"Prosperity
for sale?" An irreverent view
As a denizen of cyberspace,
I have become familiar with several programs promising "prosperity."
I've also read a number of prosperity-oriented books and experimented
with manifesting on my own. Here's what I've concluded.
(1) Most lives move in cycles:
for a while things go well, then not so well. You feel great,
then not great, then great again. So if you're going through
a bad bump, if you've been successful before the odds are you
will be successful again. You've already developed a success
mindset.
A prosperity program that
lasts over a period of weeks or months will have happy clients
simply because of these cyclical effects. Statisticians talk
about "regression to the mean," but if you have no
interest in statistics, that's okay too.
(2) Some of these programs charge pretty
hefty fees. Anyone
who can afford to spend $300-$1500 for a group program has probably
generated money in the past and will do so again.
(3) Prosperity is not the same as abundance. Abundance has to do with a feeling.
Rick Jarow's book, , describes a millionaire who didn't want
to buy an ice cream cone -- a perfect example of prosperity without
abundance.
You can have abundance without
prosperity, too. In his wonderful book, , Thom Rutledge warns about feelings of abundance
that are not backed by a bank account.
(4) Prosperity programs can tweak definitions to enhance their success rates.
On one sample "prosperity" class, the leader said,
"Let's say you want a trip around the world. You don't want
the trip -- you want the feelings that go with taking the trip."
Well, if I buy a promise of prosperity, I'm afraid I want the
trip!
Leaders also tweak expectations:
"It can take years to manifest your dream..." See #1.
(5) Feeling prosperous, happy and/or
abundant can attract money.
Clients and employers respond to a display of confidence and
warmth -- and it's hard to fake. People who act confident on
the job can expect to be rewarded and promoted (for an extreme
example, rent the video Office Space). People who are
afraid to spend money often under-invest in themselves and their
businesses, with less than optimal results.
(6) There are no secrets in the self-help
world. If you want
to try your own manifesting, spend a few bucks and buy Lynn Grabhorn's
Get a copy of Shakti Gawain's Creative
Visualization -- yes, it's old, and people sometimes joke
about it, but I see her ideas recycled with new labels every
day.
In my own experience, can be far more powerful than working through exercises
in a class or book. Your own involvement will speed the process.
I've identified more good
books on , with
a special section for
(7) Don't discount the long arm of coincidence
-- and the power of awareness.
Once I thought about signing up for a prosperity class. However,
my intuition screamed NO.
Within the next few weeks, I had all kinds of unexpected wealth.
I found a twenty-dollar bill on the ground, discovered unclaimed
funds in a state where I lived many years ago, got an offer to
teach a class out of the blue, and more. If I'd taken that class,
I'd have said, "Wow! This stuff really works!" If I
hadn't heard of the class, I wouldn't have added up my unexpected
bonuses.
Bottom Line: When people have issues with money
and debt. I encourage them to work with a financial advisor,
coach and/or counselor, depending on what they need. Have fun
with manifestation exercises -- with or without a program. In
her
tapes, Carolyn Myss includes some great tips for dealing
with debt -- a wonderful blend of "spirituality" and
commonsense.
Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D. Author, Career Consultant, Speaker *Fast Track to Career Freedom* http://www.movinglady.com cathy@movinglady.com 505-534-4294 ALIGN=LEFT>
To reach your own goal of financial
freedom, ask Cathy about
and .
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Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D. is an
author, career coach, and speaker. She works with mid-career
professionals who want to make a fast move to career freedom.
Visit her site http://www.movinglady.com or call 505-534-4294.
For her free ezine, visit http://www.movinglady.com/subscribe.htmlCathy Goodwin, Ph.D. Author, Career Consultant, Speaker *Fast Track to Career Freedom* http://www.movinglady.com cathy@movinglady.com 505-534-4294 |