dissatisfaction is NOT the best time to be trying to figure it all out!

And here’s a way to “uplevel” the value you get from asking this question:  THINK BIG!  Starting with the obvious answers like the roles you play.  My way of thinking big comes from remembering that my work is part of a global shift in consciousness.  The roles I play as a speaker, author, coach and consultant, (my favorite is “facilitator”), are all ways for me to contribute to the global shift I see occurring.  And the contributions that are easiest for me to remember – increasing awareness, simplifying, opening up to new possibilities – are all ways of facilitating (there’s that word again!) the global shift I am so excited about.

So what is your BIG VISION?  The big purpose behind what is on your to-do list today?  Remember THAT, connect it to your core self and your contribution, and get excited about your day!  That’s all for now… I gotta get back to shifting global consciousness…

Happy manifesting…  (please share your “think big” with a comment below…)

Recently it was suggested to me my one of my Mastermind group members that one of the ways I could myself off to an even better start every day would be to run first thing in the morning. So, in the spirit of “I’ll try anything for 30 days”, a few weeks ago I started putting my run on my calendar first thing in the morning, and a couple of amazing things have already shown up…

The first thing I noticed was that running in the morning really did get me off to a great start every day. I felt energetic, focused, alert and ready to go after I got back from my run. I was getting creative ideas and insights. That part made sense to me…

More surprising was the fact that even though these great results were showing up, I was still experiencing some resistance to the change. Hmmm, sounds like I need to learn what I teach! I had gotten myself into a COMFORT ZONE of running late in the day, so when I changed my ACTIONS and started getting different RESULTS, I was experiencing some discomfort because I had not changed my “I am” belief about being an afternoon runner… (those of you who have read Manifesting for Non-Gurus are familiar with the change model I am referring to, if you have not read the book and are interested in learning more about our profoundly simple approach to quickly and easily attracting lasting results: www.manifestingbook.com.

What I love about being around this work is that when I become AWARE of a level of discomfort like what I was experiencing with my shift to morning running, it is easily followed by a CHOICE to change the “I am” belief and get more comfortable with my new behavior and results. This little experiment of changing my running habits has been a good reminder of how this shift does not occur in a moment. It takes time. Especially if you have years of experience being an “afternoon runner”…

The third thing I have noticed in this shift to running in the morning is perhaps the most relevant to anyone who is feeling busy, overwhelmed and bombarded with “to-do’s”. What I noticed was a new pattern of CONSISTENCY. I have an i-phone app that tracks my runs and I noticed that I was running every day instead of almost every day. It’s a simple thing, but one that makes a big difference…

You see, before, sometimes my busy day was getting in the way of fitting in a run. I was missing days, despite my best intentions. Kind of like the way I sometimes let my busy days get in the way of me accomplishing my other most important tasks. So my lesson, my learning, is to make sure I know at the beginning of the day what all of my most important tasks are and schedule them for the beginning of my day.

And I hope you will do the same so you can quickly and easily attract more of the lasting results you desire. Because THAT is manifesting!

Remember, comfort zones occur when our “I am” belief matches our results. And lasting results with ease start with a new “I am” belief…

Our desired results are the goals we set, the changes we want to make in our lives, the something new that we want, but the problem is, when we ask the question “Who am I?”, what often first comes to mind are our current results, which equally often are NOT what we really want.

So I’ve been encouraging our clients to ask “Who am I… choosing to be?”. This phrasing emphasizes two powerful and important facts. First of all we are reminded that we get to choose who we are. And second of all that it is important to BE who we are before DOING what we do.

And one final note… when you are answering that question, “Who am I… choosing to be?”, remember to include becoming more of the person you need to become in order to reach your intended result.  Because we all know what happens if we continue to be the person we are and do the things we are already doing…

Happy Manifesting!

Of course the term comfort zone is a misnomer to begin with… if we desire a new result, are we really comfortable?!?! Maybe familiar… it also occurred to me that my core self, who I really am, is not who gets comfortable… perhaps it’s just my ego?

Manifest on…

Yes me… the guy whose company is called HEART Set… needing a reminder about how important it is to get out of my head, into my heart and connected to the source of all that is manifested.  So now I have a new ritual when I first wake up:

1. Become aware of and welcome whatever is going on in my mind.  Don’t fight it, don’t judge it…
2. Consciously bring my awareness from my mind into the area of my heart.  Rest there for a few moments…
3. From my heart, take my awareness outside of my body, connecting to my perception of infinite intelligence, (I use Napoleon Hill’s words for the spiritual realm.  Others call it God, the field, energy, pure potentiality…), noticing the vastness of it and the calm, peaceful nature of it…

By doing this simple ritual, I find myself much more calm, relaxed and focused going into my day.  I feel much more of a sense of potential and far less responsible for needing to have all of the answers.  And being connected to the source of all that is manifested is always a good thing, right?

Happy Manifesting!

After scrambling to keep up with my daily responsibilities while my wife was out of town, (lots of work to do + Mr. Mom = falling behind), then being on the road for a couple of days, today I was back in the office getting caught up and back on track. Surprisingly, I got a lot done. As I was racing out of the office at the end of the day to pick up my son at basketball practice, I graded my day as a B+. I was productive, getting a couple of “big rocks” taken care of, one in particular that had been on my list for a while, and I resisted the temptation to get drawn into a couple of phone conversations that could have taken a lot of my time. I even squeezed in a quick run!

So as I was leaving the office with that pretty satisfied B+ feeling (I think I would have predicted a C-) I also reflected back on the last couple of weeks. At the end of some tough days I remembered beating myself up pretty hard. I realized that at the end of those tough days I tended to grade my LIFE, rather than grade my day like I did today.

The difference between grading my day and grading my life is that when I grade my day, no matter how I do, I get a “do-over” tomorrow. I can ask myself WHY I gave myself the grade I gave myself, and what I could DO to make tomorrow even better, it’s all very positive and productive.

Grading my life, on the other hand, is like a blanket judgement. One bad day and my mother was right…

So I’m going to do a 30 day experiment… at the end of each work day I am going to give myself a grade. I’m going to ask myself how I did. And as you know I love to do, I’m goingvto ask two follow up questions:

1. Why? What are the reasons I gave myself that grade?

2. What can I DO to get a better grade tomorrow?

Want to play along?

Happy manifesting…

I’m sure you have heard many people talk about the importance of having specific and measurable goals, but for me there has always been some resistance to that. I can see the value of it, but it just never has felt like the best place to focus my full attention.

I consider this whenever I am speaking about the fourth step of our Manifesting for Non-Gurus approach, Letting Go of Attachments, because focusing on very specific goals has always felt to me like focusing on the ‘how” that we find it so valuable to be detached from.

So, this year when I looked at what I intend to accomplish in 2011 I started with some very general goals… earn more money, improve my endurance, strength and flexibility, expand my spirituality, improve my relationships with immediate and extended family, etc. Then I created very specific and measurable criteria for each one. A dollar figure, a distance in a certain time running goal, number of days meditating, etc. And then I backed off again to the more general goals, and for the most part it’s the general goals I have been focusing on.

General… Specific… Back to General.

In terms of our manifesting approach, this is working GREAT for me. The specific and measurable part allows me to create a vivid image in my mind that really taps me into my desired feelings and emotions, and backing off to the more general view prevents me from getting attached.

Try it… let me know what you think…

Do you ever get frustrated when you set an intention to accomplish something and find yourself arriving at a completely different destination? I think we all have… The question is, how do we react when that happens? Do we ask ourselves why it all went wrong? Why we asked for one thing and got another? I know I sometimes do…

Mike Dooley suggests a different approach… how about any time you intend one thing and attract another if you simply see that “wrong” destination as a stop along the way to where you intended from the beginning. Hmmm… that’s a different approach. And for me a breath of fresh air.

You see, I periodically find myself trying to figure out how (yeah, I know… I teach people NOT to do that…) I ended up at the “wrong” place. I like Mike’s idea better, just think of it as a stop along the way to where I ultimately want to be. Such a time and energy saver!

I’ll share some other distinctions in the next few days after I have a chance to compare manifesting notes with Mike…

Start with that action, then ask yourself what attachments are getting in the way… are you worrying about what others will think? Judging yourself or your abilities? Wanting it now, wanting to know how or wanting to do it yourself? Could you let that go? How do you want to be feeling? How will you feel when that action is complete? What intention will taking that action move you in the direction of? And is that action, that intention, in alignment with who you really are?

Going backwards will mix things up for you… and I suspect leave you in the same place of being inspired to act… whatever works!