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Affirmations vs. Magical Thinking

We were living in the mountains beyond Kailua Kona, in an area called Kealakekua. I had just met my new roommate, and we sat down on the lanai overlooking the ocean far below. We had both just moved to Hawaii and were reveling in the bounty of fruits we could find right off trees. While enjoying a sunrise papaya (the red kind that is so hard to find now on the mainland,) my roommate said, "Wouldn't it be great if we had our very own sunrise papaya tree right here?" With that, she tossed seeds from her papaya over the railing to the hillside below. We both laughed and promptly forgot about it.

Three months later, after a heavy rain, I went out on my lanai and there was a papaya leaf sneaking a peak through the railing! I leaned over and beheld the fruits of our accidental labors: We Had Our Very own Sunrise Papaya Tree! Over the next few years, we ate many sweet papayas from our tree.

That is what I would call "Accidental Affirmation." We say we want something, and it gets lodged in the fertile soil of our imagination without our active attention. In the background, our brain keeps fertilizing and developing this idea until you find yourself enjoying its fruits (or not, depending upon what you planted!)

Active Affirmation is when you consciously tell your brain what it is you want, and visualize positive results. Because you consciously focus on that goal, your brain helps you find the path to get there. You create lists, research possibilities, talk with people, and make things happen. Your affirmation comes first, and execution actively follows the affirmation. The more you say it, the more you integrate it at a cellular level. As Mark Victor Hansen says, "If you believe it, you can achieve it." It becomes true because it becomes a natural outcome of your efforts.

Magical Thinking is the unfortunate misinterpretation of the recent movies and books about the Law of Attraction. There are many "Laws" in the universe. Gravity comes to mind! That's a hard law to break. (grin) The Law of Attraction is directly related to the concept of Active Affirmation. You attract what you think about. You attract what you believe to be so. You attract it because when you think about it and believe it, you are more likely to SEE it, to Notice it, to do things to make it happen.

Unfortunately, many people watched The Secret, or read one of the books on the Law of Attraction and understood it to mean: If I sit here on my couch and think think think about a giant pile of gold bullion being delivered to my door, it will happen. Eh, not likely. If, however, you get up off that couch and take some responsibility for making your dream come true, you may eventually achieve the riches you desire.

Think of it this way - that papaya tree didn't magically appear because my roommate said, "I wish we had a papaya tree." The papaya tree appeared because when she said she wanted the tree, she took action. While it was lighthearted, and neither of us understood the fertility of the Hawaiian soil, she still TOOK ACTION and it bore fruit.

So. What have you planted, accidentally or intentionally? What are you fertilizing? What are you nurturing? Whatever you nurture and fertilize will grow. Make sure it's not anger, revenge, fear, upset. All those are rampant in our society today. Instead, intentionally plant, water, fertilize, and nurture success, love, hope, consideration, compassion, delight, and gratitude.

Blessings,
Beth

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Quote This!

"Whatever we concentrate on Increases, so don't concentrate on your bills,concentrate instead on increasing your money supply. [Think about] the seeds in one tomato. Each seed is capable of producing a whole vine with unlimited tomatoes on it. [If one tiny tomato seed can produce that, think what your 'seeds' can produce!] Be grateful for what you do have and you will find that it increases." Louise Hay, "You Can Heal Your Life"

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Announcements!

• We have had a wonderful response to our first ebooks. You may still download them at no charge. They give you great ways to get yourself and your teams away from the negative watercooler conversations and back to being productive. Get your 2009 gift today!
• And our friends Andrea Gold and Gary Yamamoto have put together a wonderful book on being successful in the speaking business. It is jam packed with everything you want to know to create a success in the meetings industry no matter what the economy is doing. Worth 20 times what they are charging. The Business of Speaking.
• Come play in the Social Networks! Jump in! The water's fine!
  • Find Beth on Twitter.com as BTspeaker. (there are about 40 Beth Terry's on there, so make sure you get the one with her picture! LOL)
  • She is also on LinkedIn.com - (or search Beth Terry
  • and Plaxo.com- search on Beth Terry also
  Let's connect!
• Don't forget, if you saw a particularly memorable talk by Beth, you can go to her website and type in a Testimonial. She'd love to hear from you!
• And check out Beth's Blog. Today's blog has the same topic as today's newsletter, but you can go back almost 3 years to get your inspirational fix.

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Cool Links

If you have kids who are learning their states, send them to the Learn the States game. And while you are at it, have a family contest to see who can get the best score! It's very addicting!

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Fan Mail from Friends!

Aloha Beth,
"Dear Beth - You did a terrific job. Very much what we all needed when we needed it. You totally accepted the audience's level of energy and spoke to us right where we needed to be and hear. Very genuine."
Missy Weld, President,
Speakers Worldwide Network (speakers Bureau)

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The Word From Xena!

I remember when I was a puppy. There were lots of other dogs in the house, and I was the littlest one. I could fit inside a tennis shoe (and I hid there lots of times!) I was the only redhead of the bunch, so they teased me a lot. I told my mommy I wanted to adopt a two-legged who had hair that matched mine. She just laughed it off, cuz we were in Hawaii, and, well, pretty much everybody has black hair there. (I wasn't being prejudiced, I just wanted to fit in, yah know?)

Then one day, four little black-haired girls ran through the door to meet me. They had heard about me from somebody and they wanted to take me home. They all picked me up and giggled and tickled me, and I fell in love. What can I say? But then, much to my surprise, in walks their stepmom, with hair that exactly matched mine! So not only did I get a really cool family when I met Beth, I finally fit in! And THEN when they took me to my new home, I found out there were two other dogs at the house who had the same color hair as mine! And I KNEW I WAS HOME. Life is good.

See. You CAN make things happen for you, if you see it and believe it and do something about it. I hope you find love like I did.

Write to me and tell me what you think about this newsletter!

Love, Xena

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One more pic....

Lezard wanted to show you his baby picture too!

The legal goods...

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